As I have mentioned, I work in a public library. The majority of my job involves processing the library’s magazines and serials. One perk of this job, obviously, is that I to get to look at a lot of periodicals.
Our Young Adult department subscribes to the venerable humor magazine Mad. Sadly, ‘venerable’ doesn’t mean funny. Part of the problem is that Mad doesn’t really seem to have a firm market niche anymore. It’s not a little kid’s humor magazine, but it’s not ‘adult’ either, as with the old National Lampoon.
I think ‘Young Adult’ is probably about right. The magazine has gotten somewhat raunchier over the years, too much I think for actual youngsters, but the humor is just too juvenile to amuse adults (or at least this adult). I can’t imagine that many people over the age of, say, sixteen read it, unless it’s purely for nostalgia purposes. And such readers will probably find the markedly increased level of bathroom-level humor somewhat off-putting.
Perhaps I’m just projecting. However, about the only thing I find myself reading every month are the three or four page spreads of dialogue-less cartoons by old-timer Sergio Aragones, on whatever subject grabs his fancy this month. His stuff remains as funny now as it was thirty years ago. With the recent passing of fellow oldster David Berg, Aragones’ cartoons are about all the magazine offers that faithfully captures the magic Mad once had. Even the classic fold-up back cover gag is of mostly nostalgic interest. Then there’s the generally unsuccessful update of Spy vs. Spy—the latest issue prints both one of the new style entries and a ‘classic’ one. See which you think is funny.
I found it nearly surreal that the April 2005 issue of Mad would have a parody of the HBO television series Deadwood. Deadwood is a great show, but it’s most definitely ‘mature’ in every variety of content imaginable. It’s not for kids, and I mean up to mid-teens, and thus I found its appearance in a magazine also offering up a Lemony Snicket parody more than a little strange.
Moreover, it’s just bizarre to read such a stale, chestnut-ridden satire of such a sophisticated and brilliantly written program. There’s the lame pun title (“Dreadwood”), along with the obligatory puns on the character’s names: Wild Bill Hickok becomes Wild Bill Hiccup, a prostitute named Trixie is redubbed Trickie, a henchman named Dan becomes ‘Dank,’ etc. Oh, my sides. Seriously, does anyone think that humor of that level could appeal to anyone over the age of twelve? Then there’re the one punch line per panel gags, half of which could have come from a parody of The Outlaw Josey Wales or some other decades-old Western, and the rest generally just make fun of how much swearing there is on the show. Har de har har.
