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Publishers / EC / Mad (1952) / #1
1October-November 1952
$0.10

Mad #1

EC · October-November 1952 · on sale July 10, 1952

Buy it now on eBay ›Graded copies ›
How to read this file
  • Every claim on this page traces to a public bibliographic record; the sources are listed at the bottom of the file.
  • A first-appearance badge means this is the earliest non-flashback appearance on record in this database.
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Identification plate

Series
Mad (EC, 1952 series)
Issue
#1
Publication date
October-November 1952
Key date
October 1952
On-sale date
July 10, 1952
Indicia publisher
Educational Comics Inc.
Price
$0.10
Pages
36

Match the book in your hand against this plate before paying an edition-specific price.

Why this issue matters

From the editorial file Harvey Kurtzman launches MAD as a colour comic book, October 1952, three years before it became the magazine everyone remembers. The comic-format issues are a different collecting proposition entirely.

The evidence

Claims here come from the story records for this issue, listed under Sources at the bottom of the file. Character hubs with full evidence tables are coming to this site.

Contents

SeqStoryTypePagesCreditsCharacters
0-cover1script: Harvey Kurtzman; pencils: Harvey Kurtzman; inks: Harvey Kurtzman; colors: Harvey Kurtzman, Marie Severin; letters: Ben Oda
1-letters page1script: Harvey Kurtzman, Bill Gaines; pencils: Harvey Kurtzman; inks: Harvey Kurtzman
2Hoohah!comic story8script: Harvey Kurtzman; pencils: Jack Davis; inks: Jack Davis; colors: Marie Severin; letters: Ben OdaGalusha; Daphne; Melvin The Caretaker; two unnamed Silver Avengers kids
3Blobs!comic story7script: Harvey Kurtzman; pencils: Wally Wood; inks: Wally Wood; colors: Marie Severin; letters: Ben OdaMelvin; Alfred
4E.C. Fans!promo (ad from the publisher)0.5script: Al Feldstein; pencils: Al Feldstein; inks: Al Feldstein; colors: Marie Severin
5Enter Cosmo McMoon!text story1script: Harvey Kurtzman; pencils: Harvey Kurtzman; inks: Harvey Kurtzman; colors: Marie SeverinCaptain Malfeasance O'Malley; Omar Kayak; Mrs. Kayak; Cosmo McMoon
6Picture Storiespromo (ad from the publisher)0.5letters: typeset
7Crow Vadis?text story1script: Harvey Kurtzman; pencils: Harvey Kurtzman; inks: Harvey Kurtzman; colors: Marie SeverinTiberius O'Leary; Senator Gaius Tobey; Marcus Sumatra; Chief Lucius Patton
8Ganefs!comic story6script: Harvey Kurtzman; pencils: Bill Elder; inks: Bill Elder; colors: Marie Severin; letters: Ben OdaBumble; Bumble's boss
9Varmint!comic story7script: Harvey Kurtzman; pencils: John Severin; inks: John Severin; colors: Marie Severin; letters: Ben OdaTextron Quickdraw; Saddlesore; Kickiminabelly Kelly; Slippery Sam; The Pig-Faced Kid

Plus 3 pages of advertisements and other matter across 3 sequences, as published.

Where to read it

CollectionYear
Son of Mad #S17011959On eBay ›
Tales Calculated to Drive You Mad #11997On eBay ›
Mad about the Fifties #[nn]1997On eBay ›
Tales Calculated to Drive You Mad #41998On eBay ›
Mad Special [Mad Super Special] #91972On eBay ›
Millennium Edition: Tales Calculated to Drive You Mad 1 #[nn]2000On eBay ›
The Mad Archives #1
ISBN 1-56389-816-0		2002On eBay ›
Mad Strikes Back #491K1961On eBay ›
Mad Strikes Back #015641969On eBay ›

Reading the story costs a fraction of owning the issue. Both routes are on every file.

Before you buy

  • Golden-age paper is brittle. Ask about page suppleness and check edges for chips in the photos.
  • Check for trimmed edges, married covers, and clipped coupons - all common on books this old.
  • Confirm the indicia matches this plate; many golden-age titles changed names mid-run.

Series context

1 of 550#2 ›

Sources

Found an error in this file? corrections@comicrecord.com