THE APRIL 2023 INNER HIVE DRIVE: For every Inner Hive sign-up during the month of April, $25 will be donated to Save the Children, helping children in crisis, including Urkrainian children. Members get Tom the Dancing Bug comics, before they're published, plus other exclusive comics and content.
As you probably know, the great Al Jaffee died this week at the age of 102. In 2011, Ruben Bolling (creator of Tom the Dancing Bug) and I interviewed Al Jaffee, who was in his 90s and drawing the MAD Fold-In every issue. — Read the rest
The amazingly prolific artist and long-time contributor to MAD magazine Al Jaffee is dead at 102.
— Read the restAl Jaffee, the ingenious Mad magazine illustrator who was as adept at creating wacky cartoon gags as he was at producing caustic social commentary, and whose drawings, he cheerfully suggested, helped corrupt the minds of generations of young Americans, died April 10 at a hospital in Manhattan.
Al Jaffee, one of the reigning members of Mad's "Usual Gang of Idiots" is celebrating his 100th birthday today.
— Read the rest"Hitting the century mark in age, it's a nice number" for the brain to consider, Jaffee said with a warm laugh Thursday from his New York home — even if some body parts don't "seem to appreciate it."
Best known for his "Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions" and the ever-ubiquitous MAD Fold-In, cartoonist Al Jaffee has retired today at the age of 99, making him the longest working cartoonist in history.
Jaffee began his career working for Marvel pre-cursors Timely and Atlas Comics in the early 1940s but settled into his lifelong position with the usual gang of idiots at Mad Magazine beginning in 1955. — Read the rest
The great Al Jaffee turned 99 last week. He's been contributing to MAD for 64 years and is famous for his hidden-image-within-an-image MAD Fold-Ins on the inside back cover of the magazine. Happy belated birthday, Al! (Back in 2011, when Al was just a kid, Ruben Bolling and I interviewed him on my podcast, Gweek.) — Read the rest
Back in 2010, It Books published Mary-Lou Weisman's biography of MAD Magazine icon Al Jaffee: Al Jaffee's Mad Life: A Biography; I missed it then but happened upon Arie Kaplan's 2011 writeup in The Jewish Review of Books this morning and was charmed by the biographical sketch it lays out.
Brian from the Recommend if You Like podcast sez, "For episode 200 (MP3), we sat down for a 90 minute interview with Mad Magazine's Al Jaffee, who, at the age of 95 holds the title of 'the longest working cartoonist in history.'"
MAD "Fold-In" artist Al Jaffee has been a professional cartoonist for 73 years. Guinness World Records has certified him as the oldest working cartoonist. Sam Thielman of The Guardian recently interviewed Jaffee about his brilliant career.
— Read the restWas there a particular kind of baloney you were attracted to satirizing?
The back cover of MAD #539 features a Fold-In by newcomer Al Jaffee, who has only been cartooning for 73 years (61 with MAD). He shows promise, and I hope Mr. Jaffee (who turned 95 in March) enjoys a long career with the magazine. — Read the rest
Jeff Newelt says: "Here's a video of a deep sublime conversation between Dick Cavett and Al Jaffee about cartooning… in a limo!"
Our pal Drew Friedman drew this portrait of Al Jaffee, the beloved MAD magazine writer and artist.
— Read the restJaffee made his MAD debut in 1955 and joined the "Usual Gang of Idiots" in 1958. Since 1964, only one issue of MAD has been published without new material by Jaffee.
— Read the restThe other day I noticed that on the back of the one dollar bill, there is a phrase:
The Great Seal of the United States.
It is split into two circles.
When you fold the dollar so that the two half circles meet exactly, a new phrase is revealed.
CNet's Seth Rosenblatt interviews Al Jaffee, the MAD Magazine legend who created "Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions" and the back-page Fold-In, and mentions the mouth-watering Fold-In complete boxed set books, woah.
— Read the restHow do you make a Fold-In? Do you use a computer?
The great Al Jaffee went on stage recently at Joe's Pub in NYC for a live version of his classic "Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions," which have appeared in MAD for decades. Al is 91-years-old but more lucid than many people one-quarter his age. — Read the rest
Ruben Bolling and I had a terrific time interviewing one of our heroes, the amazing Al Jaffee, who has been a member of MAD magazine's usual gang of idiots for 56 years (his work has appeared in every issue, save one). — Read the rest
David from MAD Magazine sez, "AL JAFFEE IS TURNING 90!
On March 13, long-time MAD writer/artist, creator of the Fold-In and Snappy Answers, and accused (but never convicted!) shoplifter Al Jaffee is going to be 90 freakin' years old! To celebrate, we're asking all fans (and enemies) to send in letters, cards, poems, drawings, paintings, sculptures, operettas, WHATEVER — so we can pass the love straight to Al! — Read the rest
The new biography, Al Jaffee's Mad Life by Mary Lou Weisman has just been released by HarperCollins. The book is embedded with new art by Jaffee himself, turning the whole thing into something like a pictorial, annotated graphic novel. Above, a Boing Boing exclusive preview of a page of art from the book. — Read the rest
Al Jaffee's Tall Tales collects the best out of over 2,200 "Tall Tales" daily strips that Mad Magazine's Al Jaffee drew for the Herald Tribune syndicate from 1957 to 1963. Jaffee conceived of Tall Tales while in desperate economic straits, and hit upon a winning formula for breaking into the lucrative comics syndicate game: rather than drawing a traditional horizontal strip that would compete with the existing material, he opted for a seven-inch-tall vertical strip, which gave editors a lot more flexibility as to where in the paper the strip would run. — Read the rest
Mike Baehr of Fantagraphics writes: "We recently received a large package of original art from Al Jaffee for our upcoming complete Humbug collection. ... Link Previously on Boing Boing: • Al Jaffee profile in NY Times
