Issue Details

Issue	#26
Published	November 1955
Cover Price	0.25 USD
Pages	60
Editing	Harvey Kurtzman
Notes	Characters noted are in the frame around the page. Alfred L. Neuman bears no physical resemblance to Alfred E. Neuman, whose image does appear unnamed.

Cover Details - "The Satellite"

Characters	Socrates; Napoleon; Sigmund Freud; Marilyn Monroe; Alexander The Great; Rembrandt; Galileo; Lassie; Tom Swift; Columbus; Caesar; Buffalo Bill; Alfred L. Neuman; Melvin Cowznowski [Alfred E. Neuman]; Copernicus; Louis Pasteur; Ludwig Van Beethoven
Synopsis	Satellite the size of a basketball IS a basketball.
Genre	humor
Pencils	Wally Wood (signed); Harvey Kurtzman (frame, signed)
Inks	Wally Wood (signed); Harvey Kurtzman (frame, signed)
Letters	typeset
Notes	Characters noted are in the frame around the page. Alfred L. Neuman bears no physical resemblance to Alfred E. Neuman, whose image does appear unnamed.

1 page Armstronger Tire story "Armstronger Tire Knock-Down Punch Socko For Skids!"

Synopsis	Phony ad for Armstronger Tires.
Genre	satire
Pencils	Bill Elder (signed)
Inks	Bill Elder (signed)
Letters	typeset
Notes	Parody of ad for Armstrong Tires. Inside front cover.

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

Characters	Mario Labonza
Genre	fact
Script	Harvey Kurtzman (signed)
Pencils	Bill Elder
Inks	Bill Elder
Letters	typeset
Notes	Includes a brief summary of contents with excerpts of art from this issue. Illustration of Mario Labonza is the complete art for the cropped illustrations used in the article "Confidentially."

2 page Education Dept. text article "Sure Fire Dialogue"

Synopsis	Snippets of stereotypical movie dialog.
Genre	humor
Script	Harry Purvis
Letters	typeset
Notes	Noted as "Copyright 1955 by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures, Inc."

1 page Letters Dept. letters page "Letters Dept."

Characters	Alfred E. Neuman
Script	Harvey Kurtzman ?
Letters	typeset
Notes	Art is various versions of Alfred E. Neuman from historic sources. He is not named, and "What? Me Worry?" is sometimes shown as simply "Me Worry?"

Half page The MAD Reader; MAD Strikes Back! promo (ad from the publisher)

Synopsis	House ad for MAD paperback books: "MAD Strikes Back!" and "The MAD Reader."
Pencils	? (photo)
Inks	?
Letters	typeset

6 page TV Dept. story "The Dave Garrowunway Show"

Characters	Dave Garrowunway; J. Floyd Gluggs
Synopsis	Dave gets locked out of the studio and J. Floyd continues the show.
Genre	satire
Pencils	Jack Davis
Inks	Jack Davis
Letters	typeset
Notes	Parody of the "Today" tv show with Dave Garroway.
Reprinted	in Brothers Mad, The (Ballantine Books, 1958 series) #U2105; Brothers Mad, The (Ballantine Books, 1958 series) #267; Brothers Mad, The (Ballantine Books, 1958 series) #267K

1 page Davy Crockett Dept. text article "Davy Crockett Merchandising Ideas"

Synopsis	Various missed opportunities to tie merchandise to the Davy Crockett fad.
Genre	satire
Pencils	Bill Elder
Inks	Bill Elder
Letters	typeset
Notes	Presented as a group of newspaper and magazine ads torn from pages.

3 page Confidential Information Dept. story "Confidentially"

Characters	Mario Labonza
Synopsis	Phony articles from various confidential exposé magazines showing how they are all the same.
Genre	satire
Pencils	Bill Elder (signed)
Inks	Bill Elder (signed)
Letters	typeset
Reprinted	in Brothers Mad, The (Ballantine Books, 1958 series) #U2105; Brothers Mad, The (Ballantine Books, 1958 series) #267; Brothers Mad, The (Ballantine Books, 1958 series) #267K

5 page Adventure Dept. text story "The Conquest of Tillie's Lookout"

Characters	Peter Wheaten; Larry Memmerson; Will Yaeger; Mitchel Hackney
Synopsis	An account of climbing a minor hummock at a New England resort, narrated as if climbing Mt. Everest.
Genre	humor
Script	Ira Wallach
Pencils	Wally Wood (signed)
Inks	Wally Wood (signed)
Letters	typeset

1 page Education Dept. text article "More Sure Fire Dialogue"

Synopsis	Snippets of stereotypical movie dialog.
Genre	humor
Script	Harry Purvis
Letters	typeset
Notes	Noted as "Copyright 1955 by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures, Inc."

5 page How We Live story "Let's Go For A Ride!"

Synopsis	Exaggerated versions of the problems of a Sunday drive, with the family finally deciding home was more peaceful.
Genre	satire
Pencils	Jack Davis (signed)
Inks	Jack Davis (signed)
Letters	typeset
Reprinted	in Son Of Mad (Signet Books, 1959 series) #S1701

3 page Poetry Dept. text story "The Strange Cruise of The Buttercup"

Synopsis	The ship never sets sail and fires cannon at the Admiralty building.
Genre	humor
Script	David W. Donaldson
Letters	typeset
Notes	Small illustrations around the article appear to be clip art from old sources.

