Humbug

Harvey Kurtzman changed the face of American humor when he created the legendary MADcomic. As editor and chief writer from its inception in 1952, through its transformation into a slick magazine, and until he left MADin 1956, he influenced an entire generation of cartoonists, comedians, and filmmakers. In 1962, he co-created the long-running Little Annie Fanny with his long-time artistic partner Will Elder for Playboy, which he continued to produce until his virtual retirement in 1988.

Between MADand Annie Fanny, Kurtzman"s biographical summaries will note that he created and edited three other magazines, Trump, Humbug, and Help!, but, whereas his MADand Annie Fannyare readily available in reprint form, his major satirical work in the interim period is virtually unknown. Humbug, which had poor distribution, may be the least known, but to those who treasure the rare original copies, it equals or even exceeds MADin displaying Kurtzman"s creative genius. Humbugwas unique in that it was actually published by the artists who created it: Kurtzman and his cohorts from MADWill Elder, Jack Davis, and Al Jaffee, were joined by universally acclaimed cartoonist Arnold Roth. With no publisher above them to rein them in, this little band of creators produced some of the most trenchant and engaging satire of American culture ever to appear on American newsstands. At last, the entire run of 11 issues of Humbugis being reprinted in a deluxe format, much of it reproduced from the original art, allowing even owners of the original cheaply-printed issues to experience the full impact for the first time.

"MAD's early years have been justly lauded for their japing assault on postwar American culture, but this outstanding two-volume boxed set reflects the history of comedy in the period after staff stars like Kurtzman jumped ship in 1956. Humbug, whose mere 11 monthly issues published in 1957 and 1958 are all collected here, was a refreshing if little-noticed seat-of-the-pants hybrid of MAD-style buffoonery and a tony wit that sadly never found its place. Read today, Humbug seems a time capsule from when comedy was entering its drier, postvaudevillian period; comedians still wore ties and were expected to if not attend college at least have read a book or two. The magazine's mix of chaos and control — Kurtzman's Cecil B. DeMille — sized comedic crowd scenes set against Larry Siegel's pitch-perfect literary satires — creates an uneasy balance that almost necessitated a short shelf life, much in the same manner as National Lampoon (which years later briefly picked up the mantle that Humbug threw down). The set might not be best for end-to-end reading (11 issues is a heavy dose, with all those Sputnik and Have Gun, Will Travel references) but for dry cocktail laughs and low schoolboy snorts, it's hard to think of a better pair of books to have at your nightstand." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

You know MAD. Do you know Humbug?

Nominated for a 2010 Will Eisner Comic Industry Award: You know MAD. Do you know Humbug?

Harvey Kurtzman changed the face of Americanhumor when he created the legendaryMADcomic. As editor and chief writer from itsinception in 1952, through its transformationinto a slick magazine, and untilhe left MAD in1956, he influenced an entire generation of cartoonists, comedians, andfilmmakers. In 1962, he co-created the long-running Little Annie Fanny with hislong-time artistic partner Will Elder forPlayboy, which hecontinued to produceuntil hisvirtual retirement in1988.

Between MAD andAnnieFanny, Kurtzman's biographical summaries will note that he created and edited threeothermagazines-Trump, Humbug, andHelp -but, whereas his MADand Annie Fanny arereadily available in reprintform, his major satirical work in theinterim period is virtually unknown. Humbug, which hadpoor distribution, may be the least known, but to those whotreasure the rare original copies, it equalsoreven exceeds MAD in displayingKurtzman'screative genius. Humbug wasunique in that it was actually published bytheartists who created it: Kurtzman and his cohortsfromMAD-Will Elder, Jack Davis, and Al Jaffee-were joined by universallyacclaimed cartoonist ArnoldRoth. With no publisher abovethem to rein them in, this little band ofcreators produced some of themost trenchant andengagingsatire of American culture ever to appear on American newsstands. At last, theentire run of 11 issues of Humbug isbeingreprinted in a two-volume slipcased hardcover deluxe format, much of itreproduced from the original art, allowing evenowners of theoriginal cheaply-printed issues toexperience the full impact for the firsttime.

Harvey Kurtzman changed the face of American humor when he created the legendary MAD comic. As editor and chief writer from its inception in 1952, through its transformation into a slick magazine, and until he left MAD in 1956, he influenced an entire generation of cartoonists, comedians, and filmmakers. In 1962, he co-created the long-running Little Annie Fanny with his long-time artistic partner Will Elder for Playboy, which he continued to produce until his virtual retirement in 1988.

Between MAD and Annie Fanny, Kurtzman’s biographical summaries will note that he created and edited three other magazines—Trump, Humbug, and Help!—but, whereas his MAD and Annie Fanny are readily available in reprint form, his major satirical work in the interim period is virtually unknown. Humbug, which had poor distribution, may be the least known, but to those who treasure the rare original copies, it equals or even exceeds MAD in displaying Kurtzman’s creative genius. Humbug was unique in that it was actually published by the artists who created it: Kurtzman and his cohorts from MAD—Will Elder, Jack Davis, and Al Jaffee—were joined by universally acclaimed cartoonist Arnold Roth. With no publisher above them to rein them in, this little band of creators produced some of the most trenchant and engaging satire of American culture ever to appear on American newsstands. At last, the entire run of 11 issues of Humbug is being reprinted in a two-volume slipcased hardcover deluxe format, much of it reproduced from the original art, allowing even owners of the original cheaply-printed issues to experience the full impact for the first time.

Nominated for a 2010 Will Eisner Comic Industry Award: (Best Archival Collection/Project: Comic Books).

Harvey Kurtzman(b. 1924) passed away in 1993.Arnold Roth"s cartoons and illustrations have appeared in The New Yorker, Playboy, and Esquire. He lives in New York City.