I’ve answered a lot of interview questions over the 52 years of my comics career. I continue to do this, though I’m not quite as receptive as previously. I prefer print interviews so I can give my answers more thought and polish, My participation comes with conditions.
I retain ownership of my responses to questions and am free to publish them in other venues as I see fit. I need to see and have a chance to go over any interview before it sees print. I need to receive at least one copy of whatever book or magazine in which the interview appears. Going forward, there will be no exceptions to these conditions.
Earlier this year, I was asked about my involvement in Marvel’s amazing long-lived Crazy Magazine, which ran 94 issues from 1973 to 1983. It was another attempt to duplicate the success of MAD magazine, but still a very ambitious attempt. Marv Wolfman was Crazy’s first editor, followed by Steve Gerber, Paul Laiken and Larry Hama. My involvement was limited to the earliest issues and didn’t go beyond Wolfman’s tenure.
I cam to work on Crazy Magazine because Marv was recruiting from within Marvel. I was on and off staff during those first years. He thought I’d written funny copy for various things and signed me up.
My work was never heavily edited. The only thing Marv ever rejected was one “Poli-Tickles” strip in which Nixon asked Ted Kennedy to drive Bella Abzug home. This was a tasteless reference to the Chappaquiddick incident. Marv laughed out loud when he read it, as did everyone he showed it to, but ultimately decided it was in bad taste. I didn’t disagree.
Sometimes I would pitch an idea for a Crazy piece and sometimes Marv would ask me to work from an idea he had. I don’t think I could say with 100% certainty which were which. In the unlikely event Marvel ever published a Crazy Omnibus, my retentive nature would surely have me studying every piece I contributed trying to figure out which started with Marv and which with me.
I appeared in several Fumettis in the magazine. It wasn’t fun to do those. I wasn’t that comfortable performing back then. I did get a kick out of posing as a kid shooting up. I like being cast out of character like that.
Michelle Wolfman was the photogrpaher on some of those Fumettis. She was Marv’s then-wife and an office friend. In fact, when she was stuck in an office somewhat removed from the Bullpen area, I said she should move her desk into my editorial office. While I don’t have other specific memories, I know she had a pleasant personality and worked well with everyone. Also in that office was Chris Claremont, my immensely-talented assistant editor.
I don’t remember too much about The Great American Dream (my kid shooting up role) and the FOOM-ettie subscription ads. I was asked to appear in them and said yes. I’ve a vague memory of writing some subscription ads in that format. I do recall I was never asked to sign a release form when I appeared in them and was never paid for my participation.
Like most Marvel magazines of the era, some of the initial ideas were created in house and some were done from our homes. Many of us were on staff. We generally did our writing from our homes. I probably wrote the subscription ads in my office.
My favorite Crazy article was the “Watergate Grafitti” poster parody of the American Grafitti movie poster. I was also quite fond of the “Poli-Tickles” strips and a parody I did of the poster ads that were all over the comic books and magazines of the day. I don’t recall a lot of what I wrote for the magazine. Which is why I really wish Marvel would publish a collection of the first half-dozen issues or so.
For Poli-Tickles, I read the current magazines and newspapers. For the parodies, I would go see the movies and take copious notes. It’s weird watching a film and concentrating on what from it would make for funny bits. Everything I wrote for Crazy was written full-script.
I don’t believe Crazy or myself personally ever went too far. Though we weren’t under the Comics Code with the various Marvel magazines, we still largely had a Comics Code mentality.
People have judged Crazy to be a third rate rip-off of MAD. They weren’t wrong. I think we held our own with Cracked and were better than Sick. But MAD was always the gold standard for that kind of magazine. National Lampoon was a different thing and isn’t really comparable to what these magazines were doing.
By the way, MAD (all caps) is the correct spelling of the magazine. I used to argue with my editors at Comics Buyer’s Guide frequently about this. I don’t recall if I ever convinced them.
Asked why Marvel hasn't put out any trade paperbacks of Crazy Magazine reprints, I can only opine they spent all their money on Robert Downey Jr’s paychecks for the movies and have no money left to pay me royalties if they did reprint my work. Or it could be that they think the market for such books would be limited to those who had work reprinted in them. They might not be wrong there.
I wasn’t asked if I’d be interested in contributing to another magazine like Crazy. My usual answer would be a resounding yes. My answer of the moment is less sure. Looking at the country and the world around me, I’m not sure if I’d be up to the challenge of making people smile, much less laugh.
On the other hand, the late Don Thompson, co-editor of Comics Buyer’s Guide, used to say I wrote my funniest stuff when I was in pain, usually from the kidney stones that plagued me until my diseased gall bladder was removed from my body. That organ was in such bad shape that it literally fell apart as the surgeon removed it. I could’ve died at literally any moment before that. Talk about big laughs.
I believe there is honor in the trying to lighten the sadness of decent people. Especially now. I’ve always tried to do the right thing and live on the right side of history. Which will probably be the death of me.
For more on Crazy Magazine, you should check out the volumnous Crazy: The Magazine That Dared To Be Dumb by Mark Arnold and Mark Slate (Bear Manor Press; paperback $40, hardcover $50]. It is available from the publisher and from Amazon.
I’ll be back soon with more stuff.
© 2024 Tony Isabella
