Sylvester P. Smythe Sold to Arabs

Brian Doherty | February 8, 2005

Kuwaitis, more specifically. I learn from the Comics Journal message board that the strangely long-lived Mad imitator Cracked (yes, it's still around, and has been for 46 solid years, though it took an 11-month hiatus early this century) has been sold to a Kuwaiti media company. I suppose this says something interesting about globalization and the meshing of world cultures and all that, but all I can think is: why would any company want to own Cracked?, and, maybe I could sell them my old record label...

You can commiserate and comment on this development in the life of American humor at, yes, a Cracked message board. After all these years, the Internet still has it in it to surprise me.

Comments

Tim Cavanaugh|2.8.05 @ 2:08PM|#

why would any company want to own Cracked?

Because (as of a few years ago at any rate) they publish a page of Terry Colon cartoons.

|2.8.05 @ 3:09PM|#

And didn't Peter Bagge do some Cracked stuff way back when?

Brian Doherty|2.8.05 @ 3:17PM|#

Yes, as did Daniel Clowes. Many geniuses have blessed the pages of CRACKED, to be sure. It is still more than ripe for mockery for its general crappiness, however.

aj|2.8.05 @ 3:28PM|#

Don't plan on doing too much commenting however.

FROM THE CRACKED DISCUSSION BOARD:

Due to an unfortunate incident whereupon a 'Guest' uploaded objectionable material to this message board, I have modified the settings so that there can be no new messages posted on this board except by me.

Until further notice, all messages must be approved before they are posted. So, if you would like to post a message, send it to me and I will post it for you.

I apologize for the inconvenience but I do not want that happening again

Thank you for your cooperation
� Last Edit: Jan 31st, 2005, 09:08am by Sylvester P. Smythe �

THIS GUY KNOWS HOW TO RUIN A BOARD QUICK AND EASY.

Although it is all moot since most anything will be objectionable under the new regime from the Mideast. Is this like when the church bought the strip club so it could evict it from the building?

Matt F|2.8.05 @ 3:31PM|#

{Pensively scratching chin...}
Hmm...

US government contemplates using covert cultural channels to curry favor and influence world opinion, especially in the Mideast...

Inexplicable purchase of much-scorned magazine by would-be Kuwaiti media magnate...

Hmm...

Jeff|2.8.05 @ 3:31PM|#

I surprised they didn't try to buy Heavy Metal, as it's always being acused of subjegating women.

In the meantime the ghosts of National Lampoon and Spy still haunt me...

Matt F|2.8.05 @ 3:34PM|#

Hmmm...

Cracked! message board suddenly shut down...

|2.8.05 @ 3:49PM|#

You bought Cracked because you were done reading Mad for the month and, well, you gotta read somethin'. And if you read Cracked before the next Mad came out, you bought Crazy. And if you read that too quick, then you bought Sick. So Cracked was number 2 on the hierarchy behind Mad, with CarToons being the bottom.

Jeff Smith|2.8.05 @ 10:31PM|#

No, you bought Crazy because it had breasts.

Did I say that? Hey, I was 10 at the time.

I actually still have my old copies of Cracked
and Crazy (and Mad too) ... better go look on
ebay to see what they are worth.

Jeff

|2.9.05 @ 3:54AM|#

At least Crazy had Bob Foster's The History of Moosekind.

http://tinyurl.com/6t7jg

Marvel's mag also had one of the funniest comics parodies ever, Casper, The Dead Baby, written Steve Gerber, IMS.

Kevin