Dave Berg (cartoonist)
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Dave Berg (Brooklyn, June 12, 1920 – May 17, 2002) was an American cartoonist, most noted for his work in MAD Magazine.
Berg attended the Cooper Union Art School. He served a period of time in the Army Air Corps. Afterward he worked with Stan Lee at Timely Comics (now known as Marvel Comics) on a variety of comic books, including Combat Kelly.
Berg went to work for Mad in 1956. In 1961 he started the "Lighter Side" cartoon, which would become his most famous creation. The strip often included members of Berg's own family, headed by his cranky alter-ego, Roger Kaputnik. Many collections of his strips were published as stand-alone paperbacks. His visual style made him one of the more realistic Mad artists, although his characters still were sporting early-1970s wardrobes well into the 1990s.
Berg worked at Mad for 40 years before retiring. His other work included the comic strips Citizen Senior (1989-1993), Roger Kaputnik (1992-?), and Astronuts (1994-?).
He died May 17, 2002 after a long battle with cancer in his home in Marina del Rey, California. He died shortly after midnight with his wife of 52 years, Vivian, and their two children by his side.
[edit] External links
- How MAD's Dave Berg and Roger Kaputnik Introduced Me To Post-Modernity by Terre Thaemlitz.
- A collection of covers from his books
- Press release of his death, includes synopsis of his life and career
| Contributors to Mad "The Usual Gang of Idiots" |
| Editors |
|---|
| Jerry DeFuccio | Al Feldstein | John Ficarra | Harvey Kurtzman | Nick Meglin |
| Writers |
| Anthony Barbieri | Dick DeBartolo | Desmond Devlin | Stan Hart | Frank Jacobs | Tom Koch | Arnie Kogen | Barry Leibmann | Jay Lynch | Andrew J. Schwartzberg | Larry Siegel | Lou Silverstone | Mike Snider |
| Writer-Artists |
| Sergio Aragonés | Dave Berg | John Caldwell | Don Edwing | Al Jaffee | Don Martin | Paul Peter Porges | Antonio Prohías |
| Artists |
| Tom Bunk | Bob Clarke | Paul Coker, Jr. | Jack Davis | Mort Drucker | Will Elder | Drew Friedman | Bernard Krigstein | Peter Kuper | Hermann Mejia | Norman Mingo | Tom Richmond | Jack Rickard | John Severin | Angelo Torres | Rick Tulka | Sam Viviano | Basil Wolverton | Monte Wolverton | Wally Wood | George Woodbridge | Bill Wray |
| Photographers |
| Irving Schild |
| Related articles |
| Mad Magazine | William M. Gaines |
