Al Jaffee, longtime Mad magazine cartoonist, dead at 102

[Polybius]

Source: Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Al Jaffee, Mad magazine’s award-winning cartoonist and ageless wise guy who delighted millions of kids with the sneaky fun of the Fold-In and the snark of “Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions,” has died. He was 102.

Jaffee died Monday in Manhattan from multiple organ failure, according to his granddaughter, Fani Thomson. He had retired at the age of 99.

Mad magazine, with its wry, sometimes pointed send-ups of politics and culture, was essential reading for teens and preteens during the baby-boom era and inspiration for countless future comedians. Few of the magazine’s self-billed “Usual Gang of Idiots” contributed as much — and as dependably — as the impish, bearded cartoonist. For decades, virtually every issue featured new material by Jaffee. His collected “Fold-Ins,” taking on everyone in his unmistakably broad visual style from the Beatles to TMZ, was enough for a four-volume box set published in 2011.

Readers savored his Fold-Ins like dessert, turning to them on the inside back cover after looking through such other favorites as Antonio Prohías’ “Spy vs. Spy” and Dave Berg’s “The Lighter Side.” The premise, originally a spoof of the old Sports Illustrated and Playboy magazine foldouts, was that you started with a full-page drawing and question on top, folded two designated points toward the middle and produced a new and surprising image, along with the answer.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/al-jafee-mad-magazine-cartoonist-dies-f676fbeb190b44c8aa4abcb0daa5d571

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Sad news. I was a big Mad Magazine fan as a kid in the 80's. RIP.

[True Dough]

1. Loved his work

I was a big collector of MAD magazine during my teenage years.

RIP!

[2naSalit]

2. He was one of the best...

Of that time. I liked his contributions best.

[GenThePerservering]

3. Way more than teens and preteens read Mad!

My dad (who was, actually a rocket scientist) loved the magazine and we all read it. It was like Rocky and Bullwinkle - comedy on a couple of levels, one of which was aimed squarely at adults, and one which delighted kids.

[RockRaven]

4. RIP.

Many generations benefited from his life and work.

[AZSkiffyGeek]

5. I can't believe how old he was

I saw mention of his passing, but no age. It did have a pic of him as a teenager in the 30s though!

[EYESORE 9001]

8. I wonder if doing what he loved helped him live so long

We should all be so lucky.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

19. Undoubtedly. Retiring at 99 seems to have killed him. Lesson: face life with gusto

Jaffee was my favourite at MAD.

MAD was very influential on me. Positively.

[COL Mustard]

31. I like your motto: live life with gusto

I don't want to die with a perfect body (intact, not gorgeous...that ship sailed long ago). I want to go to the grave leaving skid marks right up to it, with some people there to throw me in and make sure I stay there, 'cause I'll probably be yelling "Yee Haw...that was fun!!!" right up until the end. At least that's what I hope. The reality is I'll probably just fade away....dammit.

[William Seger]

13. He didn't retire until he was 99 (nt)

[lordsummerisle]

6. k&r n/t

[Roy Rolling]

7. "The Usual Gang of Idiots"

A cultural icon.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

9. Thanx for the memories AJ... RIP.

[crickets]

11. I loved Mad Magazine in the 70s.

Al, thanks for your part in bringing the strange magic that was Mad to life.

[johnnyplankton]

12. MAD Magazine taught me a healthy mistrust of the establishment

RIP Al!

[LudwigPastorius]

14. I was a Don Martin man, myself, but...

I certainly appreciate Jaffee's contributions through the years.

R.I.P.

[AZSkiffyGeek]

16. Dave Berg was the one I remember the most as a kid

"The Lighter Side" was my favorite Mad feature.

Sergio Aragones was the other I was a big fan of - I collected "Groo the Wanderer" because of his work - and met him at San Diego Comicon about 20 years ago.

[ewagner]

25. Me too n/t

[ZonkerHarris]

15. Al was my client and a great man. If you want to know what he went through in his life

you must read this amazing auto-biography.
https://www.amazon.com/Al-Jaffees-Mad-Life-Biography-ebook/dp/B003V1WVIE/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1681185233&sr=8-1-fkmr3
I still hope that Hollywood will make this story someday

[Warpy]

17. Another piece of kidhood gone

I adored Mad Magazine and "Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions" was always a big fave of mine, to the point I always thought I owed to Jaffee a large part of my own wiseassery, although my bonkers mother could have given him a run for his money.

[Grokenstein]

18. Nobody lives forever, but legends never die.

Jack Davis, Bill Elder, Sergio Aragones, Al Jaffee, Dave Berg, Mort Walker, Don Martin...I love you guys.

[DFW]

20. It must be a magic age

Already fifty years ago, I thought "Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions" was one of the ultimate works of genius. I wish I had a poster of his Napoléon on horseback with a tattered soldier walking beside him, asking "Are we retreating from Moscow, mon général?" And Napoléon answers, "Non, we are advancing on Paris, mon idiot!"

My grandfather also lived to 102. At age 99, he sent out a Christmas card, with a photo of himself, looking very much his age, and he captioned it, "Compliments of the Seasoned."

[3auld6phart]

30. loveit

Bet he had a great sense of humour.

[Bengus81]

21. MAD was fantastic,probably bought more of them than Playboy

The send ups they did of Movies,TV shows and the stars were always my favorite. Then they'd get a picture of a movie/TV star reading the MAD send up about them and loving it.

[RocRizzo55]

22. I've been a fan of his

Since the 1960s. Mad Magazine was always a favorite of mine, and he was the genius who created the fold ins.

[turbinetree]

24. To show my age I started reading MAD Magazine when I was 9 or 10

in the early 1960's......

[ExWhoDoesntCare]

26. Aw, man

He was one of my faves at Mad.

RIP, Al. You not only made us laugh like MAD, but made us think, too.

[Mysterian]

27. A genius

I was an avid reader in the late 60s - 70s.

[Bayard]

28. 102 yrs old,

And spending much of that time making people laugh. We should all live such a life.

I loved Spy v Spy.

[AngryOldDem]

33. Didn't the Spy vs. Spy cartoonist pass recently, as well?

Another great.

[kimbutgar]

29. Mad magazine is what got me to enjoy reading !

I was struggling and my Dad brought me a mad magazine and we read it together and laughed after that he brought them for me and after a few months I started reading them on my own.

I still have some old issues stored in a in my parents old home for the 60’s and 70’s. My husband recently brought Mad looks at the 90’s special issue.

[AngryOldDem]

32. Truly one of the greats.

LOVED Mad back in the early to mid-70s. He drew a lot of its TV parodies, and was spot on.

RIP, sir…your work brought joy to millions.