Data courtesy of the Grand Comics Database under Creative Commons license.

Issue Details

Issue #438
Published February 2004
Cover Price 3.50 USD; 5.25 CAD
Pages 52
Editing John Ficarra; Charlie Kadau (senior); Joe Raiola (senior); Nick Meglin (contributing); Amy Vozeolas (associate); Greg Leitman (associate); Dave Croatto (associate)

Cover Details - "Michael Jackson Cover"

Characters Michael Jackson; Alfred E. Neuman
Genre Satire
Pencils Drew Friedman
Inks Drew Friedman
Colors Drew Friedman

Cover Details - "The League of Rejected Superheroes Cover"

Characters Inebrion; Scantily Clad Woman; The Entomologist; Mediocre Man; Sloggtor of Globbzorr; Vocabullon; Apathenia; The Incredible Infringement Man; Alfred E. Neuman
Genre Satire; Superhero
Pencils Bruce Timm
Inks Bruce Timm
Colors Bruce Timm ?

1 page credits "Table of Contents"

3 page Letters and Tomatoes Dept. story "Letters and Tomatoes Dept."

Characters K.C. Mangen (photo); Harold Lloyd Clay (photo of him reading a 1958 issue of Mad); Matt Kramer (photo); Ice Cube (photo); Jeremy Tramer (photo); Ori (Alfred E. Neuman look-a-like contest photo)
Pencils ? (photos); ?
Inks ? (photos); ?
Colors ? (photos); ?
Notes Letters, photos and fan art from readers - Lou Gary, William Gilpin, Andrew Isaac-Zrobek, Betty Lee Skelly, Kendra Ehrgood, Max Kratze, Kristina Larson, Gen Goodwin, Barry Fries, Melissa Fogel, Becky Farina, Eric Finkelstein, K.C. Mangen, N. Kolbasowski, Will Barron, Aaron Burzak, Wesley Dyson, W.T. Deskin, SSG John Reeder, Jake Savage, Jeremy Tramer and Paul Frank Bauer.

3 page The Fundalini Pages story "The Fundalini Pages"

Characters George Bush; Michael Jackson
Genre Satire
Notes Fundalini contributors - Scott Bricher, Tom Bunk, John Caldwell, Butch D'Ambrosio, Desmond Devlin, Evan Dorkin, Drew Friedman, Garth Gerhart, Charlie Kadau, Arie Kaplan, Scott Maiko, Josh Malinow, Kevin Pope, Joe Raiola, Johnny Styne and Mike Snider.

6 page story "Fools of Rock"

Characters Screwey; Petty; Principal Middling; Summary; Allowance; Too-Meeka; Narco; Silly; Charlie Brown (cameo); Calvin (cameo)
Synopsis A satire of the movie SCHOOL OF ROCK.
Genre Satire
Script Dick DeBartolo
Pencils Tom Richmond
Inks Tom Richmond
Colors Tom Richmond ?

2 page Mad's Handy Glossary story "Mad's Handy Glossary to the War on Terror"

Characters President George Bush; Vice-President Dick Cheney; Attorney General John Ashcroft; Condoleezza Rice
Genre Satire; Political
Script Desmond Devlin
Pencils Paul Coker
Inks Paul Coker
Notes Art is in black and white.

4 page Monroe story "Monroe and... Survivor Jr., Part 1"

Characters Monroe; Barton; Carol Ann; Pablo; Gordon
Synopsis Monroe participates in the Survivor television show.
Genre Satire
Script Anthony Barbieri
Pencils Bill Wray
Inks Bill Wray
Notes Art is in black and white.

2 page story "2003: The Year in Film"

Characters Lebron James; Simon Cowell; Liza Minelli; Ruben Studdard; Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger; Saddam Hussein
Synopsis 2003 movie titles matched up with celebrity photos.
Genre Satire
Script Desmond Devlin
Pencils Photos by AP/Wide World Photos
Inks Photos by AP/Wide World Photos
Colors Photos by AP/Wide World Photos

4 page Sergio Aragones Presents A Mad Look at story "Sergio Aragones Presents A Mad Look at the Superbowl"

Genre Satire; Sports
Script Sergio Aragones
Pencils Sergio Aragones
Inks Sergio Aragones
Letters Sergio Aragones
Notes Art is in black and white.

