A MAD Adiós…

MAD #17 just came out this month, billed as the “Sergio Aragonés Tribute” issue. It’s all Sergio from front to back cover, except a new fold-in by Johnny Sampson which is a Sergio tribute in itself. Most of it is reprints of classic Sergio, but there are a few new pieces by him. What MAD #17 really is is a “so long and thanks for all the fish” forced farewell to a cartooning giant.

The image above is the last panel of what is purportedly the final original “A MAD Look at…” feature by Sergio from MAD #17… and it broke my heart. In a way it’s a perfect example of what makes Sergio one of the greatest cartoonists who ever put pen to paper. His work is so loose and cartoony that the incredible storytelling that takes place with those quick and deceptively simple lines can get taken for granted.

This little drawing tells the entire story about what is happening with Sergio and MAD–his long history of great work with the magazine falling out of his portfolio, the shut door, the body posture and action showing his reluctance and difficulty walking away, the expression in his self-caricature that simultaneously shows sadness and disbelief that he’s being sent down the road…all told with just a few pen strokes. This panel is a piece of genius, but that’s another thing that gets taken for granted about Sergio’s work… there are so many pieces of genius coming off his pen it just becomes expected.

When Al Jaffee‘s tribute issue came out a couple months ago it was also sad in the fact that Al was done contributing to MAD, but Al was retiring on his own terms (the guy is going to be 100 in March… he needs a little breather). Sergio, on the other hand, is still at the top of his game. He is arguably the greatest pure cartoonist who ever worked for MAD, or for anyone else for that matter, and he’s still doing brilliant work with no signs of slowing down. And yet DC Entertainment™ aka Warner Bros™ aka AT&T™ are sending him packing, when frankly they probably spend more on lunches for their daily executive meetings than what it would cost them to have a new “A MAD Look At…” featured in every issue of the magazine. I’ve been resigned for a long time now that MAD is going down the road it is, but this is one thing that really sickens me.

Fortunately for the world Sergio is still working on Groo and other projects, so we can continue to enjoy new stuff from El Maestro. I’ll be sure to pass along any new projects he has coming out and I’d encourage all to pick them up and enjoy the incomparable work of this cartooning legend while we can.

I will say this about that panel above, Sergio missed the boat on one detail. That pigeon perched on top of the Alfred “Up the Academy” statue should have an “AT&T” label on it and it should be shitting all over Alfred’s head. No doubt that occured to El Maestro, but being a gentlemen he didn’t go there.

ADDENDUM: I do not blame the staff at MAD for any of this, nor really those who are left at DC Comics. They are doing what is being dictated they do by the beancounters way up the corporate food chain. Suzy Hutchinson and Bern Mendoza are all that’s left of the MAD staff, and they are doing their best with what they are given.