Will Elder was one of the original cartoonists at Harvey Kurtzman’s MAD comic book. Elder has often been hailed as the source of the MAD visual sensibility. Packing the panels with gags upon gags was Elder’s style and it became the foundation for MAD. William Gaines, the first publisher of Mad, once described Mr. Elder as “our only contributor who lived a life as crazy as our magazine.”

It was Elder’s story in the first issue of EC’s PANIC comic book that pushed Congress to investigate the influence comics had on the rise of Juvenile Delinquency in our society. As David Hajdu, author of “The 10-cent Plague”, says, “If you trace the Hurricane back to the flutter of the butterfly, it’s Will Elder’s Visit to St. Nicholas that was the cause.”

Will Elder stayed with Kurtzman when he left MAD and brought his unique perspective to TRUMP, Humbug, Help and Playboy’s Little Annie Fanny; all culture bell-weathers. To say that Elder and Kurtzman were the influences of the turmoil of the sixties is not an understatement, they enabled the youth of America to question authority with their exposure of advertising and corporate hypocrisy in MAD and beyond.

To trace the story of Will Elder from the streets of the Bronx to the newsstands of the world, director Gary VandenBergh has assembled an amazing cast of comic book creators and experts. These include: Mad Magazine’s founding editor Harvey Kurtzman; Bill Gaines, Mad Magazine and EC publisher; Nick Meglin, Mad Magazine editor and writer; cartoonist Arnold Roth; Gary Groth, publisher and editor of Fantagraphics, and author David Hajdu.

The Mad Playboy of Art is a work-in-progress documentary. To contribute or for more information visit www.TheMadPlayboyOfArt.com

Fine Print Press Administrator,

“Nick Fury, Agent of the S.H.I.E.L.D.” is probably Jim Steranko’s most famous work. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby of Marvel Comics originally created “Nick Fury”. “Nick Fury” was a feature in the “Strange Tales” comic book series.

Jim Steranko joined Marvel Comics in 1966. He had preciously worked as a graphic artist for an ad agency as well as helping to create a line of super heroes for Harvey Comics. These included Spyman, Magicmaster and the Gladiator. One day in 1966 Steranko entered Stan Lee’s Marvel office and walked out of the office with the “Nick Fury” assignment.

Jim’s first project was on “Strange Tales” issue #151, December 1966. He penciled and inked ‘finishes’ over Jack Kirby’s layouts. But for the next issue Stan Lee promoted Steranko to artist. A couple of issues later he began drawing “Nick Fury” covers and by issue #155 he took over the writing of the series.

“Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.” was to become one of the most groundbreaking, acclaimed features of the Silver Age of comics. Ron Goulart wrote in Comix: A History of Comic Books in America: “… the dullest of readers could sense that something new was happening. … With each passing issue Steranko’s efforts became more and more innovative. Entire pages would be devoted to photocollages of drawings [that] ignored panel boundaries and instead worked together on planes of depth. The first pages … became incredible production numbers similar in design to the San Francisco rock concert poster of the period”

Steranko’s working knowledge of graphic design allowed him a unique approach to sequential art. His use of special effects and marketing tactics on the cover art had never been seen by comic book readers before. As well, he created comics’ first panoramic four-page spread and wrote intriguing, outrageously action-filled plots.

Three of the most beloved issues of “Captain America” and their covers were drawn by Jim Steranko, issues (110, 111, 113) He was to do a fourth, but missed the deadline. As a result Jack had to draw the issue over a weekend.

In his later career, Jim Steranko ventured into new territory doing original set design for Steven Spielberg’s “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and Francis Ford Coppola’s “Bram Stoker’s Dracula”. He also designed the character of Indiana Jones for Spielberg.

Stan Lee was born in New York City, New York, on December 28, 1922.  He brought many great characters to the comic book world throughout the 1960’s before eventually becoming the editor of the world famous Timely Comics, which are now referred to as Marvel Comics.  He joined forces as the editor of the comic book series very soon after his duties were served in World War II.  Their rival comics were the D.C. Comics and shortly after Stan Lee took over as editor of Timely Comics, they became the “powerhouse” in comic books with the help of Stan Lee and his creation of other famous characters such as The Incredible Hulk and Captain America.

In the later years of Stan Lee’s career, he made his way into movies, internet shows, and television shows. He has lectured at many colleges and made many appearances at comic book conventions including the San Diego Comic-Con International held July 2010. He will always be remembered as one of the few that brought comic books to the popularity that we all know today.