| 0 | Golden Anniversary Edition | cover | 1 | letters: typeset | |
| 1 | Road to Sedation | comic story | 6 | script: Arnie Kogen; pencils: Hermann Mejía; inks: Hermann Mejía | Tyler Hoachlin [as Mack O’Sullenone, Jr.]; Tom Hanks [as Mack O’Sullenone]; Paul Newman [as John Looney]; Daniel Craig [as Clunker Looney]; Jennifer Jason Leigh [as Amy O’Sullenone]; Stanley Tucci [as Frank Nutty]; Jude Law [as McWired]; |
| 2 | The Mad 50th Anniversary Timeline 1952-2002 | text article | 3 | letters: typeset | |
| 3 | MAD Deconstructs TV Talk Shows | comic story | 2 | script: Desmond Devlin; pencils: Rick Tulka; inks: Rick Tulka | |
| 4 | Monroe and… PlayStation 2 Part Two | comic story | 5 | script: Anthony Barbieri; pencils: Bill Wray; inks: Bill Wray; colors: Mike Manley | |
| 5 | People Who Should Have Won This Year’s Nobel Prize | comic story | 3 | script: Mike Mikula; pencils: Drew Friedman; inks: Drew Friedman | Bill Gates; Dennis Franz; Britney Spears; Eminem; Dr. Phil McGraw; Jennifer Lopez; Geraldo Rivera; Yasser Arafat; Ariel Sharon;Don King; Jared Fogle |
| 6 | - | comic story | 2 | script: Peter Kuper; pencils: Peter Kuper; inks: Peter Kuper | |
| 7 | A Mad Look at Advertising | comic story | 3 | script: Sergio Aragonés; pencils: Sergio Aragonés; inks: Sergio Aragonés | |
| 8 | Melvin & Jenkins' Guide to Breaking Up | comic story | 2 | script: Desmond Devlin; pencils: Kevin Pope; inks: Kevin Pope | |
| 9 | When Other Magazines Follow Maxim’s “Sex, Beer & Babes” Formula for Success | comic story | 2 | script: Ricky Sprague; pencils: Scott Bricher; inks: Scott Bricher | |
| 10 | The Lighter Side of... | comic story | 4 | script: Dave Berg; pencils: Dave Berg; inks: Dave Berg; colors: Digital Chameleon | |
| 11 | Cents-Less Coupons | photo story | 4 | script: Scott Maiko; pencils: Irving Schild; inks: Irving Schild | |
| 12 | America Online 9.0 Ad | comic story | 1 | script: Mike Snider | |
| 13 | The Distinguishing Warning Signs of a Crummy Fraternity | comic story | 2 | script: John Caldwell; pencils: John Caldwell; inks: John Caldwell | |
| 14 | Minority Retort | comic story | 5 | script: Dick DeBartolo; pencils: Mort Drucker; inks: Mort Drucker | Tom Cruise [as Yawn Anacin]; Leroy Lockhorn (cameo); Loretta Lockhorn (cameo); Colin Farrell [as Damn Witless]; Max Von Sydow [as Cigar]; Linus Van Pelt (cameo); Lucy Van Pelt (cameo); Haley Joel Osment [as David] (cameo); Steven Spielberg (cameo) |
| 15 | Mad’s Ridiculous 50th Anniversary Crossword Puzzle | activity | 2 | script: Patrick Merrell; pencils: Patrick Merrell; inks: Patrick Merrell | |
| 16 | For Years, Where Has There Been a Major Intelligence Failure? | illustration | 1 | script: Al Jaffee; pencils: Al Jaffee; inks: Al Jaffee | |