From its old perch on MADison Avenue, a building Gaines expressly chose because it had a 13th floor, the magazine spent decades thumbing its nose at American companies and pop culture. Besides, it's pretty clear that they could use the money. Mad won't disclose any financial data, but its circulation has declined sharply since the early 1970s, when it hit a peak of 2.3 million, and currently stands around 250,000. AOL Time Warner Inc. Still, Maria Reidelbach, an author and artist who wrote a history of the magazine, dismisses the notion that Mad is past its prime, saying that nostalgia for the Mad of old could just be readers longing for their lost youth. Mad has always been uneven.
Some stuff is really funny, and some is just filler.
But there is always stuff that's timely and relevant. But perhaps the most ringing endorsement of the magazine's enduring place in American culture is that prominent people still see it as a badge of honor to be publicly skewered in its pages. Charlton Heston wrote the magazine's editors a nice thank-you letter after Mad ran a graphic on its back page showing the National Rifle Association president polishing an assault rifle in his living room as a stuffed reindeer head hung above the fireplace. George W. Bush has also taken his licks. Mad editors recently came across a photo, taken last year, that they plan to run on their cover next month.