From Madness to Dysentery : Mad ’s Other New York Intellectuals 1 NATHAN ABRAMS One of the most curiously overlooked publishing phenomena of the 1950s was the appearance of the comic book Mad in October 1952 which ‘‘ burst forth full blown from nowhere on an unsuspecting comic book reading public ’’ into the midst of the domestic Cold War. 2 In 1959 Newsweek observed that ‘‘ Mad each month sticks a sharp-pronged fork into some part of the social anatomy ’’ 3 while Gloria Steinem recalled: ‘‘There was a spirit of satire and irreverence in Mad that was very important, and it was the only place you could find it in the ’50s.’’ 4 And even Marshall McLuhan considered Mad worthy of mention in his influential study, Understanding Media. Noting its ‘‘sudden eminence,’’ he attributed this to its ‘‘ludicrous and cool replay of the forms of the hot media of photo, radio, and film.’’ 5 Surprisingly, very little attention has been paid towards Mad beyond its own retrospective publications, one book, and several short articles. This is unfortunate since the comic provides a sharply satiric, yet extremely perceptive insight into many aspects of Cold War America during the 1950s. Furthermore, as I shall argue, those who wrote and drew for Mad formed an alternative New York intellectual circle to that which is commonly written about. Mad ’s critique of America was far more effective and devastating than their better-known Nathan Abrams teaches Modern US History at the University of Southampton. 1 Of course, my title refers to Woody Allen’s quip in his Annie Hall (1977), ‘‘ I heard that Commentary and Dissent had merged and formed Dysentery.’’ I would like to thank Robert Lovejoy and Chris O’Brien for their invaluable assistance and comments on earlier drafts of this article. 2 John Benson, quoted in MAD, ed., John Benson ( West Plains, Mo. : Ross Cochran, 1986). 3 Newsweek, 31 August 1959, 57. 4 Gloria Steinem, quoted in Maria Reidelbach, Completely Mad : A History of the Comic Book and Magazine (Boston : Little, Brown & Co., 1991), 132. 5 Marshall McLuhan, Understanding Media : the Extensions of Man (London : Abacus, 1974), 177. Journal of American Studies, 37 (2003), 3, 435–451 f 2003 Cambridge University Press DOI : 10.1017/S0021875803007175 Printed in the United Kingdom