Posted By Dan Greenfield on Jun 17, 2026 | 2 comments

A BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE…

By PETER BOSCH

The late Wallace Wood’s science-fiction and war stories were some of the greatest treasures to emerge from the EC Comics era and he was more than praised enough for them when published, as well as in the years that have followed.

Too often, though, that glory for Wood is centered on just those two subjects — and never enough on his humor work for EC’s Mad and Panic comics. And, yet, some of his best artwork and greatest gags could be found within their pages, as well as in Mad magazine when the comic book line was phased out.

It being his birthday — he was born June 17, 1927 — it’s time to open the curtains on 13 of those great, overlooked works. Since I wrote a recent book on movie comic books — American Movie Comic Books: 1930s-1970s — From the Silver Screen to the Printed Page, published by TwoMorrows — I’m going to focus on my favorite Wood cinema satires.

In chronological order, by publication:

(NOTE: All Mad stories below were written by Harvey Kurtzman)

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1. “Wild ½” takes the motion picture The Wild One (1953), starring Marlon Brando, for a spin. Mad #15 (Sept. 1954, EC).

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2. Julius Caesar (1953) was another Brando film. Mad #17 (Nov. 1954).

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3. Stalag 17 (1953, starring William Holden and Otto Preminger) was the inspiration for “Stalag 18!” in Mad #18 (Dec. 1954).

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4. Yet another movie starring Marlon Brando! Within the pages of Mad #21 (Mar. 1955), the Best Picture Oscar winner On the Waterfront (1954) became “Under the Waterfront!”

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5. From Mad #24 (July 1955), the first magazine edition after the comic book run, “Gluggle!” was a fantastic imitation ad by Wood of the poster art for the Jane Russell movie Underwater! (1955).

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6. Rock around the clock! Well, rocks – and bottles and knives. A normal day between teacher and students commences! “The Blackboard Jumble” in Mad #25 (Aug.-Sept. 1955) was a takeoff of The Blackboard Jungle (1955) and opened with an amazing two-page spread by Wood.

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In 1954, EC expanded into a second humor comic, Panic, with movie satires aplenty drawn by Wood (written by Al Feldstein, unless otherwise noted below), including:

7. Reaching back a few years, Panic #2 (Apr.-May 1954) took on the Humphrey Bogart-Katharine Hepburn action comedy The African Queen (1951).

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8. As with all Wood-drawn humor pieces, look for the smallest details he slips in. In this take on the John Wayne movie The Quiet Man (1953), which was set in Ireland, check out the splash panel’s labeling of “rocks” and “sham rocks.” Panic #3 (June-July 1954).

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9. Wood is back in Panic #4 (Aug.-Sept. 1954) with John Wayne in “Hindu,” a satire of the 3D western, Hondo (1953).

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10. How to Marry A Millionaire (1953) was a CinemaScope triumph, starring three of Hollywood’s most famous actresses at the time: Marilyn Monroe, Lauren Bacall, and Betty Grable. The Panic #5 (Oct.-Nov. 1954) lampoon of the film featured widescreen – er, wide panel – images of all three ladies.

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11. Gone with the Wind (1939) was re-released in 1954 for its 15th anniversary. So, naturally, EC thought it the perfect time to do a drubbing of the Gable-Leigh masterpiece in Panic #8 (Apr-May 1955), with a comic script by Jack Mendelsohn.

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12. Mendelsohn also wrote the script for the send-up of Walt Disney’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954), with excellent caricatures by Wood of stars Kirk Douglas and Peter Lorre.

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For the 13th choice, here are the spectacular original art pages for Mutiny on the Bouncy, one of the most gorgeously drawn stories by Wood during his time at Mad. This 6-page, hilarious look at the disastrous 1962 remake of Mutiny on the Bounty starring Marlon Brando (yes, again!) and Trevor Howard, appeared in Mad #80 (July 1963) and was written by Larry Siegel.  Enjoy!

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MORE

— PAUL KUPPERBERG: My 13 Favorite WALLY WOOD Comic Book Stories. Click here.

— The TOP 13 WALLY WOOD EC Stories — RANKED. Click here.

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13th Dimension contributor-at-large PETER BOSCH’s first book, American TV Comic Books: 1940s-1980s – From the Small Screen to the Printed Page, was published by TwoMorrows. (You can buy it here.) A sequel, American Movie Comic Books: 1930s-1970s — From the Silver Screen to the Printed Page, is out now. (Buy it here.) Peter has written articles and conducted celebrity interviews for various magazines and newspapers. He lives in Hollywood.