Remembering Nick Meglin

Wednesday, June 2nd marked the third anniversary of the passing of Nick Meglin, longtime contributor/editor/backbone of MAD magazine. Nick died suddenly of a heart attack at 82 years old. I vividly remember the phone call I got telling me Nick was gone. I was in Toronto teaching a caricature workshop, and I was in total shocked disbelief. Only a few weeks earlier I had seen Nick and got to spend some time with him at the National Cartoonists Society Reuben awards in Philadelphia.

It’s impossible to overstate how important Nick was to MAD. Publisher Bill Gaines called him the “heart” of the magazine, but he was even more than that. MAD‘s “voice”, it’s unique self-deprecating humor and the way it approached satirizing authority and all the absurd things of the world, was largely Nick’s voice. Al Feldstein gets a lot of credit for the success of MAD (and he got a lot of the money), but those who know the inner workings of the magazine understand it was really Nick who made MAD what it became. He started at the same time Feldstein took over as editor in 1956, and so much of the identity of the magazine came from Nick’s pen and his work with the freelancers. He did so many things behind the scenes that he never received credit for. MAD would never have been MAD without him.

Nick was one of those rare people who feels like he’s your best friend even if you only see him once a year. Getting to see him was always one of the highlights of my year. He was instrumental in bringing me into MAD, his advice and guidance were invaluable in shaping my career, and he often made me laugh so hard I was in danger of needing a change of underwear. He “retired” from MAD only 4 years into my time with the magazine, but while he was there the classic heartbeat of MAD was still strong. Working with him was an absolute joy, but being able to call him a friend was a true privilege and honor.

I received a wonderful package of stuff from Nick’s family about a year after his passing. Just some studio knick knacks like a couple of old paint brushes, a small metal vase that holds pencils, and the like. These are scattered about my studio and a day does not go by when I don’t spot them and remember Nick. This picture is also directly above my drawing table:

That was taken at the 2012 Reubens in Las Vegas, where we had a little celebration of MAD‘s 60th anniversary. It catches my eye multiple times a day. It makes me feel like Nick is looking over me, telling me to stop being so %$@&*! lazy and put some effort into it.

Nick meant a lot to many people. I’m only one of that many, and was not anywhere near as close to him as others were, nor as I wish I could have been. He was the funniest, smartest, canniest, most sophisticated, crudest, most charming and acerbic smart ass I’ve ever met. I miss him dearly.