Editing Crazy Magazine (section)

==History==
Marvel Comics (then known as Atlas Comics) first published a ''Crazy'' comic book in 1953. It ran for seven issues, through mid-1954, and was focused on popular culture parodies and humor.<ref>[http://www.comics.org/series/978/ 1953 ''Crazy'' listing at the GCD]</ref> The second comic title, as ''Crazy!'', ran for three issues in 1973, and reprinted comics parodies from Marvel's late-1960s ''[[Not Brand Echh]]''.<ref>[http://www.comics.org/series/2115/ 1973 ''Crazy'' listing at the GCD]</ref> Later that year, Marvel repurposed the title for a black-and-white comics magazine.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sacks |first1=Jason |last2=Dallas |first2=Keith |title=American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1970s |date=2014 |publisher=TwoMorrows Publishing |isbn=978-1605490564 |page=105}}</ref> [[Marv Wolfman]] edited the first ten issues from 1973–1975 and the first ''Super Special'', and created the magazine's first mascot, a short, bug-eyed man in a large black hat and draped in a black cape. Initially unnamed, the mascot was dubbed "The Nebbish" in issue #9 (Feb. 1975) and later "Irving Nebbish".<ref name="back91">{{cite journal |last=Arnold|first=Mark |title=What The--?!: Obnoxio the Clown|journal=[[Back Issue!]]|issue=91 |pages=68–71|publisher=[[TwoMorrows Publishing]]|date=September 2016|location=Raleigh, North Carolina}}</ref> Wolfman recalled, "[[Stan Lee]] wanted it to be more ''[[Mad (magazine)|Mad]]''/''[[Cracked (magazine)|Cracked]]'', where I wanted it more ''[[National Lampoon (magazine)|Lampoon]]''. We sort of split the difference."<ref name="back91"/>

[[Steve Gerber]], who served as ''Crazy''{{'}}s editor from issues #11-14, and wanted it to be distinctive from the archetypal ''Mad'', said that the goal was to present work that implied the creators were themselves insane.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YU4-R2nIoYo Scott Edelman interviews Steve Gerber (1975)], YouTube. Accessed Dec. 12, 2011.</ref> Gerber's own contributions were often prose stories with a handful of illustrations, such as the "Just Plain Folks" series of bizarre biographies. The last issue of his run as editor included a darkly comic short story he wrote in college, "...And the Birds Hummed Dirges!", about high-school kids who make a suicide pact.

Paul Lamont edited issue #15 (Jan. 1976) and [[Paul Laikin]] edited #16-60 and #62 (May 1980). Lamont was a pen name for Laikin.

By 1979, ''Crazy'' was struggling in sales.<ref name="back91"/> In 1980, the Irving Nebbish mascot was replaced with the belligerent [[Obnoxio the Clown]], who made his first appearance in issue #63 (June 1980),<ref name="back91"/> the first regular issue edited by [[Larry Hama]], who had also edited issue #61 (April 1980).

''Crazy Magazine''{{'}}s last issue was #94 (April 1983).

In December 2019, Marvel published a one-shot ''Crazy'' featuring new material and two variant covers. Mark Paniccia was the editor. This issue was reprinted, along with other superhero-related features from ''Crazy'' #9, #20, #22, #28, #31, #39, #42, #57, #59-60, #62-63, #65-66, #68-72, #75-90 and #92-94, in a 248-page trade paperback the following year.