Mad magazine to stop publishing issues with new content this fall
Mad magazine, the venerable satire publication, will stop publishing issues with new content this fall.
The magazine, famous for the grinning face of character Alfred E. Neuman and his slogan, "What, me worry?", will stop publishing issues with new writing after issue No. 10, according to DC, which publishes the magazine. Starting with issue No. 11 there will be republished content sent to subscribers and sold in comic shops.
It will no longer be carried on newsstands, DC said.
"After issue #10 this fall there will no longer be new content -- except for the end-of-year specials which will always be all new," DC said in a statement to ABC News. "So starting with issue #11 the magazine will feature classic, best-of and nostalgic content from the last 67 years."
It will continue to publish a year-end issue with new content and "Mad books and special collections."
The publication was founded in 1952 by editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines, but it was Al Feldstein, who took over for Kurtzman and led the magazine for almost 30 years, who brought the outlet to national -- and international -- prominence, especially in the 1970s.
It peaked at 2.8 million subscribers in 1973, but had just 140,000 left as of 2017.
As news of the magazine's closure trickled across the internet, several contributors eulogized the publication. David DeGrand, a writer and artist who contributed to the magazine, was one of the first to confirm on Twitter the magazine was ending as rumors began to grow.
Satirical musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, who once served as a guest editor, tweeted, "I am profoundly sad to hear that after 67 years, MAD Magazine is ceasing publication. I can’t begin to describe the impact it had on me as a young kid – it’s pretty much the reason I turned out weird. Goodbye to one of the all-time greatest American institutions."
Allie Goertz, who served as an editor at the magazine up until last month, tweeted, "I am so proud of what the new team accomplished, am such a fan of the team before us, and am forever in awe of the original gang of idiots."
The magazine "rebooted" in April 2018 and began with issue No. 1. It's eighth, and most recent, issue was published on June 12.
The mag gained a little bit of national attention recently after President Donald Trump, a regular victim of the outlet's satire, tweeted that Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg resembled Neuman.
"I'll be honest, I had to Google that," the 37-year-old Buttigieg said, in response to the 73-year-old president. "I guess it's a generational thing. I didn't get the reference. It's kind of funny, I guess, but he's also the president of the United States and I'm surprised he's not spending more time trying to salvage this China [trade] deal."
Mad magazine had published 550 issues prior to its reboot.
DC, the publisher of comics featuring Superman and Batman, purchased Mad magazine in 2017.
