Originally Posted By ctdsnark The next time William Gaines turns over in his grave over what they've done to his beloved MAD,he can get himself a dance partner---the late Robert Sproul. I wouldn't have believed it possible if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes---CRACKED has "returned",only they've turned it into some horrible cross between a MAXIM clone and a poorly conceived National Lampoon wannabe.Even MAD these days retains a few remnants of its former identity,despite the advertising.But this "new" CRACKED---makes me wish the Talking Blob would come out of retirement and eat them all! When I was a kid{the '70's},I loved CRACKED.MAD has had many imitators since its initial days as a comic book;in my lifetime,I've seen CRAZY,the incred-i-bly short-lived PARODY,and SICK,which was printed on cheap newspaper,but I bought it anyway {anyone else remember "Cher D'Flower"?}but CRACKED kept me buying issue after issue,for two reasons: {1}Like MAD {at the time},it had good artists---John Severin,Don Orehek,Warren Sattler,Bill Ward,Howard Nostrand---there were many others,but those were the only ones I learned by name. {2}Unlike MAD,they weren't always as "hip",but that made their humor less cynical than that of MAD's---which was often a welcome diversion.In fact,many of the TV shows,movies,and current trends they built articles around,they almost seemed to be paying tribute to.As far as I remember,they did parody "Happy Days",but only after they did a whole slew of articles on Fonzie,all humorous but none overly critical.The same could be same for their parodies of the first three "Star Wars" movies,as well as every other article they did featuring the characters. I liked the regular features,too---Shut-ups,Hudd & Dini,and their in-house reporter,Nanny Dickering,often drawn by Ward.{Yowza!!!} As far as I'm concerned,the "new" CRACKED ain't good for nothin' but toilet paper!
Originally Posted By FiveBearRugs Now it seems that MAD is aimed at teenagers with all the ads... and now there's a MAD For Kids; Dylan and Cole Sprouse were featured on their cover recently.
Originally Posted By ctdsnark I mean,I gotta be realistic here---I know that CRACKED can't remain exactly like I remember it.In fact,they were still a humor magazine just a few years ago,despite the fact that their circulation was clearly not what it used to be {the only place I could find it was Wal-Mart},and they still had some good stuff,including a really funny article on Harry Potter. But this "new" CRACKED---if I were Sylvester P. Smythe,I'd sue them for putting my face on the front cover of that tripe!
