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Al Jaffee’s Mad Life audiobook

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Al Jaffee’s Mad Life Audiobook Summary

“One of the great cartoonists of our time.” –New Yorker cartoonist Arnold Roth

The remarkable story of one of America’s most prolific and beloved cartoonists, Al Jaffee, with dozens of original color illustrations. Jaffe’s career in cartooning stretches back to 1941–with early humor pieces for Timely Comics, a precursor to Marvel Comics–but the iconic artist remains best known for the brilliant Fold-In cartoons he invented at Bill Gaines’s Mad magazine in 1964. The cerebral and sardonic illustrations have inspired generations of Mad readers–including Stephen Colbert, R. Crumb, Gary Larson and Charles Shultz–to embrace a firm and healthy irreverence towards the status quo. New York Times columnist and bestselling author Mary-Lou Weisman (My Middle-Aged Baby Book) helps Jaffe tell his remarkable story.

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Al Jaffee’s Mad Life Audiobook Narrator

Allen Rickman is the narrator of Al Jaffee’s Mad Life audiobook that was written by Mary-Lou Weisman

Award-winning journalist and bestselling author Mary-Lou Weisman’s books include My Baby Boomer Baby Book, Traveling While Married, and Intensive Care: A Family Love Story. Her essays, feature articles, interviews, and film and book reviews have appeared in many publications, including the New Republic, Atlantic Monthly, and the New York Times, and she has contributed essays and commentary to Public Radio International. She lives in Westport, Connecticut, with her husband.

Al Jaffee is an award-winning cartoonist whose work has appeared in more 440 issues of MAD magazine–a total unmatched by any other writer or artist–including his trademark, the MAD fold-in, which has been featured in almost every issue since 1964.

About the Author(s) of Al Jaffee’s Mad Life

Mary-Lou Weisman is the author of Al Jaffee’s Mad Life

More From the Same

Al Jaffee’s Mad Life Full Details

Narrator Allen Rickman
Length 6 hours 41 minutes
Author Mary-Lou Weisman
Category
Publisher HarperAudio
Release date January 18, 2011
ISBN 9780062084651

Subjects

The publisher of the Al Jaffee’s Mad Life is HarperAudio. includes the following subjects: The BISAC Subject Code is Comic Strips & Cartoons, Form, HUMOR

Additional info

The publisher of the Al Jaffee’s Mad Life is HarperAudio. The imprint is HarperAudio. It is supplied by HarperAudio. The ISBN-13 is 9780062084651.

Global Availability

This book is only available in the United States.

Goodreads Reviews

Rich

February 14, 2014

This was a decidedly different type of comic book creator biography than most I've been used to reading. It is well over half-way into the book before Al Jaffee's comic book career is really mentioned. It is a fascinating look at a very creative cartoonist who grew up in some very daunting circumstances, having been forced to go back to his mother's relatively primitive homeland of Lithuania twice during his formative years. There is a lot of reminiscing about that time period, but it is not boring or trite - ii's simply fascinating. The detail reminds me of a Laura Ingalls Wilder book, but the attitude is all Al Jaffee. Still, with this rustic upbringing and the various other travails, it's so surprising, at least to me, that he managed to turn out to be the humorist he did ... at least not without a laundry list of mental problems. Definitely glad he did, naturally.The book proceeds on to his work with various comic book companies, including Stan Lee at Timely/Atlas (which would become Marvel), some short runs working for Harvey Kurtzman and, of course, his legendary run for Bill Gaines at Mad Magazine. There's a wealth of detail there as well. This is a great read whether you're a comic book fan or not.

Clem

December 05, 2018

There was about a three year period for me growing up in the 1970s when MAD Magazine was the bomb. From about 3rd grade until about 6th grade, nothing brought me more pleasure than a trip to the grocery store, heading towards the periodicals, and seeing that the new, bi-monthly issue of MAD was out. Not to mention all of the books, “super specials” (you’ll know what that is if you’re a fan), calendars, games and other memorabilia that celebrated irreverence so well, without ever really crossing the line.I still remember the names of many of the contributors. Don Martin, Sergio Aragones, Frank Jacobs, Dick DeBartello, and who could forget Dave Berg’s “The Lighter Side Of...”? My favorite, though was Al Jaffee. Nobody could make me break down into hysterics better then Jaffee. If you were a casual reader, Jaffee was the one the contribute the back cover “fold-ins” as well as the immortal “Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions”. Never knowing that much about the comings and goings of the magazine, I was eager to read this biography that came out only a couple of years ago.Although this was a very well written, and interesting look at the man’s life, it sadly fell short of my expectations. What I was really wanting, was the majority of this book to be about the goings on at MAD Magazine. This book actually covers very little of that frame of Jaffee’s life. It’s about 90% “pre-MAD” and 10% MAD. Of the “Pre-MAD” portion, most of that deals with Jaffee’s childhood. It’s a very interesting (and a bit sad) childhood. Growing up in a Jewish family in rural Georgia in a fairly well-to-to home, Jaffee’s eccentric mother, for whatever reason, takes Al and his little brothers away from their father rather abruptly to move to the “old country” of Lithuania. Lithuania, according to Jaffee, was about a “century behind”. The situation was rather tough, yet Al and his clan managed the best they could. Still, there were a lot of trials and tribulations in a very strict Orthodox Jewish family, and you can easily see where Jaffee gets his warped sense of humor.So without going into too much detail, only the last chapter or so deals with his tenure at MAD, and to be blunt, it isn’t very interesting. You learn a few snippets, but not really that much. To be fair, though, there probably isn’t that many interesting things that happened behind the production of the magazine, so the author can’t really write about things that never happened. An example of the eventlessness: Supposedly most of the writers and artists didn’t even work at the MAD office. They simply did their work from home, and got paid on a “per page” basis when they submitted their work. It seems as though it was a grim existence, and the humor at MAD probably surfaced much more on the pages in the magazine than it did behind the scenes.So it was a nice, well-done story about a man that many probably aren’t that familiar with. if you’re a fan, it’s worth the purchase. It’s not too long either, and Jaffee even illustrates much of the book giving the reader a nice, visual description of the escapades.Several years ago, there was a CD-ROM collection of every MAD magazine made up until the late 1990s. I’ll still have it and view/read it from time to time. It would be great if such a retrospective could be released in a similar fashion of all of Jaffee’s “solo” material. There was a lot, and it was all great!

