I enjoyed reading the early issues of "Mad" during March Mad-ness, I thought I'd continue sharing with you those beautiful comic stories from the 1950's that laid the ground-work for modern humor. For the forseeable futuer, please join me for "Mad Mondays" and dip your feet in the inkwells of the architects of it all.
First up and for the next 4 weeks, "Mad" - the comic book issue #5. Today, the cover and contributed story of Bill Elder...
...it's Harvey Kurtzman's ribbing of the classic Oldtime Radio show. "Inner Sanctum", aptly lampooned as..."OUTER SANCTUM!".
Good stuff.
One of my favorite MAD parodies, for obvious reasons. (Pleasant dreeeeeeeaaaams...)
ReplyDeleteInner Sanctum was a classic example of a show being perfect for it's medium. That kind of spine-chilling could only happen when the muscles you use for OTR are engaged and the lights are out and no one's home.
ReplyDeleteJust as Will Elder's "Heap" is just as perfectly suited to the comics page.
Art imitating art and becoming it's own art in the process.
Beautiful! One of my favorites too.
ReplyDeleteIn the years before the debut of Man-Thing and Swamp Thing and the revival of Airboy and the Airfighters, Will Elder's "Outer Sanctum!" was the only exposure an entire generation of comics readers had to the Heap, or to the concept of "a shambling, muck-encrusted mockery of a man".
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EABqUGoQ9qM
It was also the only exposure many of us had to the Inner Sanctum radio show, come to think.
Heap was my fav story as a kid, curled up under the covers reading by a torch, scaring myself to death in the early 70’s. in the UK, miss the art and imagination now
ReplyDelete