The other night, my wife asked why I had just burst out laughing; I told her it was because I'd just seen the cast of Star Wars doing the Macarena… What was I reading? It could only be a collection of parodies from the pages of MAD magazine… Laugh out loud funny stuff which is the perfect antidote to the horrible grey weather which is starting to creep into London at the moment.
Living in the UK, the closest I ever got to MAD magazine (until now) was a book that my Dad had been given. Even now, I still have a little chuckle at the picture of Smokey the woodland 'Ranger Bear' being shot by drunken hunters and being taken home on the back of a car! MAD magazine is a pretty big deal in the states though. Decades have been spent poking fun at the establishment and any form of popular culture that looks like it's getting too big for its boots. With thirty years in the spotlight, there is a lot to deride about Star Wars (especially given the 'quality' of the recent prequels) and all the best 'digs' have been included in this book.
Humour is a funny thing, you either get the joke or you don’t. ‘MAD About Star Wars’ is no different from any other humorous book in that it tries to appeal to everyone and ends up being a bit ‘hit and miss’ in it’s approach. There was plenty there to make me laugh though and I reckon the same will apply to you. I’ve already mentioned the ‘Star Wars Macarena’, other favourites included the Star Wars Musical but the best bits of all were the three panel cartoon strips. Less room to play around in means you have to get it right first time, look out for the strip showing a novel solution to the problem of riding a speeder bike through Endor forest…
This isn’t just a comic book though; it’s also a great source of trivia about what goes on behind the scenes at MAD as well the Star Wars films themselves. If you’re a fan of either franchise then I don’t think you can afford to miss this one!
Eight out of Ten
Are you a fan of either MAD magazine or Star Wars? Do you want my review copy of ‘MAD About Star Wars’? You do? You do! It couldn’t be easier to land yourself with a chance of winning. Simply drop me an email (address at the top right hand side of the screen) and let me have your postal address as well as your screen name on any boards that you frequent. I’m going to let this one run until next Thursday and I’ll announce the winner on Friday.
Good luck!
2 comments:
I'll never forget Mad Magazine's parody of Love Story. I had just read the novel (yes, I'm old) and I howled with laughter when I read that particular issue.
Just got this in the mail. Looks good!
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