The comic cartoonists at MAD magazine have been providing satire and absurd humor to their loyal readers since 1952. What began as a comic book (see entry under 1930s—Print Culture in volume 2) evolved over time into a monthly magazine, a series of books, a stage show, and a popular television (see entry under 1940s—TV and Radio in volume 3) program. The influence of the MAD style of humor can also be seen on the television program Saturday Night Live (see entry under 1970s— TV and Radio in volume 4), in films such as The Naked Gun and Scary Movie, and in countless parody ads and TV commercials.

The MAD empire was founded by William M. Gaines (1922–1992), a young comic book publisher of the 1940s. Gaines's "Entertaining Comics" (EC) focused mostly on shocking war comics like Two-Fisted Tales and gory horror titles like Tales from the Crypt. They...