Mad Follies #1

History

Mad Follies launched in 1963 under the editorial stewardship of Al Feldstein, who had been MAD's editor since 1956 and oversaw both the magazine's peak circulation growth and the expansion of its ancillary publishing program. The series was published by EC Publications (William M. Gaines's surviving imprint after the rest of the EC line shuttered in 1956), and it slotted in alongside the two existing annual reprint titles as a third annual collection of humor and satire pieces drawn from recent MAD issues. With the exception of the covers and the bonus inserts, the contents of each issue were reprints, curated to give readers a 'greatest hits' experience at a price point higher than the regular magazine.

Trivia · 8 facts

• Mad Follies #1 was published in 1963 by EC Publications (E.C. Publications, Inc.), imprint of William M. Gaines, under the editorship of Al Feldstein.
• It was the first issue of the Mad Follies annual series, which ran for exactly 7 issues from 1963 through 1969.
• Mad Follies joined two pre-existing MAD annual reprint series — 'More Trash from MAD' (debut 1958) and 'The Worst from MAD' (debut 1958) — as EC's third concurrent annual reprint title.
• Each issue in the Follies run, including #1, included a special bonus insert exclusive to that annual edition; subsequent issues in the series featured items such as a full-color fold-out MAD calendar, MAD stencils, MAD mischief stickers, and cut-out 'Nasty Cards,' establishing the bonus-insert tradition from the very first issue.
• The contents of Mad Follies #1 were largely reprints from earlier MAD magazine issues, including 'Spy vs. Spy' strips by Antonio Prohías (originally from MAD #65 and #69), as well as pieces involving television satire referencing figures such as Walter Cronkite, Chet Huntley, and David Brinkley.
• Reprinted material in the issue included work by contributors Mort Drucker, Wally Wood, Frank Jacobs, and Dave Berg — the core roster of the Feldstein-era MAD.
• At least one piece from Mad Follies #1 — a television advertising satire — was reprinted a third time in Mad Special (Super Special) #34 in 1981, demonstrating the long shelf life of the annual's curated content.
• The series was also indexed and documented by Doug Gilford's Mad Cover Site, which notes that new or exclusive content in the annuals was limited primarily to the covers and bonus inserts.

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