Sunday, 21 February 2016

THE CLOAK IS - A MAD MIMIC...


Art by MIKE HIGGS

Something I noticed only recently is that a panel from the very first appearance of The CLOAK (POW! #18, cover-dated May 13th 1967) was clearly based on the front cover of MAD #1 (cover-dated October-November 1952).  Or could it be no more than mere coincidence?  Doubt it, but as it took me nigh on 50 years to spot it, I don't suppose I'll be getting a BLUE PETER badge for my keen observational skills anytime soon.

Art by HARVEY KURTZMAN  

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11 comments:

  1. Irmantas22 February 2016 at 10:04

    Well spotted! I like this kind of stuff! :)

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  2. Kid22 February 2016 at 10:20

    You and me both, Irmy. I wonder how many other examples of this kind of 'homage' exist out there?

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  3. Unknown22 February 2016 at 13:38

    Cool fun find - I would imagine this may have been a homage by Mike Higgs to Mr Kurtzaman as I get the impression he was influenced by Mad etc

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  4. Kid22 February 2016 at 13:40

    I doubt very much that Mike Higgs would've thought it would go unnoticed, McS. As you say, I'd imagine it was a deliberate tip of the hat to Mad.

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  5. Unknown22 February 2016 at 13:48

    I seem to recall a panel in a Jonah strip (not that long ago) that "reflected" a Ken Reid Jonah Beano cover (from the 60s) - keen to see if I can find any others now

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  6. Kid22 February 2016 at 13:55

    Take a look at the Kazoop blog, McS - there's an example of the same kind of thing you mention with a Sparky Annual cover and the comic it was based on.

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  7. TC22 February 2016 at 16:19

    Looks like Mike Higgs made the scene as similar as possible to the Mad #1 cover (including the suit of armor and cobwebs in the background), so it must have been an intentional homage.

    Mod #1 (Kitchen Sink, 1981), Donald Duck Adventures #11 (Disney, 1991), and Batman: Gotham Adventures #13 (1999) all had covers that parodied Mad #1. For that matter, I would assume that the Mad cover was itself a parody of the kind of scene that was already a cliche in the horror and mystery/suspense genres.

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  8. Kid22 February 2016 at 19:14

    It would be interesting to know if the Mad cover was based on one of the EC horror comics, TC. I'll have to look up the others you mentioned, 'cos I can't remember if I've got any of them or not.

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  9. Mark Carter22 February 2016 at 23:27

    Well spotted, dude!

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  10. Chris Sobieniak23 February 2016 at 05:30

    Whatever it is, it's certainly ain't Melvin!

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  11. Kid23 February 2016 at 10:07

    Ta, MC.

    ******

    Chris, it might be Melvin's brother.

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