When MAD became a surprise hit as a comic book in 1953 (after theearly issues lost money!) other comics publishers were quick to jump onto thebandwagon, eventually bringing out a dozen imitations with titles likeFLIP, WHACK, NUTS, CRAZY, WILD, RIOT,EH, UNSANE, BUGHOUSE, and GET LOST. The SincerestForm of Parody: The Best 1950s MAD Inspired Satirical Comics collects thebest and the funniest material from these comics, including parodies of movies(20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, From Here To Eternity), TV shows(What's My Line, The Late Show), comic strips (Little OrphanAnnie, Rex Morgan), novels (I, the Jury), plays (Come Back,Little Sheba), advertisements (Rheingold Beer, Charles Atlas), classicliterature ("The Lady or the Tiger"), and history (Pancho Villa). Some didn'teven try for parody, but instead published odd, goofy, off-the-wall stories.These earnest copiers of MAD realized that Will Elder's cluttered"chicken fat" art was a good part of MAD's success, and these pages aredensely packed with all sorts of outlandish and bizarre gags that make for hoursof amusing reading.