Mad about Crossdressing!
By Brittany Rose
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A
lmost everyone is familiar with Mad Magazine. But many people
don't know that it started as a comic book. Originally, it was
a part of EC Comics, renowned for horror and science fiction comics,
as well as humor. The big purge of adult-oriented comics in the
early fifties, (due to the belief that they were corrupting America's
youth) left Mad as EC's only commodity.

Star Wars
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From the beginning Mad has presented examples of crossdressing
both in its comic and magazine forms. Mad never seemed to look
down on the practice, instead finding humor in it, like it finds
humor in everything else. This month we'll look at several examples
of crossdressing from throughout Mad's history.
Mad started early with the first female impersonator showing
up in issue 3 (Feb/March 1953, recently reprinted in an anthology
this summer). In one of the parodies Mad became famous for, the
Lone Stranger stops a stagecoach robbery only to discover that
one of the passengers isn't what she appears to be.
Mad eventually took parodies, particularly of movies, into all
kinds of new formats. Star Wars alone got the basic parody, the
musical version, the Mad look at Star Wars, and in issue #354
(February 1997) to commemorate the updated re-release they featured
"Star Wars Playsets You May Have Missed." One playset
we wouldn't have missed is "The Dizzy Droid Drag Cantina,
complete with Chewbacca, Luke, C-3P0, and R2-D2 in various levels
of dress and featuring the Extraterrestrial Village People.
Georgina
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Recent auctions at Sotheby's have highlighted Mad's art for its
covers and posters. In recent months, their covers have included
both Howard Stern and Dennis Rodman in wedding gowns for a same-sex
ceremony, and Alfred E. Newman, the Mad mascot, dressed as Batgirl.
But my personal favorite is a poster depicting Washington Cross-Dressing
the Delaware. (For the full picture see the Mad Poster Special,
still on newstands as of September 1997)
The other arena that Mad has excelled has been in its stable
of artists and writers that it has featured through the years.
Here is an example of Don Martin's style from issue 208 (July
1979). This is one of a series of funny takes on vending machines.
Change
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Perhaps down the road we'll take another look at Mad's examples
of crossdressing, but next month we'll focus on one Mad feature
- Spy vs. Spy, and several examples of the spys' inept attempts
to confuse their enemy by wearing a dress.
If you have any examples of crossdressing in comics, don't hesitate
to let me know at BrittTV@aol.com.
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