MAD MAGAZINE HQ- 1997

I'm still unclear as to how it ever happened, but in 1997 my mother went out on a friendly date with the man seen in this photo. His name is Nick Meglin and he spent most of his career working for Mad Magazine, including a 20 year stint as an editor. I'll admit that this was the first time since my father's passing that I actually found myself wishing for more wedding bells for mom. Alas, the timing was all wrong; the love I was hoping for never bloomed and my dreams of wedding invitations illustrated by Sergio Aragonés (complete with Mad fold-in on the back) were shot dead as the White Spy. (I still wonder if Alfred E. Neuman is ordained.) On the lighter side, for me the encounter amounted to a good-sized stack of Mads, as well as this trio of recently rediscovered snapshots my mother took of the Mad offices. At the time they operated out of the DC Comics building at 1700 Broadway in Manhattan (I think they're still there). I'm guessing it wasn't open to the public, so I figured that some of you might appreciate this quick but rare glimpse of the place...

This surprisingly tasteful meeting area is overseen by the Alfred statue prop from Mad's foray into film, Up The Academy. The walls are adorned with what I assume to be original art for the mobile in Mad Follies #4.

This display is exactly what I would hope to see if I were to visit the Mad offices. Way to continually meet my expectations Mad. (Click the photo to enlarge.)