The Bedside Mad

Harvey Kurtzman, Bill Elder, and Kelly Freas brought their satirical edge to this short-lived, three-issue series from New American Library, which ran from 1959 to 1969. A companion to the Mad magazine tradition, The Bedside Mad collected and repackaged classic Mad parodies and cartoons in a paperback format designed for casual, bedside reading. While brief, it stands as a key artifact of Kurtzman’s signature humor and the early transition of Mad’s anarchic spirit into the book market.