MAD magazine has been this nation's leading provider of movie parodies for over five decades and the vast majority of their satires of well-known films have been reprinted countless times in special magazine editions and collected book editions. However, for some unknown reason one of my all-time favorites among this humor sub-genre has as far as I know never been reprinted, and that makes no sense because it features art by Jack Davis, one of
the great MAD artists, turning loose his gift for depicting outrageous violence and mayhem to hilarious effect. The piece in question sets its sights on the once-popular "spaghetti western" genre of the 1960's and early 1970's, a wave of films that helped catapult Clint Eastwood to iconic status and were often critically lambasted for their escalating levels of graphic violence and sadism. That kind of thing was ripe for a lampoon and MAD provided that it MAD SPECIAL #4 (1971) with "A Fistful of Lasagna," and here it is for your perusal and amusement. Just double-click on each page to enlarge.
And just to cover my ass, the material presented here is owned by MAD magazine and no infringement of copyright is intended, and it is presented here strictly for reasons of showcasing a fun piece of work. All due respect is given without reservation!
Thanks, Bunche! That parody was a classic in the days when Mad had teeth and wasn't afraid to use them. As a kid, I had piles of old issues, but although I recall the howls of protest printed about that story in later issues' letter columns, I had not seen the strip itself until now. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah - if that final line isn't still relevant 40 years or so later, nothing is.