Mad #197

Jack Rickard's cover sets the satirical tone perfectly: a gap-toothed, broadly grinning caricature of President Carter beams from what appears to be a campaign poster or wall mural, while a kid with a marker has gleefully blacked out one of his front teeth. This March 1978 issue promises a full spread of late-'70s targets, with the cover copy teasing MAD's takes on Star Wars, Little House on the Prairie, Physical Fitness, and "The Carter Follies" among others. It's a snapshot of pop-culture America in 1978, delivered with the irreverent wit that made MAD essential reading.