Data courtesy of the Grand Comics Database under Creative Commons license.

Issue Details

Issue #42
Published November 1958
Cover Price 0.25 USD
Pages 52
Editing Albert B. Feldstein

Cover Details - "wine bottle stoppers"

Characters Alfred E. Neuman
Genre humor
Pencils Kelly Freas (painted, signed)
Inks Kelly Freas (painted, signed)
Colors Kelly Freas (painted, signed)
Letters typeset

1 page MAD For Keeps promo (ad from the publisher) "Now In Its Second Printing"

Characters Alfred E. Neuman
Synopsis House ad for new hardcover book from Crown Publishers.
Pencils ? (photo); Wally Wood
Inks ? (photo); Wally Wood
Letters typeset
Notes Small figure at bottom of ad by Wally Wood is excerpt from previous issue. Inside front cover.

1 page Vital Features foreword, introduction, preface, afterword "Departments"

Pencils various
Inks various
Letters typeset
Notes Art is excerpts from this issue.

2 page Rush Right Out Dept. story "What If You Did What They Told You On TV?"

Synopsis How doing the things that tv commercials suggest will not get the results you expect.
Genre humor
Script Dee Caruso; Bill Levine
Pencils Bob Clarke
Inks Bob Clarke
Letters typeset
Notes Writer credit from "Totally MAD" CD collection.

Half page MAD Magazine promo (ad from the publisher) "Why Go Hunting For Every Issue Of MAD"

Synopsis House ad for MAD subscriptions.
Pencils Wally Wood ?
Inks Wally Wood ?
Letters typeset

Half page The Brothers MAD promo (ad from the publisher) "Reaches New Heights"

Synopsis House ad for a MAD paperback book.
Pencils ? (photo)
Inks ? (photo)
Letters typeset

1 page Letters Dept. letters page "Random Samplings of Reader Mail"

Characters Peckham children; Dior Knox; Alfred E. Neuman
Synopsis Letters of comment, mostly about issue #41, with reader photos.
Script Albert B. Feldstein; Preston Kohn; Tony Freedman; Mrs. W. D. Peckham; Eliot Kohen; Linda; Gail; Barbara; H. W. Hightower; Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer; Mendel Baylis; Carson Cox; Ed Woodsmall; Stan Balzer; Mike Conway; Martin Jublonski; Joseph Smith; Ronni Salter; Stephan Mehler; Brother John; Allan Hudson; Patty Hodgins
Pencils ? (photo); Mrs. W. D. Peckham (photo)
Inks ? (photo); Mrs. W. D. Peckham (photo)
Letters typeset

Half page Alfred E. Neuman promo (ad from the publisher) "Only One Left!"

Characters Alfred E. Neuman
Synopsis House ad for pinups suitable for framing.
Pencils Norman Mingo (painted)
Inks Norman Mingo (painted)
Letters typeset

5 page Unnecessary Roughness Dept. story "MAD's 1958 Pigskin Preview"

Characters Elihu "Midge" Dunkley; Charlie Schvepp; "Lush" Pitkin; Clip Clopp; Sid Blemish; Alfred E. Neuman; "Boxer" Towser
Synopsis Parody of magazine college football season previews, along with fake definitions of football terms.
Genre satire
Script Tom Koch
Pencils George Woodbridge (signed)
Inks George Woodbridge (signed)
Letters typeset
Notes Writer credit from "Totally MAD" CD collection.

2 page Don Martin Dept. story "A Nameless Story"

Synopsis A boy saves a bird from a hunter...then eats the bird.
Genre humor
Script Don Martin (signed)
Pencils Don Martin (signed)
Inks Don Martin (signed)

2 page Ask The Man Who Parks One Dept. story "Big Cars"

Synopsis Solutions to parking and congestion problems caused by big cars.
Genre humor
Script Dave Berg (signed)
Pencils Dave Berg (signed)
Inks Dave Berg (signed)
Letters typeset

3 page Danny Kaye Dept. story "I'm Five!"

Characters Danny Kaye
Synopsis Song lyrics as performed by Danny Kaye, with illustrations.
Genre humor
Script Milton Schafer; Danny Kaye
Pencils Wally Wood (signed)
Inks Wally Wood (signed)
Letters typeset
Notes Song copyright 1957 by Frank Music Corp.

