Welcome to the home of When We Went MAD!
In 1952, William M. Gaines, owner and publisher of E.C. comics – a successful line of horror, science fiction, and war comics – suggested to his editor, Harvey Kurtzman, that he could earn more by putting out a less demanding comic, one that required less attention to detail and historical accuracy – perhaps a humor comic.
Harvey created MAD.
And MAD changed the world.
When We Went MAD! is a documentary film celebrating the history and influence of a simple comic book that became the unofficial guide to exposing the mad-ness of life.
We have been documenting the stories of MAD artists, writers, editors, and those who are willing to admit MAD had an influence on their life, other than draining their wallets!
We had a successful crowd fund via Kickstarter earlier this year and we are continuing to capture the stories of MAD MAGAZINE.
A great-looking Kickstarter Documentary about Mad Magazine is almost at its goal, with excellent rewards: j.mp/WszXAX
— Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) February 5, 2013
Jan 17, 2013 –
Alan Bernstein spoke with WDET 101.9’s Rob St. Mary about the project:
Jan 16, 2013 –
Alan Bernstein, Co-Producer/Director of When We Went MAD! was interviewed on his local FOX 2 News station. Take a look:
Screen shots of the trailer:
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I am 70 years old and still subscribe to MAD. I have virtually every issue back to 1957 when I first discovered and fell in love with satire. I’m going over to the Kickstarter site and getting involved. LONG LIVE ALFRED E. NEWMAN AND THE USUAL GANG OF IDIOTS!
PS: I learned of your project in the pages of the Detroit Free Press.
Thanks Tony! That love of MAD is exactly why I want to make this documentary. I’m glad you were able to find us in the Free Press – the name of the game is exposure!
Alan, I just learned of this production through a buyer of mine who bought some MAD books from me! I am a 25 year collector myself and run a newer MAD fan website at http://www.TheMADmuseum.com, I will assist you in advertising your cause on my website as well and will in the next day or so monetarily support the project as well! Just waiting on a little tax relief from our government!
Jason – thank you for the support! It’s getting down to crunch time, so any friends, family, enemies, strangers in the night – you can do some arm twisting, or gentle suggesting – would be great!
I’ve seen your site – you’ve got a nice shrine going there!
Hey! I am just as old as MAD magazine. Which makes me… old. William M. Gaines was one of the guests at the first convention I went to. This was 40 years ago. I just wanted to find out when this film will be showing in Dallas.
Thanks for checking in, Philip. We’re in the middle of shooting and editing, so a release date has not been determined, but we will keep everyone updated as things progress!