Mad #524

Mad #524 delivers a pitch-perfect sendup of Duck Dynasty, with Mark Fredrickson's hyper-detailed cover painting cramming five gloriously bearded, bandana-wearing Robertson-style faces into a swampy, overgrown tableau — complete with ducks flushing from the treetops above the masthead. Fredrickson's painted caricature work is in top form here, capturing every scraggly whisker and wild-eyed expression with gleeful precision. Also promised inside: takes on Man of Steel, Spy vs. Spy, and fast food — a solid December 2013 package from America's favorite humor institution.