Issue Details

Issue	#498
Published	February 2009
Cover Price	4.99 USD
Pages	52
Editing	John Ficarra
Notes	Alfred appears in classic "see evil, hear evil, speak evil" poses on Chicago Tribune front page.

Cover Details - "* Obama * The First 100 Minutes"

Characters	Barack Obama; Alfred E. Neuman
Genre	satire
Pencils	Mark Fredrickson
Inks	Mark Fredrickson
Colors	Mark Fredrickson
Letters	typeset
Notes	Alfred appears in classic "see evil, hear evil, speak evil" poses on Chicago Tribune front page.

1 page Shonen Jump advertisement "Naruto Shippuden"

Synopsis	Ad for internet cartoons from Viz Media.
Letters	typeset
Notes	Inside front cover.

1 page Table of Contents foreword, introduction, preface, afterword "Departments"

Characters	Alfred E. Neuman; Barack Obama; Hillary Clinton; Monroe; Monroe's mother; Anderson Cooper
Pencils	various
Inks	various
Letters	typeset
Notes	Art is from various places in the magazine. The feature "Little Blouse On The Prairie Department" is phony and does not actually appear in the issue.

2 page Letters And Tomatoes Department letters page "Random Samplings of Reader Mail"

Characters	Alfred E. Neuman; Cindy Hodgson; Barry Halkin; Jed E. Neuman; Jon Scieszka; John Hodgman; James Klausmeyer; Frank; Ernest; David Wain; Kenneth Mok
Synopsis	Letters, photos and fan art.
Script	John Ficarra; Tad Becker; Cindy Hodgson; Barry Halkin; Travis Mathe; Zach Segal; Curtis Cook; Irene Brodsky; James Klausmeyer; Nick Papajcik; Jon Scieszka; Kenneth Mok
Pencils	Tristan Wright; Curtis Cook (photo); Bob Thaves; ? (photo)
Inks	Tristan Wright; Curtis Cook (photo); Bob Thaves; ? (photo)
Colors	Tristan Wright; Curtis Cook (photo); ?; ? (photo)
Letters	typeset
Reprinted	From Frank & Ernest daily (NEA, 2008.09.26) [strip only]

Half page credits

Letters

typeset

1 page Dungeons & Dragons advertisement "When There's A Fight With A Dragon, It's More Fun To Be On His Side"

Synopsis	Ad for games from Wizards of The Coast, Inc.
Letters	typeset

3 page Random Acts of Mindless Dept.; Punchlines In Search of A Joke!; Lelievre and Let Die; Celebrity Cause-Of-Death Betting Odds; Melvin & Jenkins; The Godfrey Report; Covers We Didn't Use; Rejected Comic Strips; Positive Aspects of The Economic Meltdown; Ways story "The Fundalini Pages"

Characters	Tyra Banks; Melvin; Jenkins; Barack Obama; Michelle Obama; Alfred E. Neuman; Dilbert; Grimmy; Beetle Bailey; Garfield
Synopsis	Various short satires of pop culture.
Genre	satire
Script	various
Pencils	various
Inks	various
Letters	typeset
Notes	Contributors (roles unknown) include: Ray Alma; John Caldwell; Dave Crosland; Dick DeBartolo; Desmond Devlin; Gary Hallgren; Tim Hamilton; Darren Johnson; Jeff Kruse; Glen LeLievre; Barry Liebmann; Kevin Pope; Leonardo Rodriguez; Rick Tulla.

1 page Mad Magazine Poster Book promo (ad from the publisher) "Special Giveaway And Contest!"

