What, me worry?

Mad magazine is now 60 years old? Older than either the Stones or the Beach Boys?

It's probably hard to understand the significance and impact of Mad back in the day. When it first came out, it was mostly parodies of comics, irreverent and funny but not terribly important. But slowly and steadily kids took it to heart (as did a few adults), and by the 60s the magazine was parodying just about everything, still irreverent and funny, at a time when everything seemed to be ripe for parody. They took no sides (although whoever you were, you assumed they were with you); they would lambaste your favorite film or book or whatever with just as much glee as they would lambaste your least favorites. You could rely on the usual gang of idiots to do their job month after month, and they were, honestly, one of the few aboveground presses doing what they were doing. They were up front about it. And meanwhile, they were ostensibly for kids? There are those who say that the whole 60s thing was brought on, in part, by the attitude adjustments of youth as persuaded by Mad, and although they certainly weren't alone in this, they were definitely in it. It had to be the most subversive legitimate magazine of all time.

Topless Robot has collected The 30 Nerdiest Mad Magazine Covers. Maybe, maybe not. But as a snapshot of how iconic Alfred E. Neuman is, as he takes on other icons, it's right on.

Mad isn't what it used to be in influence. But if you happen to pick one up, you'll see that it is still irreverent and funny. What more do you want, anyhow?
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