Bad news everyone. Mad Magazine as we know it is coming to an end.
From ICv2:
DC Entertainment will cease publishing new material in the monthly issues of Mad Magazine after the release of #10 in September, according to reliable sources. End-of-year specials will continue to carry new material, and DC will also continue to publish Mad books and special collections.
Mad Magazine was part of my childhood
When I was a kid, Mad Magazine was important to me. I loved going to the grocery store with my mother so I could go to the magazine section and read Mad Magazine. I poured over every issue. Sometimes I had enough money to even buy an issue and take it home. That’s if the cover wasn’t too provocative for my strict Pentecostal home. For example, the famous issue of the middle finger.
The Assembly of God church my family attended forbid a good many things. I knew for a fact it forbid members from playing cards or going to a movie theater. There was absolutely no way I would ever get this issue into my home.
Mad Magazine vs. comic books
Instead of collecting comic books off and on over the years, I wish I had spent my money and time collecting Mad Magazine. It’s not too late. I can still collect back issues. As far as current comics go, I’m only collecting issues of Batman and Catwoman. I’ve sold more comics in the past 12 months than I’ve purchased. I’d love to purchase a mint condition of the middle finger issue, but they now go for hundreds of dollars. They’re far too much money for my cheapskate ways. Not that I’m against spending hundreds of dollars. If I’m going to spend that much money on something I don’t need, it’s going to be on a portable table saw, not a magazine.
In conclusion
Magazines are a dying business. Many have ceased publican and many more will follow. Eventually, all of them will bite the dust. It’s just a matter of time. Comics will last longer because of the collectibility aspect, but eventually, that too will dry up. Not because fans will stop collecting, but because of collecting. Fans will move on from collecting floppy comics and instead collect more high-end comic-related collectibles. For example, $1,150 1/6 scale action figures.
Once comic floppies totally die out as a medium, comic publishers can finally focus on digital-only. Instead of stories being created for the printed page, they can be created specifically for the iPad and fake iPads.
It’s coming to a lot sooner than people realize.