Issue Details

Issue	#494
Published	October 2008
Cover Price	4.99 USD
Pages	52
Editing	John Ficarra
Notes	ISSN 024 9319

Cover Details - "MAD Goes Green!"

Characters	Alfred E. Neuman
Genre	humor
Pencils	Mark Fredrickson
Inks	Mark Fredrickson
Letters	typeset
Notes	ISSN 024 9319

1 page Batman; Lego advertisement "Heroes Or Villains?"

Characters	Batman; Robin; Mr. Freeze; Catwoman; The Joker; Two-Face; The Penguin; Bane
Letters	typeset
Notes	Ad for game from TT Games Publishing and Microsoft. Characters are in Lego style.

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

Characters	Alfred E. Neuman; Dick Cheney
Pencils	various
Inks	various
Letters	typeset
Notes	Art is from various places in the magazine. The feature "The Blizzard of Oz Department" is phony and does not actually appear in the issue.

1 page Dragon Ball Z advertisement "Dragon Ball Z Remastered"

Synopsis	Ad for September 16th 2008 DVD releases from Bird Studio and Shueisha.
Letters	typeset

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

Characters	Monroe; Pamela Anderson
Script	John Ficarra
Pencils	? (photo)
Inks	? (photo)
Colors	? (photo)
Letters	typeset
Notes	Letters, photos and fan art from: Glen Biglaiser; Joshua Quezada; Spence Jay; Noah sorah; Cameron Evans; Ingrid Newkirk; Mark Guthrie; Natasha Kanji

Half page credits

Letters	typeset
Notes	On 3rd page of letters column.

Half page Shin Chan advertisement "Shin Chan Season One"

Letters	typeset
Notes	Ad for DVDs from TV Asahi / Filmation.

3 page Random Acts of Mindless Dept.; America's Least Visited Parks; The Godfrey Report; Celebrity Cause-of-Death Betting Odds; Show Me The Monkey; The Cover We Didn't Use; Fliers Recently Found Under Windshield Wipers; When Cover Artists Haven't Read The Book; story "The Fundalini Pages"

Characters	Tila Tequila; Alfred E. Neuman; Joe Bitterman
Synopsis	Various short satires of pop culture.
Genre	humor
Script	various
Pencils	Paul Coker
Inks	Paul Coker
Letters	typeset
Notes	Contributors (roles unknown) include: Paul Coker; Dick DeBartolo; Emily Flake; Garth Gerhart; Paul Gilligan; Darren Johnson; Bob Staake

1 page TNA Impact! advertisement "Wrestling So Real You Feel Pain"

Letters	typeset
Notes	Ad for game from Midway Studios.

6 page Web Slights Dept. story "MAD's 50 Worst Things About The Internet"

Characters	Tila Tequila; Tay Zonday; Conan O'Brien; Steve Jobs; Steve Ballmer; Perez Hilton
Synopsis	Various short satires of pop culture on the internet.
Genre	satire; humor
Script	Charlie Kadau; Jeff Kruse
Pencils	Leonardo Rodriguez; Drew Friedman; Evan Dorkin; Sarah Dyer; Jose Garibaldi; Rick Tulka
Inks	Leonardo Rodriguez; Drew Friedman; Evan Dorkin; Sarah Dyer; Jose Garibaldi; Rick Tulka
Letters	typeset

2 page Griffin Accomplished Dept. story "The Eerie Similarities Between Family Guy and The Bush White House"

Characters	The Griffins; George W. Bush; Laura Bush; the Bush twins; Rupert Murdoch; Bill O'Reilly; Rush Limbaugh; Dick Cheney; Karl Rove; Donald Rumsfeldt; Barack Obama
Synopsis	A comparison of the cartoon Griffin family and the characters in the Bush administration.
Genre	satire
Script	David Shayne
Pencils	Jack Syracuse
Inks	Jack Syracuse
Letters	typeset
Notes	Drawn in the style of the cartoon show.

3 page Serge-In General Dept. story "A MAD Look at Cooking Shows"

Synopsis	A look at some possible goofy outcomes on tv cooking shows.
Genre	humor
Script	Sergio Aragones
Pencils	Sergio Aragones
Inks	Sergio Aragones

1 page NBC; USA Network advertisement "AST Dew Tour"

Characters	Ryan Sheckler
Synopsis	Ad for AST Dew Tour tv show series.
Pencils	Bo Bridges (photo)
Inks	Bo Bridges (photo)
Colors	Bo Bridges (photo)
Letters	typeset

2 page Monsters Brawl Dept. story "Up-And-Coming Mixed Martial Arts Fighters"

Synopsis	A look at the possible future of mixed martial arts fighters.
Genre	satire
Script	Jeff Kruse
Pencils	Hermann Mejia
Inks	Hermann Mejia
Letters	typeset

2 page Heil To The Chief Dept. story "Overheard At The Barack Obama Rally In Germany"

Characters	Barack Obama
Genre	satire
Pencils	? (photo)
Inks	? (photo)
Colors	? (photo)
Letters	typeset
Notes	A photo of one of Barack Obama's German speeches with fake crowd dialog.

