Harvey Kurtzman: the man who created Mad and revolutionized humor in America: a biography

Cartoonist. A community in chalk -- The castle on the hill -- The little schnook -- Kurtzman in uniform -- "We of a certain milieu" -- The three musketeers -- Desperation -- Son of Gaines -- From zero to sixty -- Editor. A war comic with a conscience -- A new kind of comic book -- Mad beginnings -- From GI to general -- Mad takes off -- Mad goes monthly -- Mad at each other -- Mad goes "legit" -- Nine glorious months -- Humbug -- Climbing back -- Help! -- A lifeline -- Icon. Children of Mad -- Kurtzman in the 1970s -- Tuesday afternoons with Harvey -- Being Harvey Kurtzman -- "It burns me up!" -- In memoriam.;Harvey Kurtzman created Mad, and Mad revolutionized humor in America. Kurtzman was the original editor, artist, and sole writer of Mad, one of the greatest publishing successes of the 20th century. But how did Kurtzman invent Mad, and why did he leave it shortly after it burst, nova-like, onto the American scene? For this heavily researched biography, Bill Schelly conducted new interviews with Kurtzman's colleagues, friends and family, including Hugh Hefner, R. Crumb, Jack Davis, and many others, and examined Kurtzman's personal archives. The result is the true story of one the 20th century's greatest humorists: Kurtzman's family life, the details of the FBI's investigation during the McCarthy Era, his legal battles with William M. Gaines (publisher of Mad), are all revealed for the first time. Rich with anecdotes, this book traces Kurtzman's life from his Brooklyn beginnings to his post-Mad years, when his ceaseless creativity produced more innovations: new magazines, a graphic novel, and Little Annie Fanny in Playboy.