Characters	Alfred E. Neuman
Synopsis	House ad for book of posters from Chronicle Books.
Letters	typeset

2 page Smart Bored Dept. story "Lame Attempts By TV To Explain The 2008 Presidential Vote"

Characters	Anderson Cooper; Pat Buchanan; Wolf Blitzer; Sean Hannity; James Carvell; Chris Matthews; Tom Brokaw; Chris Matthews
Synopsis	Phony statistics to explain how people voted in the presidential election.
Genre	satire
Script	Barry Liebmann
Pencils	Ward Sutton
Inks	Ward Sutton
Letters	typeset
Notes	Several other news personalities are depicted that the indexer did not recognize.

4 page Serge-In General Dept. story "A MAD Look at Snow"

Synopsis	Things that can go wrong when it snows a lot.
Genre	humor
Script	Sergio Aragones
Pencils	Sergio Aragones
Inks	Sergio Aragones
Colors	Tom Luth

2 page Mirror's Edge advertisement "There's No Looking Back"

Synopsis	Ad for game from EA Digital.
Letters	typeset

3 page First Aid For The Joking Victim Dept. story "MAD's 12 Surefire Tips For Stand-Up Comics"

Characters	Chad Gorpley
Synopsis	Bad ideas for stand-up comics, so they can avoid them.
Genre	humor
Script	Jeff Kruse
Pencils	Rick Tulka
Inks	Rick Tulka
Colors	Ryan Flanders
Letters	typeset

1 page MAD books promo (ad from the publisher) "Buy This Stuff Today!"

Characters	Alfred E. Neuman; George Bush; Black Spy; White Spy
Synopsis	House ad for various MAD books and DVDs.
Pencils	? (photo)
Inks	? (photo)
Colors	? (photo)
Letters	typeset

2 page Humor In A Jugular Vein Dept. story "MAD's Sucky Twilight Outtakes"

Synopsis	Stills from the movie "Twilight" with fake dialog.
Genre	satire
Pencils	? (photo)
Inks	? (photo)
Colors	? (photo)
Letters	typeset

2 page Annu-Al Jaffee Dept. illustration "The 2009 Al Jaffee Calendar!"

Characters	Alfred E. Neuman; Al Jaffee
Synopsis	Calendar illustrated with various Al Jaffee drawings from previous issues.
Genre	humor
Pencils	Al Jaffee (signed)
Inks	Al Jaffee (signed)
Letters	typeset

1 page MAD Magazine promo (ad from the publisher) "An Important Message From MAD's Director of Business & Development "

Characters	Jeffrey Lozenge
Synopsis	A message on liberty.
Script	Jeffrey Lozenge ?
Pencils	? (photo)
Inks	? (photo)
Colors	? (photo)
Letters	typeset
Notes	House ad for MAD subscriptions; #27 in a series.

3 page Thought In The Act Dept. story "MAD Exposes Who's Thinking What At The Obama Inauguration"

Characters	Bill Clinton; Hillary Clinton; Joe Biden; Barack Obama; John Roberts; Michelle Obama; George Bush; Dick Cheney; Jesse Jackson; Oprah Winfrey; John Kerry; Spider-Man; Paris Hilton; Tiger Woods; John McCain; Cindy McCain; Rush Limbaugh; Sarah Palin; Franklin Delano Roosevelt (ghost); Tina Fey; Dan Rather; Monica Lewinsky; Joe The Plumber; Michael Steele; Alfred E. Neuman (cameo)
Synopsis	Thoughts that might be happening at the inauguration.
Genre	satire
Script	Desmond Devlin; Jacob Lambert; Frank Santopadre; Jeff Kruse; Dennis Snee
Pencils	Tom Richmond
Inks	Tom Richmond
Letters	typeset
Notes	Many other celebrities pictured who have no speaking roles.

2 page Joke And Dagger Dept. story "Spy Vs. Spy"

Characters	Black Spy; White Spy
Synopsis	Using a dummy tied to the rails, the White Spy traps the Black Spy into being sliced by a train's wheels.
Genre	humor
Script	Peter Kuper
Pencils	Peter Kuper
Inks	Peter Kuper

2 page Generation Crap Dept. story "When Adults Say...Remind Them..."

