Author:
Title: MAD No. 6
Place Published:
Publisher:EC [Indicia: Educational Comics Inc.]
Date Published: August-September, 1953
Description: CGC certified: Fine+ (6.5). Off-white to white pages. Grader notes: Spine stress lines breaks color; multiple crease right top of front cover breaks color.

CGC Census: 127 graded copies (121 Universal, 1 Qualified, 5 Restored).

GPAnalysis: A 6.5 sold for $472 in 8/23.

Credits: Cover: Harvey Kurtzman. Scripts: Harvey Kurtzman and Ernest Lawrence Thayer. Art: Harvey Kurtzman, Wally Wood, Jack Davis, John Severin, Bill Elder.Hamstrung Harvey: When Kurtzman pitched the idea of starting a humor mag to Bill Gaines, he claimed he could produce humor stories more easily than he produced war and adventure stories for Two-Fisted Tales and Frontline Combat, as the war stories required loads of research and parodies didn't: "I suggested a humor magazine because I wouldn't have to do the research. I could just go into a room and write it." But the truth is that, irrespective of genre, Kurtzman was never cut out to be a speedster.

"[The] notion that a humor book would be easy and quick for Harvey Kurtzman to produce was unrealistic. Kurtzman hadn't disabused Gaines of this notion partly because, in a way, humor work was easier because he had a special gift for it. But quick? The Hey Look! pages had required a great deal of effort, often taking more than a day to write a single page.... MAD didn't involve research, but in terms of the thinking, the writing and laying out the pages – the only way Kurtzman could work – MAD stories took nearly as much time as the war stories." – Bill Schelly, Harvey Kurtzman: The Man Who Created MAD and Revolutionized Humor in America. Fantagraphics: 2015, p. 265.______________________________________________________________

A limited edition of ten hardcover catalogues is available, in addition to a few dozen softcovers. Fun reference, great keepsake, fully illustrated, chockablock with obscure facts, gags, bon mots. Softcovers are $40, deluxe hardcovers with dust jackets and limitation plates are $200. These books always go fast so don't delay. To order, contact ivan@pbagalleries.com.

Consignments welcome for PBA's Summer 2024 Comic Book sale. Top prices for Pre-Code Horror, Golden Age, Silver Age, original art and ephemera. Find out why PBA is the new fan-fave of funnybook fiends. "This is some of the best commentary I've yet seen on the quality of the content of comic books... Priceless." – R. Crumb. Send inquiries to ivan@pbagalleries.com.

Coming Soon: The DC Universe Collection Part 3: The Golden Age (August 2024) and Weird Tales and Amazing Stories: The PBA Pulp Sale (September 2024). Contact ivan@pbagalleries.com to get on the notifications list.