Mad #66
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeMad #66 (October 1961) earns its place in the magazine's history primarily as the debut of Dave Berg's 'The Lighter Side of...' — a multi-panel observational feature that would run continuously through issue #356 (April 1997), a streak of 291 consecutive issues, and remain the magazine's most-read recurring department for four decades. By gently satirizing middle-class suburban life rather than reaching for Mad's usual biting edge, Berg introduced a warmer, more broadly relatable voice that broadened the magazine's readership well beyond its core audience. The issue also appeared at a pivotal transitional moment for EC: in 1961 William Gaines sold the company to Premier Industries, making this issue one of the last published under the original EC ownership structure. With contributions from Wally Wood, Mort Drucker, Don Martin, Antonio Prohias, and Al Jaffee alongside Berg, the issue is a snapshot of Mad's entire creative roster firing at full strength during what historians consider the magazine's classic Silver Age.
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Al Feldstein, who had taken over as editor from Harvey Kurtzman in 1956, presided over this issue; it was produced during the period when Mad's offices were relocating from lower Manhattan to midtown at 485 Madison Avenue, a move that coincided with the 1961 sale of EC to Premier Industries. The cover — depicting Yul Brynner in a rocking chair with the tagline 'This Issue Will Make J.F.K. Mad' — was painted by Frank Kelly Freas, one of the magazine's go-to cover painters in this era. Berg had been contributing one-off satirical pieces to Mad since 1957, and 'The Lighter Side of the Television Set' in this issue represented his deliberate pivot toward a recurring thematic strip format that Feldstein encouraged him to develop.
Trivia · 9 facts
- First appearance of Dave Berg's 'The Lighter Side of...' feature, debuting with 'The Lighter Side of the Television Set' — the strip would appear in every issue from #66 through #356 (April 1997), a run of 291 consecutive issues.
- Cover painted by Frank Kelly Freas; the image depicts Yul Brynner in a rocking chair with the cover blurb 'This Issue Will Make J.F.K. Mad.'
- Edited by Al Feldstein, who had been Mad's editor since 1956 following Harvey Kurtzman's departure.
- Published October 1961 at a cover price of 25 cents; 48 pages in black-and-white magazine format.
- Antonio Prohias contributed a standalone pantomime strip titled 'Vengeance,' one of several one-shot gag comics he drew for Mad alongside his signature 'Spy vs. Spy' series.
- Wally Wood illustrated 'Comedy Albums By Musical Artists' (script by Arnie Kogen); the piece was later reprinted in Mad Super Special #13.
- Mort Drucker contributed art to two features: 'Modern Household Accidents' (script by Jack Mendelsohn) and 'Mad Visits Joe LeVenal' (script by Larry Siegel).
- Al Jaffee scripted 'How To Find Things You Never Expected,' with art by Bob Clarke — an early example of Jaffee's long career writing for the magazine before creating his famous Fold-In (which debuted in #86, 1964).
- Alfred E. Neuman appears as a gag inductee inside a Little League Hall of Fame feature, a characteristic cameo in keeping with his role as the magazine's omnipresent mascot throughout this period.
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Reprinted in More Trash from Mad #5 (1962), The Worst from MAD #6 (1963), The Worst from MAD #7 (1964), More Trash from Mad #7 (1964), The Ridiculously Expensive Mad #[nn] (1969), Mad #43 (1972), Mad #52 (1973), The Completely Mad Don Martin #[nn] (1974), Mad #66 (1974), Raving Mad #20 (1974), Mad Special [Mad Super Special] #38 (1982), Mad Special [Mad Super Special] #40 (1982), Mad Special [Mad Super Special] #42 (1983), Mad for Decades #[nn] (2007), Mad #12 (2020), Mad #13 (2020), Mad #49 (2026)
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