The buttoned-down conformity of 1950s America sparked a sea-change in comedy. The satire of Mort Sahl and brash challenge of Lenny Bruce are considered its cutting edge, but its most influential expression was Mad, a comic book turned magazine that turned on society and the media with an irreverence the effects of which are still being felt today. As the Simpsons' producer Bill Oakley said: "Everyone who was young between 1955 and 1975 read Mad, and that's where your sense of humour came from."
The man who made Mad through those years was Al Feldstein, who has died aged 88. Feldstein took over as editor from Harvey Kurtzman in 1956 and ran the magazine until 1985. While it may have lost some of Kurtzman's chaotic visuals, it gained from Feldstein's sharp sense of satire, and his keenness to puncture society's pretensions. At its peak in the 1970s, Mad sold 2m copies per issue, important enough that when it poked fun at J Edgar Hoover, the FBI chief sent agents to Mad's offices to express his displeasure.
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