Posted By Dan Greenfield on Jun 4, 2025 | 1 comment

FIRST LOOK! PLUS: An EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW of June 11’s Mad #44 — with vintage and new material!

Well, isn’t this cool? Mad #44, which comes out June 11, is a Superman special — because, y’know, the movie — and the cover is by our pal Kerry Callen! Plus, the ish features not just vintage material by legends like Don Martin and Sergio Aragones, but new material, as well.

Woo-hoo!

Check this out:

And dig this peek inside. Notice that table of contents — lotsa good stuff there, including a new gag by Kerry that I leave for you to discover when you buy the mag:

Kerry’s long had a professional connection with Mad (through our other pal Bill Morrison, who was the EiC), but his love for all things Gang of Idiots dates to childhood — when he made his own comic of Alfred E. Neuman as a Man of Steel knockoff:

“I had the honor of drawing the cover for Mad #44,” sez Kerry, he of our SUNDAY FUNNIES WITH KERRY CALLEN feature. “For kicks, you can compare the cover to a ‘Mad’ I drew when I was a kid.

“This four-page book is the very first thing I remember drawing. I was 6 or 7 when my older brother brought home a couple of Mad magazines,” he added. “I was hooked and had to draw my own! It was drawn on what we used to call ‘typing paper,’ but now call ‘printer paper.’ You can see the Don Martin influence on the main character in the last image.

“I can explain the joke on the last page! But first, a touch of background info: Every Halloween, in an Arkansas town of 248 people, there would be a costume contest in our small Community Center. (The building was previously a one-room schoolhouse.) Contestants, mostly kids, would walk onto a small stage.

“So here’s the joke: The man who is holding his head, ACTUALLY removed his head! He’s declared the winner, but unfortunately dies at the same.”

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Mad #44 will be in shops June 11. You can also subscribe at madmag.com

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MORE

— A KERRY CALLEN Classic Makes the Cover of MAD’s 2024 FREE COMIC BOOK DAY Issue. Click here.

— KERRY CALLEN: Why You Should NEVER Piss Off SUPERMAN. Click here.