Classic Danny Kaye musical parody., Mad 'mood music' spoof. Kelly Freas-Sharp cover. Danny Kaye Ernie Kovacs stories, Wood, Orlando, Drucker, Berg Martin art. Mad (stylized as MAD) is an American humor magazine founded in 1952 by editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines,[3] launched as a comic book series before it became a magazine. It was widely imitated and influential, affecting satirical media, as well as the cultural landscape of the 20th century, with editor Al Feldstein increasing readership to more than two million during its 1973–74 circulation peak. The magazine, which is the last surviving title from the EC Comics line, publishes satire on all aspects of life and popular culture, politics, entertainment, and public figures. Its format is divided into a number of recurring segments such as TV and movie parodies, as well as freeform satire articles about normal everyday occurrences that are changed to seem humorous. Mad's mascot, Alfred E. Neuman, is typically the focal point of the comic books cover, with his face often replacing that of a celebrity or character who is lampooned within the issue.