See ‘What, Me Worry? The Art and Humor of Mad Magazine’ in Cincinnati

Since opening in 1886, the Cincinnati Art Museum has displayed works from some of the world’s most notable artists. Starting this fall, it will showcase work from the Usual Gang of Idiots. That’s the mostly affectionate term used to describe the writers and artists who created Mad Magazine, a staple for teens (and the immature at heart) for generations.

 “What, Me Worry? The Art and Humor of Mad Magazine” opens Nov. 21 and runs through March 1. It premiered in 2024 at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Massachusetts, and advisors included many of the magazine’s contributors, including Sam Viviano, who served as its art director. The exhibition includes more than 200 pieces of original art created for the magazine as well as ephemera like shirts, action figures and even neckties. 

“It’s going to be a little different than what we’ve done in the past, but it will hopefully bring in a lot of new people to the museum,” says Emily Agricola Holtrop, director of learning and interpretation at the Cincinnati Art Museum. 

Mad started as a comic book series published under Entertainment Comics in 1952 before taking off as a full-fledged magazine filled with satirical stories and parodies of popular media of the day.

“It was really one of the first things to look at social and historical issues through a satirical lens,” Holtrop says. “Nobody was exempt. A lot of kids reading Mad learned about the events of the day through humor.”

The magazine inspired everything from an off-Broadway musical to board games to mass-market paperbacks and other collectibles. New Mad content is still being turned out and the magazine’s influence is undeniable.

“It’s had such an impact on our culture,” Holtrop says. “Institutions like ‘Saturday Night Live’ and ‘The Daily Show’ wouldn’t exist without Mad. because the people who created them are all fans.”

953 Eden Park Dr., Cincinnati 45202, 513/721-2787, cincinnatiartmuseum.org