Mad #253
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeMad #253 (March 1985) is a compact snapshot of the magazine at a transitional editorial crossroads — one of the final issues produced under editor Al Feldstein, who had steered the publication since 1956 and was departing that same year. The issue showcases three simultaneous pop-culture targets in a single 'Mad Multiplex' department — Ghostbusters, Purple Rain, and The Karate Kid — demonstrating the magazine's evolved strategy of stacking multiple parodies under one roof rather than giving each film its own standalone spread. The Supergirl send-up 'Supergall,' drawn by Jack Davis, also documents how Mad functioned as an informal barometer of Hollywood's stumbles, punching at a widely-criticized superhero film at the precise moment audiences were debating whether the genre had already overstayed its welcome.
"Mad Multiplex" delivers a sharp, satirical slice of everyday absurdity in Dave Berg’s signature deadpan style, where mundane moments—from roommates and birthdays to panhandling and strange behavior—take on a surreal, hilarious edge. Written, drawn, and inked by Berg himself, the issue skewers modern life with his trademark wit, while Richard Williams’ cover captures the chaotic spirit with a bold, stylized image.
In "The Lighter Side of..." from Mad #253, a sharp, typeset satire rolls through the absurdities of everyday life—roommates, rent, questionable advice, and the strange rituals of modern existence—where even a pet’s name or a birthday can spiral into chaos. With deadpan humor and a parade of mundane misfires, the story finds comedy in the cracks of routine, from politics to parking tickets, all in five pages of perfectly timed, no-frills mockery.
ComicBooks.com Value
Show all 9 grades ▾
This exact issue on ebay
Raw / ungraded ▾ $3–$66.66 37 listings
More listings for this title
Read it digitally
Sell my copy
Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.
We Buy Collections ▸History
Issue #253 landed on newsstands in early 1985 as Al Feldstein — Mad's editor since Harvey Kurtzman's departure in 1956 — was in the final stretch of his nearly three-decade tenure; MyComicShop's database identifies a later 1985 issue (#256, July 1985) as Feldstein's actual final issue, but #253 was produced within that departing editorial era. The cover was painted by Richard Williams, with the cover copy written by Al Jaffee, one of the magazine's most durable contributors. At this point in Mad's run, circulation had declined from its early-1970s peak of over two million, placing the editorial team in the position of maximizing each issue's satirical breadth — a context that likely encouraged the triple-feature 'Mad Multiplex' format used here.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published March 1985 by EC Publications; cover art by Richard Williams, cover copy by Al Jaffee.
- Features 'Mad Multiplex,' scripted by Arnie Kogen with art by Sam Viviano, Harry North, and Angelo Torres — a single department parodying three 1984 blockbusters simultaneously: Ghostbusters ('Ghost-Dusters'), Purple Rain ('Purple Acid Rain'), and The Karate Kid ('The Karocky Kid'), with film critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert also spoofed.
- The 'Ghost-Dusters' Ghostbusters parody (3 pages, written by Arnie Kogen, art by Sam Viviano) was later reprinted in the Mad Spoofs Movies 2015 special issue.
- 'Supergall,' the issue's standalone movie parody of the 1984 film Supergirl, was scripted by Dick De Bartolo with art by veteran EC/Mad illustrator Jack Davis; it was subsequently reprinted in a Mad Super Special (Fall 1985).
- Also contains 'The Trend Toward Rottenness in the Comic Strips' (script Larry Siegel, art Bob Clarke), lampooning newspaper strips including Peanuts, Blondie, Beetle Bailey, Annie, and Family Circus.
- Includes a Mad Fold-In by Al Jaffee and a Spy vs. Spy installment ('Joke and Dagger Dept.'), two of the magazine's most enduring recurring features.
- Appeared during the final year of Al Feldstein's editorship (1956–1985), one of the longest editorial tenures in American magazine history; Feldstein was replaced by co-editors Nick Meglin and John Ficarra later in 1985.
- Alfred E. Neuman, the magazine's gap-toothed mascot, appears as the magazine's ongoing cover character — his presence on each issue anchoring Mad's brand identity throughout the Copper Age period.
Cast · 1 character
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in Mad #171 (1985), Mad Special [Mad Super Special] #75 (1991), Mad Special [Mad Super Special] #86 (1993), Mad Special [Mad Super Special] #99 (1994), Mad Special [Mad Super Special] #104 (1995), Mad's Greatest Writers: Frank Jacobs #[nn] (2015), Mad #21 (2021), Mad #25 (2022), Mad Spoofs Movie Classics #[nn] (2023), Mad #44 (2025)
Key issues in Mad
Reviews
Reader reviews
No reader reviews yet.