Customer Reviews

The Mad Playboy of Art

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Will Elder is one of the greatest artists in American history. Elder's works have appeared in magazines ranging from Mad to Playboy. Many of Elder's best works are parodies of such comic strips as Archie and Lil' Abner. Elder eventually became a full-time artist at Playboy Magazine and was one of Hugh Hefner's top assistants.

This is a must have book for all Will Elder fans.

Gary Groth and Greg Sadowski's Will Elder: Mad Playboy Of Art provides an in-depth retrospective of the American satirist known for his MAD comics. Will Elder packs in over a hundred pages of black and white and color illustrations from both popular and obscure magazines. The Goodman Beaver stories are reprinted for the first time in their original format, while paintings and sketches from Elder's other works document the personality and achievements of a zany artist.

I was introduced to Bill (or Will, if you prefer) Elder in the early 1950's when I discovered MAD the comic. I had been a fan of Sunday color comics and Superman/Batman as a kid but the comic art of Bill (that's how he signed his work in MAD) Elder
was so stunningly exceptional it was an instant hit with me and my friends. I especially liked all the "extra gags" hidden around the panels that made reading his stories take just a little longer. And made re-reading a must. I followed Mr. Elder through MAD, Humbug, Trump, HELP! and finally Playboy. Collecting his other contributions to popular magazines, his "Hateful Thoughts" collection and covers whenever I saw one. His work is so distinctive in it's clean clear sometimes photographic images, yet so diversified with his ability to mimic other artist's styles. You can be fooled into thinking you're really reading a L'il Abner story until you catch his signature on the splash panel. I am delighted that there is so much here in this book from the full length of his career, but I would really hope that there is a volume 2 that picks up the missing pieces from Goodman Beaver and a few others. MAD has been reprinted as has Little Annie Fannie. We need the complete Elder to enjoy over and over for years to come. Complimenting the fantastic art is the narrative highlighting Elder's life and other achievements. This marvelous book will be a welcome addition to anyone's bookshelf. Especially if you have a funny bone.