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Harvey Kurtzman

The Man Who Created Mad and Revolutionized Humor in America

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Harvey Kurtzman

By: Bill Schelly
Narrated by: Jim Meskimen
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About this listen

This biography reveals the true story of Mad creator Harvey Kurtzman—the man who revolutionized humor in America.

Harvey Kurtzman created Mad, and Mad revolutionized humor in America. Kurtzman was the original editor, artist, and sole writer of Mad, one of the greatest publishing successes of the twentieth century. But how did Kurtzman invent Mad, and why did he leave it shortly after it burst, nova-like, onto the American scene?

For this heavily researched biography, Bill Schelly conducted new interviews with Kurtzman’s colleagues, friends, and family, including Hugh Hefner, R. Crumb, Jack Davis, and many others, and examined Kurtzman’s personal archives. The result is the true story of one of the twentieth century’s greatest humorists. Kurtzman’s family life, the details of the FBI’s investigation during the McCarthy Era, his legal battles with William M. Gaines (publisher of Mad), are all revealed for the first time. Rich with anecdotes, this book traces Kurtzman’s life from his Brooklyn beginnings to his post-Mad years, when his ceaseless creativity produced more innovations: new magazines, a graphic novel, and Little Annie Fanny in Playboy.

©2015 Bill Schelly. Introduction copyright © 2015 by Terry Gilliam (P)2022 Blackstone Publishing Art Artists, Architects & Photographers Comedy & Humour Witty

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Profile Image for Phil Hore

Every MAD fans book - but so much more

I wrote a book about the history of EC and its war with the governments of the world over censorship ( HORROR: The First Time America's Paranoia Infected The World) and I was lucky enough to chat with Bill before his death and even help him out with his next book before his unfortunate death.
I know this story well, but Bill just takes it so much further, he looked everywhere and found some great info about Kurtzman, the man who meant so much to so many of us.
I had read the book and wanted to see how it worked as an audiobook....well, it works great.
GET THIS BOOK, you won't be disappointed

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