Al Jaffee

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Not to be confused with Al Jaffe.

Al Jaffee (born March 13, 1921) is an American cartoonist who is best known for his work in MAD Magazine.

Born in Savannah, Georgia, Jaffee studied at New York City's High School of Music and Art in the late 1930s.[1] He began his career in 1941 working as a comic book artist for several publications, including Timely Comics and Atlas Comics, the 1940s and '50s precursors, respectively, of Marvel Comics. He created several humor features for Timely, including "Inferior Man" and "Ziggy Pig and Silly Seal". For approximately a year and a half in the late 1940's, Al Jaffee was editing Timely's humor and teen age comics.

Jaffee first appeared in MAD in 1955 joining the "Usual Gang of Idiots," shortly after its transformation from comic book format to magazine. But when editor Harvey Kurtzman left in a dispute, Jaffee went with Kurtzman. Jaffee contributed to Kurtzman's first two post-MAD publishing efforts, "Trump" and the creator-owned "Humbug." After the latter publication folded in 1958, Jaffee brought his unpublished material to MAD, which bought the work. Jaffee spent the next five decades producing more.

In 1964, Jaffee created his longest-running feature, the MAD fold-in. The MAD fold-in is a recurring feature on the inside back cover of the magazine. A drawing is folded vertically and inward to reveal a new "hidden" picture (as well as a new caption). The Fold-In has since become one of MAD's signature features, and has appeared in almost every issue of the magazine from 1964-2008. No other current MAD contributor dates further back at the magazine.[2]

Contents

[edit] Frequent themes

Jaffee has contributed to hundreds of MAD articles, both as a writer and an artist. These include "Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions", and several articles on inventions and gadgets, which were presented in an elaborately detailed "blueprint" style. He expanded many of these features into stand-alone books, including eight "Snappy Answers" paperbacks and a 1997 collection of Fold-Ins entitled Fold This Book! During the Vietnam War, Jaffee created the shortlived gag cartoon "Hawks and Doves", in which a military officer named Major Hawks is antagonized by Private Doves, who contrives to create peace signs in various locations on a military base.

[edit] His work today

As of 2008, Jaffee continues to do the Fold-In for MAD, as well as creating specially commissioned artwork. MAD's oldest regular contributor, Jaffee's work has appeared in at least 437 issues of the magazine, a total unmatched by any other writer or artist.[3] "I work for a magazine that's essentially for young people, and to have them keep me going, I feel very lucky . . . . To use an old cliche, I'm like an old racehorse. When the other horses are running, I want to run too."[4]

[edit] His current work and technology

Jaffee only uses a computer for typographic maneuvers to make certain fold-in tricks easier to design. Otherwise, all of his work is by hand. "I'm working on a hard, flat board. . . . I cannot fold it. That's why my planning has to be so correct." Contrasting current art techniques and Jaffee's approach, MAD's art director, Sam Viviano, said, "I think part of the brilliance of the fold-in is lost on the younger generations who are so used to Photoshop and being able to do stuff like that on a computer."[5]

[edit] Cultural citations and references

During the 2006-03-13 episode of his show The Colbert Report, on Jaffee's 85th birthday, comedian Stephen Colbert saluted the artist with a fold-in birthday cake. The cake featured the salutary message "Al, you have repeatedly shown artistry & care of great credit to your field." But when the center section of the cake was removed, the remainder read, "Al, you are old."

His work has earned him the National Cartoonists Society Advertising and Illustration Award for 1973, Special Features Award for 1971 and 1975, and Humor Comic Book Award for 1979. In 2008, he was the winner of the Reuben Awards' Cartoonist of the Year.[6]

In 2005, the production company Motion Theory created a video for recording artist Beck's song "Girl" using Jaffee's MAD fold-ins as inspiration; Jaffee's name appears briefly in the video, on a television screen.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Neil Genzlinger, "A Veteran Mad Man Remains in the Fold," "New York Times, "Arts and Leisure," 25, March 30, 2008
  2. ^ Neil Genzlinger, "A Veteran Mad Man Remains in the Fold," "New York Times, "Arts and Leisure," 1, 25, March 30, 2008
  3. ^ Slaubaugh, Mike (2007-03-16). Mad Magazine Contributor Appearances (English). Retrieved on 2007-03-18.
  4. ^ Neil Genzlinger, "A Veteran Mad Man Remains in the Fold," "New York Times, "Arts and Leisure," 1, March 30, 2008
  5. ^ Neil Genzlinger, "A Veteran Mad Man Remains in the Fold," "New York Times, "Arts and Leisure," 25, March 30, 2008
  6. ^ Astor, Dave. "'Mad' Magazine Legend and Newspaper Cartoonists Among NCS Winners", Editor & Publisher, Nielsen Business Media, 2008-05-27. Retrieved on 2008-05-27. 

[edit] External links

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