Al Feldstein has left us
SolitaireRose
Posts: 1,445
Al Feldstein, artist, writer, editor, and painter passed away today.
He started as an artist, was hired at EC as an artist, and moved to editor...and he edited everything EC published in the New Trend other than the Kurtzman comics. That's Tales From The Crypt, Vault of Horror, Crime SuspenStores, Pain, Weird Science and so on... He then took over editorship of MAD when Kurtzman tried to blackmail Publisher William Gaines into giving him 51% ownership of MAD and made it one of the best selling magazines of all time.
He retired in 1984 when MAD was still selling over a million copies, and took to painting and going to comic conventions.
He was a giant, and the world is a better place because he was here...and no, that's not hyperbole. His editorship of MAD created the modern form of parody, influenced comedy and taught generations to question authority and big business.
Thanks, Al. You'll be missed.
He started as an artist, was hired at EC as an artist, and moved to editor...and he edited everything EC published in the New Trend other than the Kurtzman comics. That's Tales From The Crypt, Vault of Horror, Crime SuspenStores, Pain, Weird Science and so on... He then took over editorship of MAD when Kurtzman tried to blackmail Publisher William Gaines into giving him 51% ownership of MAD and made it one of the best selling magazines of all time.
He retired in 1984 when MAD was still selling over a million copies, and took to painting and going to comic conventions.
He was a giant, and the world is a better place because he was here...and no, that's not hyperbole. His editorship of MAD created the modern form of parody, influenced comedy and taught generations to question authority and big business.
Thanks, Al. You'll be missed.
Comments
One thing you didn't mention was all the covers he did for EC before and during the time he was editing there (and he did a lot of them)—particularly for Weird Fantasy and Weird Science. One thing Al was known for during his artist days were his sweater girls—talk about your headlights! While he was never as good as Matt Baker, he says he picked up a lot from looking over Matt’s shoulder when they were both working for the Iger Studio (post-Eisner).
But you're absolutely right that Al was a very important figure in the industry and in pop culture at large.
Al Feldstein & Jack Kamen | Women in Love #2
A legend in every sense of the word. He'll be missed.
The smoke!
The booth!
The tablecloth!
Genius!