Synopsis	Comparisons between what adults tell teens today and the lives the adults lived as teens.
Genre	humor
Script	Jacob Lambert
Pencils	Peter Bagge
Inks	Peter Bagge
Letters	?; typeset

3 page It's Reigning Cats And Dogs Dept. story "The MAD World of...Pets"

Synopsis	Things that go wrong with pet-owning.
Genre	humor
Script	Stan Sinberg
Pencils	Marc Hempel
Inks	Marc Hempel
Letters	typeset

4 page Angster's Paradise Dept. story "Monroe and...The Plane Trip"

Characters	Monroe; Monroe's father; Monroe's mother; Mr. Bines; Walter; Jolinda; Chetly; federal Air Marshall
Synopsis	Monroe attempts to go on a school trip but his parents tag along as chaperones, so he makes sure they're all kicked off the plane.
Genre	humor
Script	Anthony Barbieri
Pencils	Tom Fowler
Inks	Tom Fowler
Colors	Carl Peterson

1 page Observation Dreck Dept. activity "What The Heck Is The Difference?"

Characters	Alfred E. Neuman
Synopsis	Cover of MAD #? with a variation to find the differences on.
Genre	humor
Letters	typeset
Notes	Answer included.
Reprinted	From MAD (EC, 1952 series) #?

2 page Put It On My Tab-Loid Dept. story "MAD's All-Inclusive Do-It-Yourself Celebrity Scandal Blog Posting"

Characters	Amy Winehouse; GEICO caveman; O. J. Simpson; Larry King; John Edwards; Ed McMahon; Joe Biden
Synopsis	Cut-and-paste blog, containing a variety of material to create ridiculous scandals about numerous celebrities.
Genre	satire
Script	Frank Jacobs; Bill Fibbers
Pencils	Mort Drucker (signed)
Inks	Mort Drucker (signed)
Letters	typeset
Notes	Other celebrities are depicted that indexer did not recognize.

2 page Seer Suckers Dept. story "Tell-Tale Signs That You've Got A Really Bad Psychic"

Synopsis	Things bogus psychics might say.
Genre	satire
Script	Teresa Burns Parkhurst
Pencils	Teresa Burns Parkhurst
Inks	Teresa Burns Parkhurst
Letters	Teresa Burns Parkhurst; typeset

2 page Barack Around The Clock Dept. text article "The First 100 Minutes of The Obama Presidency"

Characters	Barack Obama; George Bush; Dick Cheney; Michelle Obama; Ruth Bader-Ginsberg; Oprah Winfrey; Rahm Emanuel; Joe The Plumber; Hillary Clinton; John McCain
Synopsis	Problems and opportunities for the new president.
Genre	satire
Script	Frank Santopadre; Bill Fibbers
Pencils	Drew Friedman
Inks	Drew Friedman
Letters	typeset

1 page Wrecking Balm advertisement "Tattoo Regret?"

Synopsis	Ad for a tattoo fading gel.
Pencils	? (photo)
Inks	? (photo)
Colors	? (photo)
Letters	typeset

1 page Mad Fold-In activity "What Transition Of Power Are Many Americans Still Feeling Uneasy About?"

Characters	Jay Leno; Conan O'Brien
Synopsis	Answer is: Leno to Conan.
Genre	humor
Script	Al Jaffee
Pencils	Al Jaffee
Inks	Al Jaffee
Letters	typeset
Notes	Inside back cover.

Marginal Thinking Dept. filler "Drawn-Out Dramas"

Genre	humor
Script	Sergio Aragones
Pencils	Sergio Aragones
Inks	Sergio Aragones
Notes	Gags appear on 11 different pages.

1 page PSP-3000 advertisement "Everywhere Just Got Better"

Synopsis	Ad for game system from Sony.
Pencils	? (photo)
Inks	? (photo)
Colors	? (photo)
Letters	typeset
Notes	Back cover.