Mad #114

In "Sombre," a white man raised among Native Americans takes up his father's legacy as a slumlord, leading a ragtag group of stagecoach survivors on a journey back to civilization—where the real challenge may be less about survival than about who they’ve become. A sharp satire in the spirit of *Hombre*, this 1967 Mad classic uses its absurd premise to skewer genre tropes with a dry, typeset wit.

In "Ratpacktrol," a misfit member of Rommel's Desert Forces in North Africa attempts to outwit a squad of American commandos with a series of increasingly absurd traps, all while navigating the surreal logic of a parody that skewers the dramatic tone of "The Rat Patrol." The story unfolds with deadpan humor and satirical flair, relying on the contrast between military grandeur and the sheer ridiculousness of the situation.