Page "Mad (magazine)" Paragraph 20

Among the most frequently cited " downward turning points " are: creator / editor Harvey Kurtzman's departure in 1957 ; the magazine's mainstream success ; adoption of recurring features starting in the early 1960s ; the magazine's absorption into a more corporate structure in 1968 ( or the mid-1990s ); founder Gaines ' death in 1992 ; the magazine's publicized " revamp " in 1997 ; or the arrival of paid advertising in 2001.

Mad has been criticized for its over-reliance on a core group of aging regulars throughout the 1970s and 1980s and then criticized again for an alleged downturn as those same creators began to leave, die, retire or contribute less frequently.

It has been proposed that Mad is more susceptible to this criticism than many media because a sizable percentage of its readership turns over regularly as it ages, as Mad focuses greatly on current events and a changing popular culture.

In 2010, Sergio Aragones said, " Mad is written by people who never thought ' Okay, I ’ m going to write for kids ,' or ' I ’ m going to write for adults.

' ... And many people say ' I used to read Mad, but Mad has changed a lot.

' Excuse me — you grew up!

You have new interests.

...

The change doesn't come from the magazine, it comes from the people who grow or don't grow.

" The magazine's art director, Sam Viviano, has suggested that historically, Mad was at its best " whenever you first started reading it.