''Crazy Magazine'' is an illustrated

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...

and

humor Humour (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) or humor (American English) is the tendency of experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. The term derives from the humorism, humoral medicine of the ancient Gre ...

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

that was published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

from 1973 to 1983 for a total of 94 regular issues (and two ''Super Special''s (Summer 1975, 1980)). It was preceded by two standard-format comic books titled ''Crazy''. The magazine's format followed in the tradition of '' Mad'', ''

Sick Sick may refer to: Medical conditions * Having a disease or infection * Vomiting (British) Music * The Sick, a Swedish band formed by two members of Dozer Albums * Sick (Loaded album), ''Sick'' (Loaded album), 2009 * Sick (Massacra album), ' ...

'', ''

Cracked Cracked may refer to: Television * ''Cracked'' (British TV series), a 2008 British comedy-drama television series that aired on STV * ''Cracked'' (Canadian TV series), a 2013 Canadian crime drama series that aired on CBC * "Cracked", a Season 8 ( ...

'' and '' National Lampoon''. Many

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

artists and writers contributed to the effort in the early years. These included

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...

Will Eisner William Erwin Eisner (March 6, 1917 – January 3, 2005) was an American cartoonist, writer, and entrepreneur. He was one of the earliest cartoonists to work in the American comic book industry, and his series ''The Spirit'' (1940–1952) was no ...

Vaughn Bodé Vaughn may refer to: Places in the United States *Vaughn, California, former name of Bodfish, California *Vaughn, Montana * Vaughn, New Mexico * Vaughn, Oregon * Vaughn, Pennsylvania * Vaughn, Virginia * Vaughn, Washington Name *Vaughn (surname) ...

Frank Kelly Freas Frank Kelly Freas (August 27, 1922 – January 2, 2005) was an American science fiction and fantasy artist with a career spanning more than 50 years. He was known as the "Dean of Science Fiction Artists" and he was the second artist inducted by ...

Harvey Kurtzman Harvey Kurtzman (; October 3, 1924 – February 21, 1993) was an American cartoonist and editor. His best-known work includes writing and editing the parodic comic book '' Mad'' from 1952 until 1956, and writing the ''Little Ann ...

Mike Ploog Michael G. Ploog (; born July 13, 1940 or 1942) is an American storyboard and comic book artist, and a visual designer for films. In comics, Ploog is best known for his work on Marvel Comics' 1970s ''Man-Thing'' and '' The Monster of Frankenst ...

Basil Wolverton Basil Wolverton (July 9, 1909 – December 31, 1978)
at the

Marie Severin Marie Severin (; August 21, 1929 – August 29, 2018) was an American comics artist and colorist best known for her work for Marvel Comics and the 1950s' EC Comics. She is an inductee of the Will Eisner Comics Hall of Fame and the Harvey Awards ...

Mike Carlin Michael Carlin (born October 6, 1958) is an American comic book writer, editor, and executive. He has worked principally for Marvel Comics and DC Comics since the 1970s. Early life Carlin attended the High School of Art and Design in Manhattan, ...

, editor

Marv Wolfman Marvin Arthur Wolfman (born May 13, 1946) is an American comic book and novelization writer. He worked on Marvel Comics's ''The Tomb of Dracula'', for which he and artist Gene Colan created the vampire-slayer Blade, and DC Comics's '' The New Te ...

and executive editor

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor, who was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibl ...

. Mainstream writers like

Harlan Ellison Harlan Jay Ellison (May 27, 1934 – June 28, 2018) was an American writer, known for his prolific and influential work in New Wave speculative fiction and for his outspoken, combative personality. Robert Bloch, the author of '' Psycho'' ...

and

Art Buchwald Arthur Buchwald (October 20, 1925 – January 17, 2007) was an American humorist best known for his column in ''The Washington Post''. At the height of his popularity, it was published nationwide as a syndicated column in more than 500 newspaper ...

also contributed.

Lee Marrs Lee Marrs (born September 5, 1945) is an American cartoonist and animator, and one of the first female underground comix creators. She is best known for her comic book series ''The Further Fattening Adventures of Pudge, Girl Blimp'', which lasted ...

supplied a few pictures. In addition to drawn art, ''Crazy'' experimented with fumetti.