3 page Berg's-Eye Askew Dept. story "The Darker Side of The Lighter Side"

Characters	Dave Berg
Synopsis	New gags written for Dave Berg's drawings.
Genre	humor
Script	Dave Berg (original); ? (revised)
Pencils	Dave Berg
Inks	Dave Berg
Letters	typeset
Notes	The new gag writer is not credited.
Reprinted	From Mad (EC, 1952 Series) #?

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 vikings.
Script	Jeffrey Lozenge ?
Pencils	? (photo)
Inks	? (photo)
Colors	? (photo)
Letters	typeset
Notes	House ad for Mad subscriptions; #2 in a series.

2 page Give Grease A Chance Dept. story "A Fast Food Customer Satisfaction Survey (That Tells It Like It Is)"

Synopsis	A fake customer survey for a fast food restaurant.
Genre	satire
Script	Scott Maiko
Pencils	Peter Bagge
Inks	Peter Bagge
Letters	typeset

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

Characters	Black Spy; White Spy
Synopsis	The Black Spy uses a chemical that lets him stretch but the White Spy takes advantage of it to destroy the Black Spy's headquarters.
Genre	humor
Script	Peter Kuper
Pencils	Peter Kuper
Inks	Peter Kuper

2 page The Problem Is A Parent Dept. story "The Pros And Cons of Being A Polygamy Cult Kid"

Synopsis	A MAD look at problems of having multiple mothers.
Genre	humor
Script	John Caldwell
Pencils	John Caldwell
Inks	John Caldwell
Letters	typeset

2 page All Jaffee Dept. story "Snappy Answers To Stupid Questions"

Synopsis	Multiple choice answers to stupid questions, with blanks for readers to create their own.
Genre	humor
Script	Al Jaffee
Pencils	Al Jaffee
Inks	Al Jaffee
Colors	Ryan Flanders
Letters	typeset
Notes	Not certain of any reprints, but the gags for the parade, escalator, and doctor's office look familiar.
Reprinted	From Mad (EC, 1952 Series) #?

2 page And A Child Shall Read Tem Dept. story "MAD Looks at A Crappy Parent's Baby Book"

Synopsis	Fake photos and mementos for baby's first year with bad parents.
Genre	humor
Script	Teresa Burns Parkhurst
Pencils	Kevin Pope
Inks	Kevin Pope

2 page The Blast Is Half Full Dept. story "Unacknowledged Benefits of THe War On Terror"

Characters	Keith Olbermann
Synopsis	Ways to see the good side of the War On Terror.
Genre	humor
Script	Jacob Lambert
Pencils	Peter Kuper
Inks	Peter Kuper
Letters	typeset

1 page MAD Classics promo (ad from the publisher) "Find Joy In The Little Things In Life!"

Pencils	Don Martin (signed)
Inks	Don Martin (signed)
Letters	typeset
Notes	House ad for MAD Classics #23.

4 page Supplies Attack Dept. story "Stuples Newspaper Circular "

Characters	Barney; Ted Nugent; Barry Mailow; Celine Dion; Ted Kaczynski; Anderson Cooper
Synopsis	Fake ad to look like Staples newspaper circular.
Genre	satire
Script	Jeff Kruse
Pencils	Scott Bricher; ? (photo)
Inks	Scott Bricher; ? (photo)
Colors	Scott Bricher; ? (photo)
Letters	typeset

1 page MAD books promo (ad from the publisher) "It's Wall-to-Wall Stupidity!"

Characters	Alfred E. Neuman; Bill Clinton
Letters	typeset
Notes	House ad for MAD Magazine Poster Book and MAD About Politics pop-up book.

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

Synopsis	Cover of MAD #11 with a variation to find the differences on. Original cover is a parody of LIFE Magazine cover.
Genre	humor
Pencils	Basil Wolverton
Inks	Basil Wolverton
Letters	typeset
Notes	Answer included.
Reprinted	From Mad (EC, 1952 Series) #11

1 page Mad Fold-In activity "What Types of Increases Provoke The Most Obsessive Media Scrutiny?"

Characters	Barack Obama; John McCain
Synopsis	Answer is: Celebrity Baby Bumps
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	gags
Script	Sergio Aragones
Pencils	Sergio Aragones
Inks	Sergio Aragones
Notes	Gags appear on 13 different pages.

1 page Smallville advertisement "Bizarro...And Beyond!"

Characters	Bizarro Superboy
Pencils	? (photo)
Inks	? (photo)
Colors	? (photo)
Letters	typeset
Notes	Ad for DVD of Smallville tv show from Warner Bros. Entertainment. On back cover.