Harvey Kurtzman: The Man Who Created Mad and Revolutionized Humor in America #[nn]

A handsome biography from Fantagraphics, this 2015 volume by Bill Schelly — with a foreword by Terry Gilliam — digs into the life and legacy of Harvey Kurtzman, the visionary mind behind MAD. The cover pairs a black-and-white photo of Kurtzman himself with the grinning, gap-toothed face of Alfred E. Neuman, neatly capturing the man and the irreverent creation that made him a cultural force. For anyone passionate about the history of American humor and comics, this is a deeply compelling read waiting to happen.