MAD Magazine #501

is an American humor magazine founded by editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines in 1952. The last surviving title from the notorious and critically acclaimed EC Comics line (Mad began as a comic book published by EC, debuting in August 1952 with cover-date October-November), the magazine offers satire on all aspects of American life and pop culture, politics, entertainment, and public figures. Its format is divided into a number of recurring segments such as TV and movie parodies, as well as free form articles. Mad's mascot, Alfred E. Neuman, is typically the focal point of the magazine's cover, with his face often replacing a celebrity or character that is lampooned within the issue. --

I find the spoof tweets of William Shatner on Star Trek, as well as legend Sergio Aragones' MAD take on the same movie, hilarious. MAD Magazine's home page says the release was for August 12, 2009, although weeks later no one has yet seen a copy. I'll just go by the official date of release and let it go at that. Of course this issue's pre-solicitation takes gleeful fun in ribbing all those impatient folks out there:

Written and illustrated by The Usual Gang of Idiots! So what if summer starts its crawl to a halt by the time this issue ships? We've still got the giggling goods to keep you in a sunny mood right here! Times are tough and it seems like everyone's cutting back – but our latest issue is FULL of great crap! We mock the latest iPhone apps, Twitter, Match.com, Geico, Rock Band, Star Trek, ShamWow, Michael Jackson AND we even throw in a full-blown spoof of Harry Potter! All this, plus The Fold-in, The Fundalini Pages, The MAD Strip Club and TWO Spy Vs. Spy adventures! There are also awesome NEW features, The MAD Quarterly Report, The MAD Vault and the All-New What the Heck is the Difference? So stop reading this and go buy a copy - consider it your comedic stimulus package! --

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