Review: MAD Magazine #529 – “The 50 Worst Things About Food”

Mad Magazine #529

“The 50 Worst Things About Food”

COVER- Artist: Mark Fredrickson

This cover is a bit underwhelming. Not in the sense that its poorly drawn or anything like that, but it’s just a bit plain for me. We’ve seen Alfred E. share the cover with dignitaries, celebrities and athletes, yet we couldn’t get Mario Batali or Gordon Ramsey on a cover that sells an article about food? This feels like a missed opportunity to me.

SPY VS. SPY- Writer/Artist: Peter Kuper

In the main comic we see White Spy playing a little soccer. Black Spy steals the ball in an attempt to score but has his plan backfire when the ball hits the back of the net and a bomb bounces back at him.

The second comic shows White Spy walking up on some graffiti of him getting punched in the face by a boxing glove. When he attempts to clean it off, one of the bricks comes out of the wall and a boxing glove punches him in the face.

A fairly solid effort in this edition of Spy Vs. Spy. I think the soccer joke kinda missed the boat a bit because the World Cup is now well over with. The second comic with the graffiti is classic Spy Vs. Spy humor.

Snark Tank: Writer: Dick Debartolo Artist: Tom Richmond

The scene starts with all of the Snarks introducing themselves and explaining how they made their millions. We then see a handful of inventions and how the Snarks use confusing mathematics to dupe the inventors into selling well below their actual potential. At the end of the scene we see a couple walk in who have been on the show before. They were told by the Snarks that their product was worthless but they’re there to inform them that the product has made them millionaires. They then buy the rights to the show and fire all of the Snarks.

 

Pretty standard fare here. I guess Shark Tank is still topical enough that it deserves its own 3 page spoof. Richmond’s artwork stands as some of the best in the history of MAD and when teamed with Debartolo’s jokes and quips you’ve got a solid comic.

OTHER ARTICLES WORTH CHECKING OUT

“Questions We’d Like To Ask Justin Bieber”, “A MAD Look At Grilling”, “What Has Luke Skywalker Been Up To For The Last 30 Years?”, “A Google Glass Wearer’s Photo Album”, “Trigger McBride: Horse Cop”

ARTICLES WORTH SKIPPING

“Perfect Bacon Bed”, “The Worst People To Sit Near On A Plane”, “The 50 Worst Things About Food”. Also, there’s no Plante Tad in this edition. Thank the fucking Lord!

JUDGE’S TABLE – Read It At A Library Or Book Store!

Though this mag had its moments, I really don’t think it’s worth the $6 you’ll be spending if you bought it. Putting the 50 Foods on the cover, I expected so much more than a few chuckles at the end of the magazine. This easily could have been placed in the beginning/center of the mag and could have possibly led to a few stronger laughs but by the time I finally got to it I was spent. Not the strongest effort so my expectations will be high for the next edition.