Mad #433

Mad Magazine turns its gleefully irreverent lens on the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, with the moonman trophy front and center — cheekily rebranded with the "Mad" logo — surrounded by photographic likenesses of five pop stars of the moment, including a bleached-blonde rapper, a bejeweled female singer, a chain-wearing hip-hop artist, a casually dressed young man, and a wide-eyed blonde rocker. The cover's mock "All-Access Pass" lanyard and the base plaque's proclamation of "Best Unauthorized Use of Music Artists and Trademarked Properties to Sell a Shoddy Humor Magazine" is exactly the kind of self-aware absurdity Mad does best. With cover work by Scott Bricher and AP/Wide World, this September 2003 issue also teases takes on Harry Potter and tips for video gamers — a solid snapshot of the pop-culture moment.