Mad #7

In "Shermlock Shomes!", Harvey Kurtzman and Bill Elder deliver a delightfully absurd parody of the famed detective, as a frazzled woman begs Shermlock Shomes to investigate her uncle’s mysterious illness—only for the "detective" to descend into comedic chaos over a case with no crime. With Kurtzman’s sharp script and Elder’s wild, expressive art, this 1953 EC classic is a hilarious, fast-paced satire that’s as much a love letter to the genre as it is a send-up, all rendered in Marie Severin’s vibrant colors and Ben Oda’s crisp lettering. The cover, by Kurtzman himself, captures the manic energy perfectly.