Cracked in Canada

by BK Munn

Way back in 1994, Cracked Magazine went Canuck-crazy with a special variant edition lampooning Canadian culture, a shameless pandering that only the geniuses behind a bargain-basement version of MAD Magazine could have conceived of (although there was a French-Canadian version of MAD produced by the gang behind Croc around the same period that ran for a few years). Beginning with the cover, instead of the Beavis and Butthead parody U.S. audiences were treated to, the Canadian version boasts a John Severin-drawn hockey punch-up featuring what appears to be legendary Toronto Maple Leafs brawler Doug Gilmour. The rest of the issue is dotted with a smattering of Canadian-themed features, including a generic Don Martin gag with a Newfoundland setting randomly inserted in the title.

Clowes Shut-Ups

This weekend’s antique market find: some Dan Clowes “shut-ups” from Cracked Digest #4, 1987.

Cracked Magazine Party Pix: December 1988 (Clowes,Bagge, Altergott, Severin, Martin)

 It’s a Cracked Magazine cocktail party, from Cracked #241, December 1988. The magazine was at that time under the editorship of Mort Todd and featured Todd and Dan Clowes’ Uggly Family strip, as well as contributions from Weirdo editor and Neat Stuff/Hate creator Peter Bagge. Doofus creator Rick Altergott was a regular as well. These guys comprised the “kids’ table” at this memorable meeting of the minds that also featured all-time greats like John Severin, Don Martin, Don Orehek, Bill Wray, and many more. Great to see photos of these past and future giants in a casual, but work-related setting!

It Was a Golden Age: Cracked, 1958

There Were Giants in Those Days





From the contents page of Cracked #5, October 1958. We see here half of the once-and-future Marvel Bullpen along with the once-and-future Mad Magazine "Usual Gang of Idiots". The creators of Superman, The Human Torch, and The Submariner rubbing elbows with the artists behind Little Annie Fannie and Torchy. And for all that, it still reads like any issue of Cracked from anytime during its 50-odd-year run.

The full list reads as follows.

Editor: Sol Brodsky.

Artists: Carl Burgos, John Severin, Bill McCartney, Joe Maneely, Bill Everett, Syd Shores, Bernard Bailey, Jack Davis, Bill Elder, Al Jaffee, Jerry Behar.

Writers: Paul Laikin, Bill Ward, Jerry Siegal(sic), Carl Memling, Dick Richards, Fernando West, Teddy Bee.



At this early date, John Severin is already the workhorse of the magazine, followed closely in term of pages by Bill Ward (who also appears here as "McCartney," I think). Severin does front and back covers and two strips.





Will Elder subscription ad



And is this a self-portrait of Human-Torch-creator Carl Burgos? Look closely:





Some nice post-EC early Jack Davis in this double-page spread. There is just so much going on here!





Lots of quality stuff here, the knowledge of which is bound to make you popular with the opposite sex.