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  

11 comments:

Irmantas said...

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

Kid said...

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

Unknown said...

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

Kid said...

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.

Unknown said...

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

Kid said...

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.

TC said...

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.

Kid said...

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.

Mark Carter said...

Well spotted, dude!

Chris Sobieniak said...

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

Kid said...

Ta, MC.

******

Chris, it might be Melvin's brother.



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