Joseph

July 05, 2020

I really enjoyed learning the story Al Jaffee's Mad Life in Savannah, Lithuania,The Bronx, his work with Stan Lee and pre-code comics, the birth if the Snappy Answers, details about the rise and fall of Mad Magazine, and much more. Great read! However, I found a typo that I know Al Jaffee would not have made, so it must belong to the author or an editor. The book explains that for Jaffee's 85th birthday, Stephen Colbert presented him with a fold-in cake which read: "Al, You have repeatedly shown artistry and care of great credit to your field."When the center of the cake was cut and removed and the two halves put together, aka folded in, it then read, according to the book: "Al, you're old."I puzzled over this fold in message and could not figure out how the contraction, and especially the apostrophe, fit in since the original pre-fold sentence didn't have one. Finally, I searched the web and found a photo of the cake, which actually read "Al, you are old.", which actually is a bit funnier or more irreverent or Madesque or something. So, some over zealous editor just could not keep themselves from correcting the grammar, even to the ultimate detriment of the gag. Al, the inventor and master of the minute details behind every fold-in, would never have made the same mistake. View folded cake here:https://www.newsfromme.com/2006/03/17...

Jonathan

November 03, 2019

The better part of this book is devoted to Jaffee's childhood -- which was quite strange, intriguing, and potentially very dangerous. A fair portion of the material on his adult life is about bouncing between magazines, most of which died young, and the 'fights' between various publishers and editors (which I was much less interested in than the stories of his young life). Throughout the book is a building story of Jaffee's natural talent and the complexity of his work, as well as the appreciation other artists have for Jaffee's ability. Having seen Jaffee's work since I was very young, I had never thought much of the technical skill and strength involved, just enjoyed the comical qualities. For any fans of Jaffee, Mad Magazine, or cartooning in general, this is a good read, with some fun illustrations.

Jaime

January 06, 2023

I grew up reading Mad magazine and loved Al Jaffee's "Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions" and the "Fold-Ins".Al has a rough childhood traveling back and forth from the U.S. and living in Lithuania. It didn't help that his own mother caused most of his troubles which has had ramifications as an adult.Along with his childhood we also learn about his first stints as an artist and of course his career at Mad magazine.What made this biography special is that Al Jaffee has his art throughout the book. Not only from his times with Mad magazine but also new art especially made for this book depicting different aspects of his life.I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Yosef

December 12, 2019

Like many kids of my generation, we grew up reading Mad Magazine. One of the many Mad Men, we encountered during our formative (or was that deformative) years was Al Jaffee. I fondly recall his very technical articles as well as his Snappy Comebacks pieces and of course the fold ins. But, i knew nothing of his life. He was born in Georgia. But his mother, moved the family back to Lithuania not once but twice. He is still alive and nearly 100 as of this writing. As I discovered by reading this book, he has led quite an interesting life. I recommend this book for longtime Mad Magazine fans.

Mary

July 03, 2018

My brother picked this up in a thrift store and gave it to me (to share with our cousin) because of my young enthusiasm for MAD. I liked it quite a lot—both the bits about Jaffee's cartooning career and the early part about his childhood. Born in the US, he was taken by his mother back to the shtetl she'd come from, then his father took him to New York, then his mother took him back to the shtetl, then his father took him back to New York: not a common path!

M

April 01, 2021

An amazing story about the long successful life of Al Jaffee, who started working at Mad Magazine in 1955... Weisman details Jaffee's incredible childhood, full of upheaval and travel between savannah Georgia and his mother's shtetl in Lithuania. With three brothers how were very close as children who were divided between their parents as they grew older and never were able to renew their closeness as they aged. But also about his very successful career at Mad Magazine.

Michael

March 14, 2021

The story of one of the most prolific artists of Mad Magazine, a total ripper of a book.