2 page E Before I Except After Q Dept. story "Not-So-Far-From-Wrong Spelling Errors"

Synopsis Spelling errors that tell the story better than the correct spelling would.
Genre humor
Script Julius Rothenberg
Pencils George Woodbridge (signed)
Inks George Woodbridge (signed)
Letters typeset
Notes Writer credit from "Totally MAD" CD collection.
Reprinted in Mad About the Fifties (Little, Brown & Co., 1997 series) #[nn]

4 page A Child's Garden of Curses Dept. story "25c MAD Children's Books"

Characters Marjorie; Mr. Furd; Billy; Sue; The Little Red Hen; Comrade George; Fireman Jones; The Commissioner
Synopsis Parodies of children's books but on adult subjects, written and illustrated in the style of Golden Books.
Genre satire
Script Tom Koch
Pencils Bob Clarke
Inks Bob Clarke
Letters typeset
Notes Writer credit from "Totally MAD" CD collection.

3 page Out of The Freud And Into The Feiffer Dept. story "Sick Sick Sick"

Synopsis Excerpts from the book.
Genre humor
Script Jules Feiffer
Pencils Jules Feiffer
Inks Jules Feiffer
Letters Jules Feiffer
Reprinted from Sick Sick Sick (McGraw Hill Book Co., Inc., 1958 series)

1 page Ernie Kovacs Dept. story "Strangely Believe It!"

Characters Ernie Kovacs; Sidney Klutz; Malcolm Cranshaw; Fanciful Jones; Dylan Smetnik
Synopsis Parody of Ripley's Believe It Or Not.
Genre satire
Script Ernie Kovacs
Pencils Wally Wood
Inks Wally Wood
Letters Wally Wood

2 page Let's Look At The Record Dept. story "MAD Mood Music"

Synopsis Popular songs arranged into phony albums of music for specific moods.
Genre satire
Script Paul Laikin
Pencils Bob Clarke
Inks Bob Clarke
Letters typeset
Notes Writer credits from "Totally MAD" CD collection.

4 page Honorable Mention Dept. story "Credits For The Common Man"

Synopsis Everyday occupations with credits for all the people who helped in the background, in the style of movie credits. Also, suggested "professional" names for persons in various occupations.
Genre humor
Script Paul Laikin
Pencils Wally Wood
Inks Wally Wood
Letters typeset
Notes Writer credits from "Totally MAD" CD collection.

3 page Bob & Ray Dept. story "Baseball Report"

Characters Bob Elliott; Ray Goulding; Wally Ballew; Duane Grubble
Synopsis Wally interviews the official team heckler for the San Francisco Giants.
Genre humor
Script Bob Elliott; Ray Goulding
Pencils Mort Drucker (signed)
Inks Mort Drucker (signed)
Letters typeset

1 page Don Martin Dept. story "On The Bowery"

Synopsis Two bums who have been ingesting Sterno find an unusual way to light a cigarette.
Genre humor
Script Don Martin (signed)
Pencils Don Martin (signed)
Inks Don Martin (signed)
Letters typeset

2 page Frame of Mind Dept. story "Houses To Match Your Personality"

Synopsis Strange home styles to fit various personality types.
Genre humor
Script Frank Jacobs
Pencils Bob Clarke
Inks Bob Clarke
Letters typeset
Notes Writer credits from "Totally MAD" CD collection.

4 page The Phase On The Cutting Room Floor Dept. story "Scenes We Never Got To See"

Characters Frank Sinatra; William Holden; Kim Novak; Sophia Loren; Alan Ladd; Burt Lancaster; Deborah Kerr; Bridgette Bardot
Synopsis The supposed final frame cut from famous movie scenes.
Genre satire
Script Albert Meglin
Pencils Wally Wood
Inks Wally Wood
Letters typeset
Notes Writer credits from "Totally MAD" CD collection.

1 page Don Martin Dept. story "The Great Bank Robbery"

Synopsis A bank robbery goes wrong when no one cares about the hostage.
Genre humor
Script Don Martin (signed)
Pencils Don Martin (signed)
Inks Don Martin (signed)
Letters typeset

1 page MAD T-Shirts promo (ad from the publisher) You'll Be A "Horror" In A MAD T-Shirt

Characters Alfred E. Neuman; Albert Feldstein
Synopsis House ad for t-shirts with Alfred E. Neuman on front.
Pencils Larry Maleman (photo); Wally Wood
Inks Larry Maleman (photo); Wally Wood
Letters typeset
Notes Feldstein credit from letters column of issue #44. On inside back cover.

Marginal Thinking Dept. filler "Where They Spent Their Vacations"

Synopsis Vacation spots paired with various occupations.
Genre humor
Letters typeset
Notes Appear in the margins of 26 pages of the issue.

1 page Miss Clairold Date-Ager Kit story "Does She...Or Doesn't She..."

Synopsis Parody of Miss Clairol hair coloring ad, featuring a kit to age your date so his appearance matches yours.
Genre satire
Pencils Kelly Freas (painted, signed)
Inks Kelly Freas (painted, signed)
Colors Kelly Freas (painted, signed)
Letters typeset
Notes Back cover.