5 page Movie Dept. story "The Prodigious"

Characters	Mikellah; Sanforized; Flash Gordon (cameo); Shazam
Synopsis	Review of a movie, showing major plot turning points.
Genre	satire
Pencils	Wally Wood (signed)
Inks	Wally Wood (signed)
Letters	typeset
Notes	Parody of movie "The Prodigal."

2 page Movie Dept. text article "At Home With Lorelei Latour"

Characters	Ernie Kovacs
Synopsis	Essay on how "simple" and "unassuming" Miss Latour's estate and home are, in contrast to the expected extravagance of Hollywood stars.
Genre	humor
Script	Ernie Kovacs
Pencils	Gustave Dore (original); Wally Wood (embelishiments)
Inks	Gustave Dore (original); Wally Wood (embelishiments)
Letters	typeset
Notes	Art credit from "Totally MAD" CD collection.

2 page Movie Dept. story "The Seven Itchy Years"

Characters	Marilyn Marone; Thomas Eawrl; Victor Moo; Robert Animal; Sunny Tuffy
Synopsis	Scenes from the movie with a review.
Genre	satire
Pencils	Bill Elder [as Will Elder]
Inks	Bill Elder [as Will Elder]
Letters	typeset
Notes	Parody of movie "The Seven Year Itch."
Reprinted	in Mad About the Fifties (Little, Brown & Co., 1997 series) #[nn]

4 page Roger Price Dept. text article "Today's Criminal Investigating Game"

Characters	Elton Parsons; Roger's uncle Frank; Jerome Clendenin; Rachel "Hoghead" Skinner
Synopsis	Roger discusses "The Sissonville Fiend Case", how to surround and capture a criminal whose location is known, obtaining information, identifying criminal types, stake outs, fingerprints, marksmanship, and delinquent youth assistance programs.
Genre	satire
Script	Roger Price
Pencils	Roger Price
Inks	Roger Price
Letters	typeset

1 page Education Dept. text article "More Sure Fire Dialogue"

Synopsis	Snippets of stereotypical movie dialog.
Genre	humor
Script	Harry Purvis
Letters	typeset
Notes	Noted as "Copyright 1955 by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures, Inc."

4 page Sports Dept. text article "A Guide To Better Understanding The Fine Old Art of Boxing"

Synopsis	Insight into the sport of boxing.
Genre	satire
Script	Al Jaffee
Pencils	Jack Davis (signed)
Inks	Jack Davis (signed)
Letters	typeset
Notes	Writer credit from "Totally MAD" CD collection.

2 page Sports Dept. story "My Secret"

Characters	Benn Ogen
Synopsis	Shows the details of famous golfer Benn Ogen's swing.
Genre	satire
Script	Al Jaffee (signed)
Pencils	Al Jaffee (signed)
Inks	Al Jaffee (signed)
Letters	typeset
Reprinted	in Mad About the Fifties (Little, Brown & Co., 1997 series) #[nn]; Son Of Mad (Signet Books, 1959 series) #S1701

1 page Education Dept. text article "More Sure Fire Dialogue"

Synopsis	Snippets of stereotypical movie dialog.
Genre	humor
Script	Harry Purvis
Letters	typeset
Notes	Noted as "Copyright 1955 by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures, Inc." The "Totally MAD" CD collection lists writer credit for this 4th page as Al Jaffee.

6 page Best Seller Dept. text story "Tense Tycoons and Lucky Bucks"

Characters	Crash McCool; Austin Grant; Larraine Grant; Phil Sheridan; Waldon Conman; Malt Moulton; Miss Vorple; Bessemer; Grafton Garfoltz
Synopsis	Parts of a story about a corporate raider and the people of one of the companies he buys.
Genre	satire
Script	Bernard Shir-Cliff
Pencils	Bernie Krigstein (signed); Wally Wood (final illustration)
Inks	Bernie Krigstein (signed); Wally Wood (final illustration)
Letters	typeset
Notes	Presented as a 5-page excerpt from the novel: "Crash McCool." Final illustration is the final illustration from the story "The Conquest of Tillie's Lookout" in this issue. Writer credit from "Totally MAD" CD collection.

1 page Sanofranized fabrics story "Sanofranized"

Characters	The Addams Family; Alfred E. Neuman
Synopsis	Four single panel cartoons in different art styles, as Sanofranized ads.
Genre	satire
Pencils	Bill Elder (signed); Thomas Nast
Inks	Bill Elder (signed); Thomas Nast
Letters	typeset
Notes	Parody of Sanforized fabric ad. Inside back cover.

1 page Canadian Clubbed story "It's High Adventure"

Synopsis	Phony ad for Canadian Clubbed whiskey.
Genre	satire
Pencils	Bill Elder (signed)
Inks	Bill Elder (signed)
Letters	typeset
Notes	Parody of ad for Canadian Club whiskey.
Reprinted	in Mad About the Fifties (Little, Brown & Co., 1997 series) #[nn]