Mad Special [Mad Super Special] #34

In this 1981 satire from Mad Special #34, a bumbling crew of spacefarers—fueled more by enthusiasm than competence—tackle a full-scale plague on a distant world, all while parodying the earnest tone of "Star Trek." With deadpan delivery and absurd missteps, the story leans into the chaos of their mission, letting the humor rise from the gap between their grand ambitions and their very real lack of skill.

In a satirical twist on the classic "Gentle Ben" trope, a park ranger and his perpetually exasperated family find themselves outshone by their resident grizzly bear—whose manners, patience, and calm demeanor make the humans look like the real wild ones. Written with sharp wit and drawn in Mad’s signature deadpan style, this six-page parody turns the idea of gentle wildlife on its head with a bear who’s far more genteel than anyone in his household.

In this 1981 Mad Special parody, a clueless detective and his equally bewildered team chase a missing Hawaiian artifact across the islands, turning the classic "Hawaii Five-0" formula into a hilariously bumbling misadventure. With deadpan satire and absurd twists, the story mocks the show’s dramatic tone through pure, dumbfounded incompetence.

In "Mission: Ridiculous," a team of secret agents attempts to recover stolen microfilm through a series of increasingly absurd and suspiciously over-the-top maneuvers—because, as the story hilariously proves, even espionage has its limits when the mission is, well, ridiculous.

In a satirical twist on the classic "Six Million Dollar Man" premise, a disgraced astronaut with bionic enhancements must track down the surgeon who rebuilt him—only to find the man has been kidnapped by Soviet agents. Written with sharp wit and delivered in Mad’s signature deadpan style, this 7-page parody turns heroics into farce with a straight-faced absurdity that’s as thrilling as it is ridiculous.

If "Peanuts" Were a Weekly TV Series" takes the familiar world of Charlie Brown and spins it into a satirical pitch for a fictional lineup of over-the-top sitcoms and dramas—complete with titles like *Young Doctor Brown* and *The Chuck Brown Show*—all imagined as if the Peanuts gang had been cranked up for prime-time TV. With deadpan humor and sharp parody, the story skewers the absurdity of turning childhood melancholy into serialized entertainment, all delivered in Mad’s signature style.

In "Hokum's Heroes," the head officer of a Nazi prison camp finds himself caught between the perks of his position and a growing unease about what comes next—especially when the perks include things like free snacks and a private shower. Written with sharp wit and drawn in Mad’s signature satirical style, this five-page parody turns the classic "Hogan’s Heroes" formula on its head, all without revealing how the tension resolves.

In a satirical take on *All in the Family*, a bigoted family patriarch vents his outdated views during a mundane wait for a long-lost army buddy, turning every household moment into a comedic clash of old-school bigotry and absurdity. The story’s sharp, typeset letters amplify the humor, perfectly capturing the tone of a bygone era’s most notorious sitcom.

In "Mad's Reality Street," the familiar, cheerful lessons of "Sesame Street" are upended in a gritty urban block where puppets and neighbors try to teach basics amid crumbling buildings and real-world dangers. With sharp satire and deadpan humor, the story turns a children’s educational staple into a biting commentary on urban decay—where even counting and letters come with a side of streetwise realism.

In this satirical take on classic Shell Oil commercials, a test car races past competing brands’ mileage markers—only to narrowly avoid a dramatic cliffside crash in a parody that leans into the absurdity of over-the-top fuel ads.