Comic books now? Talk about desperation! Talk about trivialities! Well, yes, but as I said before, it may be
the trivial that is the only thing that keeps me sane! Or to put it another way, Mad keeps me from going mad!
It’s nostalgic. I used to read Mad Magazine all the time when I was growing up. It’s artistic. Mort Drucker is one of the best caricaturists
in the business. It’s funny. I recently read the parody of
the movie The Shining, and it was just
brilliant. After seeing all the
malevolent spirits and blood all over the hotel, Danny’s finger (Tony) tells him it
isn’t real, just like in the movie. When
Danny gets covered in blood, he complains to his finger that he’s just a kid
and can’t handle it. His finger replies,
“Well, what do you want from me? I’m
just a finger!” At the end of the parody, when the
Nicholson character dies by freezing to death, the Shelly Duvall character
looks at him and suddenly remembers she’s got a frozen ham in the freezer. Then she tells Danny, “Now that your father’s
dead, we’ll have to find jobs to make a living.
You can sell newspapers, and I may even have to sell my body.” The kid then says he’ll feel sad to know that
he’ll be making more money than her! I can't write any of that without giggling yet again.
 |
| Weird Al Reads Mad |
This is a sad, or even evil world we live in sometimes, and
I am so glad for humor because it is about the only thing that can, at times, make life
palatable. Many people turn up
their noses at the likes of Mad Magazine
or “Weird Al” Yankovic for being so low-brow and unsophisticated (even Jerry
Springer Trailer Trash pull this kind of attitude). What
I’ve discovered, however, is that brilliance can be found anywhere, though some
people simply refuse to see it. Sure, these comedians don’t always hit the mark, but who hits it all the time? What is true of “Weird Al” is true also of
the guys over at Mad Magazine. They are usually funny (and there’s nothing
wrong with that), and are quite often brilliant, without garnering the
accolades their talent would suggest. So
I’m reviewing a comic book in my journal (and now this blog, a whole decade later), and I complained in my journal before about how I sometimes applaud things this world finds juvenile and trivial. I should rethink that embarrassment. I mean, funny is funny, and as long as it’s
not just sick (like a lot of modern entertainment), then I see nothing wrong
with liking some good comedy along the path of life. At the very least, I shouldn't be so discomfited by it.
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