2 page Spy vs. Spy story "Spy vs. Spy"

Characters Black Spy; White Spy
Genre Satire; Spy
Script Peter Kuper
Pencils Peter Kuper
Inks Peter Kuper
Colors Peter Kuper
Letters Peter Kuper

1 page Tales From the Duck Side story "The Mourn Identity"

Genre Satire
Script Don Edwing [as Duck Edwing]
Pencils Don Edwing [as Duck Edwing]
Inks Don Edwing [as Duck Edwing]
Letters Don Edwing [as Duck Edwing] ?
Notes Art is in black and white.

6 page character profile "The League of Rejected Superheroes"

Characters Inebrion; Scantily Clad Woman; The Entomologist; Mediocre Man; Sloggtor of Globbzorr; Vocabullon; Apathenia; The Incredible Infringement Man
Genre Satire; Superhero
Script Jeff Kruse
Pencils Frank Miller (Inebrion); J. Scott Campbell (Scantily Clad Woman); Dave Gibbons (The Entomologist); John Byrne (Mediocre Man); John Romita, Jr. (Sloggtor of Globbzorr); Michael Allred (Vocabullon); Arthur Adams (Apathenia); Jim Lee (The Incredible Infringement Man)
Inks Frank Miller (Inebrion); J. Scott Campbell (Scantily Clad Woman); Dave Gibbons (The Entomologist); John Byrne (Mediocre Man); John Romita, Jr. (Sloggtor of Globbzorr); Michael Allred (Vocabullon); Arthur Adams (Apathenia); Jim Lee (The Incredible Infringement Man)
Colors Wildstorm (Inebrion; The Entomologist; Mediocre Man; Sloggtor of Globbzorr; Apathenia); Matt Milla (Scantily Clad Woman); Laura Allred (Vocabullon); Alex Sinclair (The Incredible Infringement Man)

1 page text story "An Open Letter From Michael Jackson"

Characters Michael Jackson
Genre Satire
Script Desmond Devlin
Pencils Chas D'eau
Inks Chas D'eau
Letters typeset
Notes Art is in black and white.

2 page story "The Do's and Dont's of a Super Bowl Party"

Genre Satire; Sports
Script John Caldwell
Pencils John Caldwell
Inks John Caldwell
Letters John Caldwell ?
Notes Art is in black and white.

2 page story "Absurd, Their Enthusiasm"

Characters Jason Alexander; Larry Davy; Cheryl Hines; Jeff Garlin; Richard Lewis; Rob Reiner; Ted Danson (cameo); Tony Danza (cameo); Sir Anthony Hopkins (cameo); Jimmy; Jerry Seinfeld; James Gandolfini
Synopsis A satire of the television show CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM.
Genre Satire; Sitcom
Script Josh Gordon
Pencils Angelo Torres
Inks Angelo Torres
Colors Wildstorm

1 page illustration "If Norman Rockwell Depicted the 31st Century: The Marriage License"

Genre Satire
Pencils Richard Williams (painted)
Inks Richard Williams (painted)
Colors Richard Williams (painted)
Notes Painting depicts two men getting a marriage license.

2 page Now Playing story "Now Playing at the California State House: Arnold Schwarzenegger Governor"

Characters Arnold Schwarzenneger (photos from his various movies)
Genre Satire; Political
Script Mike Snider
Pencils Mike Snider (video captures)
Inks Mike Snider (video captures)
Colors Mike Snider (video captures)

1 page Mad Fold-In activity "What Stomach-Turning Reality Show Has Many Across the Land Completely Disgusted?"

Genre Satire
Script Al Jaffee
Pencils Al Jaffee
Inks Al Jaffee
Colors Al Jaffee ?
Letters Al Jaffee ?
Notes Inside backcover and in color. Answer is: The democratic primaries.

Drawn-Out Dramas filler "Drawn-Out Dramas"

Genre Satire
Script Sergio Aragones
Pencils Sergio Aragones
Inks Sergio Aragones
Letters Sergio Aragones
Notes No page count as gags appear in various places around the magazine.