It was:
What were you into when you were a kid? Did you read MAD magazine and/or the NATIONAL LAMPOON? Were you a comic book guy? What were your Saturday morning viewing habits? Bugs and Daffy?
MAD Magazine was my bible growing up. Both for the gags and some spectacular cartoonists. Mort Drucker, Jack Davis, Wallace Woods, Don Martin, Al Jaffe — the list goes on.
In college I graduated to NATIONAL LAMPOON. They were so subversive. I bet 90% of the brilliant stuff they did back then society would not allow them to do today — which is a cryin’ shame.
I also loved SPY Magazine.
For single-panel cartoons there was always the New Yorker, but in those days there were lots of other magazines that featured cartoons. ESQUIRE, PLAYBOY (Yeah, that’s why I wanted to get my hands on a PLAYBOY — to see the cartoons), LOOK, and quite a few more.
And since I was a nerd (which I’m sure comes as a complete shock to you), I was a big comic book and comic strip fan.
Other than Batman and Superman, the comics I gravitated towards focused more on being funny. I loved the classics: POPEYE, PEANUTS, HI & LOIS, BLONDIE, SNUFFY SMITH, BRINGING UP FATHER, WIZARD OF ID, BROOM HILDA, ALLEY OOP, and others.
TV cartoons: Crusader Rabbit was my favorite, followed by Rocky & Bullwinkle. They were funny and clever and contained a lot of humor that I knew was over my head, but I liked a show I could watch with Dad.
I loved Looney Tunes waaaay more than Disney cartoons. They were edgier, less polished, and way more inspired. I still love Warner Brother cartoons.
The original Max Fleisher Popeye cartoons were the best. All that followed — the Paramount era, etc. — sucked in my opinion.
I also liked Mighty Mouse and some of the Hanna-Barbera stuff. The first year of both THE FLINTSTONES and THE JETSONS were pretty terrific and then they fell off quickly. Oh, I also liked TOP CAT.
Other cartoonists I admired: Al Hirschfeld who was a God, Virgil Patch (VIP), R. Crumb, Charles Addams, Walt Kelly (POGO), Ed “Big Daddy” Roth, Rube Goldberg, Rick Griffen who drew for surf magazines, and a few political cartoonists like Paul Conrad in the LA TIMES. And I’m sure I’m leaving out ten more.
So to answer your question, Mike: All of the above.
from By Ken Levine
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