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Mad About Dad
Rutledge Hill Press
ISBN 1-4016-0149-9
Published April 2004 - Hardcover - 160 pages - $12.99

I was first introduced to Mad Magazine sometime back in the 70s and have loved it ever since.  All of the characters featured had me in stitches - I loved the wacky and off-beat humor.  Many familiar sketches are together in this tribute to Dads.  It's an hilarious look at the role of Dad as parent and what he goes through with his children, and the accuracy of everyday parenting is brought across both through great writing and Mad's one-of-a-kind sketches.  There is a lot of "The Lighter Side of ..." featured throughout this little gem of a book and of course, the brilliant Don Martin's artistic genius is here too, as is Dave Berg's.  Sadly however, there is only one Don Martin comic.  The style is retro which is great as some characters are as I remember them, even with all this time gone by.  Here's a snippet from the book: Dad: You didn't get your mother anything for her birthday? After all she does for this family? Shame on you.  Son: Gee, I feel so rotten! I'm going to go to the mall right now and buy her something.  Dad: Good idea! And while you're at it, here's a few bucks! Pick her up something for me!  Or the one where the son wants to borrow the car and his dad tells him he lost the keys in the overgrown lawn and the son's out there mowing it.  Alfred E. Neuman is not represented, which in my opinion, brings the book down a bit.  Pity.
Conclusion - Great gift idea for dads, parents, and Mad fans alike.