History

Marvel Comics (then known as Atlas Comics) first published a ''Crazy'' comic book in 1953. It ran for seven issues, through mid-1954, and was focused on popular culture parodies and humor. The second comic title, as ''Crazy!'', ran for three issues in 1973, and reprinted comics parodies from Marvel's late-1960s ''

Not Brand Echh ''Not Brand Echh'' is a satiric comic book series published by Marvel Comics that parodied its own superhero stories as well as those of other comics publishers. Running for 13 issues (cover-dated Aug. 1967 to May 1969), it included among its co ...

''. Later that year, Marvel repurposed the title for a black-and-white comics magazine.

edited the first ten issues from 1973–1975 and the first ''Super Special'', and created the magazine's first mascot, a short, bug-eyed man in a large black hat and draped in a black cape. Initially unnamed, the mascot was dubbed "The Nebbish" in issue #9 (Feb. 1975) and later "Irving Nebbish". Wolfman recalled, "

wanted it to be more '' Mad''/''

'', where I wanted it more ''

Lampoon Lampoon may refer to: *Parody *Amphol Lampoon (born 1963), Thai actor and singer *''The Harvard Lampoon'', a noted humor magazine ** ''National Lampoon'' (magazine), a defunct offshoot of ''Harvard Lampoon'' ***National Lampoon, Incorporated, a 20 ...

''. We sort of split the difference."

Steve Gerber Stephen Ross Gerber (; September 20, 1947 – February 10, 2008) was an American comic book writer and creator of the satiric Marvel Comics character Howard the Duck. Other works include ''Man-Thing'', ''Omega the Unknown,'' ''Marvel Spotlight:' ...

, who served as ''Crazy''s editor from issues #11-14, and wanted it to be distinctive from the archetypal ''Mad'', said that the goal was to present work that implied the creators were themselves insane.Scott Edelman interviews Steve Gerber (1975)
YouTube. Accessed Dec. 12, 2011. Gerber's own contributions were often prose stories with a handful of illustrations, such as the "Just Plain Folks" series of bizarre biographies. The last issue of his run as editor included a darkly comic short story he wrote in college, "...And the Birds Hummed Dirges!", about high-school kids who make a suicide pact. Paul Lamont edited issue #15 (Jan. 1976) and

Paul Laikin Paul I. Laikin (1927 – May 12, 2012) was an American comedy writer-editor for books, television, recordings, trading cards and magazines, including '' Mad'' and ''New York''. Satirist Jay Lynch commented, "He was an important figure in the world ...

edited #16-60 and #62 (May 1980). By 1979, ''Crazy'' was struggling in sales. In 1980, the Irving Nebbish mascot was replaced with the belligerent Obnoxio the Clown, who made his first appearance in issue #63 (June 1980), the first regular issue edited by

Larry Hama Larry Hama (; born June 7, 1949) is an People of the United States, American comic-book writer, artist, actor, and musician who has worked in the fields of entertainment and publishing since the 1960s. During the 1970s, he was seen in minor role ...

, who had also edited issue #61 (April 1980). ''Crazy Magazine''s last issue was #94 (April 1983).

Recurring features

* The Kinetic Kids—two pages flipped back and forth to create an illusion of motion * The Teen Hulk—teenager who becomes a

Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk' ...

-like character played for laughs * Retread Funnies—classic

stories presented with new dialogue

Cultural references

The publication was referenced in ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

'' episode "

Separate Vocations "Separate Vocations" is the eighteenth episode of the third season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 27, 1992. In the episode, Springfield Elementa ...

Principal Skinner Principal Seymour Skinner (born Armin Tamzarian) is a recurring fictional character in the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'', who is voiced by Harry Shearer. He is the principal of Springfield Elementary School, which he struggles to control, an ...

shows

Bart Simpson Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional character in the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in ''The Tracey Ullman Show'' ...

some of the confiscated contraband in a storeroom at

Springfield Elementary School Springfield is the primary fictional setting of the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' and related media. It is an average-sized, fictional city within an indeterminate state in the United States. The fictional city's geography, surroundi ...

: "Complete collections of '' Mad'', ''

'', and even the occasional issue of ''Crazy''!"

References

External links

Crazy Magazine covers
{{Steve Gerber Monthly magazines published in the United States Satirical magazines published in the United States Comics magazines published in the United States Comics by Marv Wolfman Comics by Paul Kupperberg Comics by Steve Gerber Defunct American comics Defunct magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1973 Magazines disestablished in 1983 Marvel Comics titles Satirical comics Parody comics Black comedy comics Surreal comedy 1973 comics debuts 1983 comics endings Comedy franchises

History

Recurring features

Cultural references

See also

References

External links