CRAZY #27

CRAZY #27 Another issue of Crazy, this time #27 from July 1977. Cover, as always, by Bob Larkin Parody of The Bionic Woman illustrated by Walter Brogan Tony Tallarico Alan Kupperberg I'm not sure if David Wenzel is any relation to Bill Wenzel. David Manak Bob McLeod Gary Brodsky Ray Billingsley I had Sam Viviano for a caricature teacher at School of Visual Arts. Even though I rarely use likeness in my own work he did teach me to apply it to my own style. He taught his students that in order to do credible caricatures to use the whole body rather than just the face.

I started the second semester even though the catalog said exclusively not to, so deservedly went through “hazing” on my first day. Towards the end of class, he had us all draw him, and he stopped picking on me when he realized I had a vicious streak myself and drew his head on the end of a penis.

He mentioned in his class how Crazy was one of his first clients starting out, and when he asked if he could do movie and TV satires, they told him he didn't draw enough like Mort Drucker. Ironically, he later became Drucker's boss as art director of Mad.

The monologue is delivered by Henny Youngman. Pictured in the audience are Danny Thomas, Carol Burnett, George Carlin, Paul Lynde, Lily Tomlin, Groucho Marx, Buddy Hackett, Jimmy Walker, Don Rickles, Gabe Kaplan, Louise Lasser, Chevy Chase, Johnny Carson, George Burns, Richard Pryor, Woody Allen, Milton Berle, Redd Foxx, Bob Hope, Bill Cosby, ?, Jerry Lewis, Dick Van Dyke, Mel Brooks, David Brenner. Mike Thadummi is Mike Ricigliano who had to use a pseudonym. A big deal was made about how Jimmy Carter did an interview with Playboy before he became President. It's where the quote “I've lusted after women in my heart” came from, another piece of comedy fodder at the time.

CRAZY #5

Here we go with another issue of Crazy, this time from July 1974

I believe this cover is by Kelly Freas Parody of the Bayer aspirin campaign by Roy and Jean Thomas. All aspects of daytime television of the time in this article by Marv Wolfman and Dick Wright Next up is a photo-caption article about streaking by Stan Lee. He was a “big name” in the second issue, but seems to have been demoted. Another installment was here of their old radio spoof

I guess because they had a parody of Westworld, Roy & Jean Thomas and Vance Rodewalt decided to also do an article about what would happen if Richard Nixon had an amusement park.

The editorial introduces Rodewalt thusly: Vance, a voodoo priest in Port-au-Prince, Haiti freelances art in between cutting off chicken heads for use in secret ceremonies and reciting dark prayers to the Great God of Chickens—Perduemballa. In his off hours, Vance drives a cab and shows tourists the hot spots of Newark, New Jersey. Born in Lake Michigan, Vance is also an accomplished singer, and performs under his stage name of Barbara Streisand. And another chapter of Bob Foster's Mooses Through History.

The first few issues had Poli-Tickles from Tony Isabella and Dick Wright. This was from something they did called The Realistic Toy Catalog, Corruptive Playthings by Steve Gerber, Bruce Garlin and Alan Goffstein and illustrated by Marie Severin and Ralph Reese Then there was Steve Gerber and Robert Graysmith's Just Plain Folks

Gerber and Graysmith continue with one-page movie parodies, starting with their version of The Way We Were. Then Ozzie's Girls. Billy Jack The Starlost Don't feel bad. I've never heard of some of these shows either.

I have seen Westworld, which is basically an earlier version of Jurassic Park in a different setting.

In the editorial they had this to say about Bob McLeod:

Another new arist this issue is BOB McLEOD, who drew our Worstworld parody. Bob is also a fashion designer for Roto Rooter Sewer Services and Cesspool Cleaners of Yonkers, New York, where he creates a dainty look for the men who slodge around greasy underground pipelines. When Bob first saw CRAZY Magazine he begged to work for us. In fact, he said he didn't have to be paid for any work he did. Since there was no money in the CRAZY budget to pay Bob, things worked out just fine. The back cover parodies the Crest Toothpaste commercials.