Posted By Dan Greenfield on Jan 21, 2024 | 5 comments

A special SUNDAY FUNNIES WITH KERRY CALLEN!

Usually, SUNDAY FUNNIES WITH KERRY CALLEN is a straight-up gag. But this week we’re breaking format to bring you some news: Our pal Kerry’s nabbed the cover spot for Mad’s May 4 Free Comic Book Day issue with one of his classics.

Dig this:

I’d like to think that the editors at Mad read SUNDAY FUNNIES WITH KERRY CALLEN on the regular and thought, “Y’know, that weekly feature with Kerry’s satires over at 13th Dimension is a real gas. We oughta put him on the cover for FCBD. He’s really made the big time.”

As if. Kerry worked for Mad long before we provided a step stool to even greater fame and fortune.

Here’s Kerry’s back story for this Superman classic:

“Back in 2012, I submitted a couple of parody designs to the popular t-shirt site, Threadless,” Kerry sez. “One was of a man in a blue suit accidentally ripping his costume open. To me, it wasn’t exactly Superman. You could not see his emblem and his barely-seen belt was blue, not yellow. The other design was of a woman ripping open her shirt. She had accidentally forgotten to wear a costume. The man design was added to the site for sale, but the woman one was not. It was seen as sexist, I suppose. I didn’t even attempt to make it sexy, as you can tell by the bra choice. (Side note: Over the years, as the image has been shared online, I’ve discovered that women tend to love the image more than men!)

“Skipping forward to 2018, I was asked by the kind folks at Mad magazine (Allie Goertz and Bill Morrison especially) if I would like to contribute material to a soft revamp of their book,” Kerry adds. “I, of course, said, ‘YES!!’ I wondered if they had anything specific in mind, and they referenced, among other things, ‘Superman’ ripping his costume open. I offered that same specific image to them and they took me up on it. Then, they suggested I might push it a little further. To which I replied, ‘I could give him hairy nipples!’ It ran in 2019’s Mad #1, along with other original material written and drawn by me in the “Potrzebie Comics” section.

“And now we’re to see it on Mad’s FCBD offering. Ha ha! Mothers, shield your children’s eyes!”

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OK, folks: Here’s the solicitation. The spelled Kerry’s name wrong in the cover credit, but what’re you gonna do?

MAD MAGAZINE 2024 FCBD SPECIAL EDITION

Written by The Usual Gang of Idiots
Cover by An Idiot With a Crayon
32 pages
ON SALE: 5/4/24

America’s longest-running satire magazine continues to skewer everything pop culture, this time in comic book size! This Free Comic Book Day special edition of MAD features a wide variety of classic favorites like “Spy vs. Spy”, and “A MAD Look at…” by Sergio Aragonés. Plus, some maniacal mockeries of some of your favorite DC Superheroes, and a whole lot more from the Usual Gang of Idiots. This special edition will surely cure what ails you with a shot of humor in the jugular vein. And it is even cheaper than the usual CHEAP! Because it is FREE! So, you really would be an idiot if you didn’t go out and grab one!

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Want more SUNDAY FUNNIES WITH KERRY CALLEN? Come back next week!

Want a commission? Send an email to KerryCallenArt@gmail.com. You can also find other work at linktr.ee/kerrycallen. And here’s his latest t-shirt store, on TeePublic.

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MORE

— Why There’s Never Been a BATMAN-MOON KNIGHT Team-Up — REVEALED! Click here.

— The DARKSEID-MR. MXYZPTLK Showdown We’re All Craving. Click here.

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KERRY CALLEN spent much of his career as an artist and art director, developing product for Hallmark, but has also dabbled in comics for many years. As a freelancer, he creates work for a range of needs, spanning from Mad Magazine to children illustrations. He has two graphic novels available on Amazon worldwide, Halo and Sprocket: The Definitive Collection, as well as Dirtnap: Mystic Spit.