Jean

March 14, 2018

Very interesting set in part in Europe

Juliahoney

July 17, 2017

very sad interesting life

Laura

May 17, 2019

A great book! This was my second read. The man led an amazing life.

Lizzie

June 10, 2015

A short but very entertaining biography of Al Jaffee, writer and cartoonist best known for his work on MAD magazine. He was born in New York to immigrant parents. His father managed a department store in Savannah. In 1927 his mother got the crazy idea to take her four young sons back to Lithuania, to the shtel where she grew up, because she was homesick. Al, the eldest, was six years old. His father refused to accompany them and somewhere along the long journey Al realized that he could not depend on his mother for protection or survival. They found lodging with his mother's father and other relatives, in the vanished world of pre WWII Europe complete with outhouses and kerosene lamps. His mother reassured the boys that their father would come "soon" to take them home, but weeks turned into months with no father, though he sent them packages of Sunday comics every few weeks. Al realized his father was similarly untrustworthy for having let their mother take them away, and for not coming to their aid. Things were chaotic: their mother was obsessed with doing charitable works and spent their money on others, while her boys didn't have enough to eat. Al remembers always being hungry. She'd lock them in the house while she went out to help the poor. The boys adapted; they were on their own most of the time and made their own fun with home made toys and games with the local kids. On the eve of WWII their father finally showed up and took them back to America. Their mother was eventually killed by the Nazis. Back in the USA Al was a greenhorn with his hobnailed shoes and accented English, again the odd kid out.He'd always been good at drawing, impressing other kids with his copies of comic characters. In Lithuania he drew in the dirt; in America he kept drawing on paper. His teachers recognized his talent and he was chosen to go to the new High School of Music and Art, along with his friend Wolf Eisenberg. Wolf later changed his name to Will Elder. After high school he freelanced for MAD and worked on various comics till he joined Trump and Humbug (both failed) and eventually MAD. I know him only from MAD and hadn't realized he did other comics. He created a syndicated strip called "Tall Tales" with vertical strips and jokes that worked with that format - he figured it was a good way to get onto the comic page. Somebody should put together a book of these. At MAD he both wrote and drew all kinds of stuff. I have one of his "Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions" books around here somewhere, and his most famous contribution is probably the fold-in that appeared on the last page.It's an entertaining and poignant book. He's frank about his family problems and the legacy of distrust his chaotic childhood left him. His next youngest brother Harry was his playmate and drawing partner growing up, but as an adult he became more and more paranoid and disoriented and died alienated from family. A third brother had become deaf from meningitis in Lithuania; he went to a school for the Deaf but his disability limited their communication. Al's first marriage ended unhappily but as he says, his MAD family came through for him. Eventually he married a second time, more happily, but at the end of the book he's joking about how hard it is for him to enjoy himself.

Matt

March 02, 2017

Great read about a truly original artist that is somehow still going strong.

Book

June 14, 2011

** spoiler alert ** Al Jaffee's Mad Life A Biography by Mary-Lou Weisman Illustrated by Al JaffeeAl Jaffee is a cartoonist for Mad magazine. He also has over sixty cartoon books he has written. He is best known for the fold-ins at the back of Mad Magazine. He illustrated this biography with a mix of slice of life comics about his own life and light humor comics. I like the slightly exaggerated style of the cartoons. They remind me a bit of a kind of slightly guilty pleasure. This book covers his whole life.The story starts with his childhood which is quite poignant and hard. It starts with him moving from Savannah Georgia to live with his mother in a Lithuanian shtetl (small jewish town). Then it covers his return to live in New York city. The story is one of hardship and suffering. He ends up leaving his mother behind as the Jewish holocaust starts.This biography has quite a bit of mature themes in it; his brother going mad, another brother having extreme disabilities, and being separated from his mother. He often describes himself as a cut up and a bit out of control. This is illustrated by a variety of escapades throughout his life which can be both ridiculous and shockingThe thing which ultimately saves him is humor. He describes reading comics his father sends him as a child and deciding that there is a career for him in comics when he sees advertisements by Dr. Seuss. There are quite a few cartoons from Al Jaffee's early career in this book including many from Mad magazine. The juxtaposition between everyday life and silly humor fits well with the writing.In what I consider the second half of the book, he gets his break when he is accepted for the New York High School for Music and Art as it is first opening. There he meets Harvey Kurtzman and some of the early figures in comics. This biography describes his work for many important people in the comics industry.The second half of the book touches on the history of comic books. It is quite entertaining. I rather liked a few of the wordless comics on page 180. I also like the inventiveness in this book. Al Jaffe attributes this to having very little when he was a child. He had to make his own toys. There are interesting cartoons of home made fishing poles, rafts, a toy truck and other toys.This book is not in the least bit academic in style. It is full of anecdotes, humor, and sad stories. There is no index and no lists of recommended titles. There are some photographs from the authors life, many cartoons in full color from both the auhor's life and Mad magazine. The book is printed on heavy stock paper. It is published by Harper Collins under the itbooks imprint. This is a story that makes you think.

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