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The Mad Student Survival Guide for Those Bored of Education
A compilation of humorous school-related comics from MAD Magazine includes survival techniques for homework excuses, writing an A+ paper, and more. Original.
- GenresHumor
64 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2003
About the author
MAD Magazine
285 books42 followersCollective name for "the usual gang of idiots," the various creators, authors, and illustrators of MAD Magazine.
Many compilations of MAD Magazine parodies have been published, and individual author and illustrator credits are sometimes difficult to find.
Many compilations of MAD Magazine parodies have been published, and individual author and illustrator credits are sometimes difficult to find.
Ratings & Reviews
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 24, 2020
The Mad Team of wacky writers are doing it Old School ABOUT school! Acidic yet brutally insightful bits from past issues of Mad Magazine highlights the following truths about school life: fake ads for stuff like fake name plates for school lockers; fictional news reports on hardened chewing gum under the desk, and a kid suing the school for chalk dust inhalation after he has been pounding those erasers; and a book report on Sleepy Hollow with lots of misspelled words and no mention of anyone named "Ichabod" and all in an attempt to get that A+! And lots more. So please sneak this volume past school security and read to your heart's content (or your guts', whichever comes first) and consider this your ticket to the real world you can laugh at in later years.
Four stars
Get schooled right by the Mad Team!
Four stars
Get schooled right by the Mad Team!
May 8, 2024
I love parodies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 4, 2016
There was a time when MAD Magazine was considered edgy, controversial, adult. This 2002 collection of school-themed cartoons, published by Scholastic, is proof of how far the mighty have fallen. When I was under the age of 13, I wasn't even allowed to say the word MAD. Okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration but due to it's (im)mature content, my mother wouldn't let me buy it. That wasn't so much of a problem as my dad regularly bought the publication and he let me read his copies when my mom was at work. (Plus I was more of a Cracked Magazine fan and delighted in the works of John Severin, Jack Davis, and Sol Brodsky.)
But I remember that the MAD's of the 70s and 80s tackled issues like Nixon and Watergate, The Sexual Revolution, Women's Lib, Gorbachev and his silly birthmark, the Gary Sex scandal, and Iran-Contra. This was biting stuff that stuck it to the man or whoever else was in charge. It was the print version of the attitude of founder William Gaines (creator of EC classics like Weird Science and The Vault of Horror.) Gaines saw first hand what happened when government got involved in your business from the aftermath of the 1950s comics scare and created MAD as a way to skewer the traditonal (and often flawed) American Way of life.
The MAD Student Survival Guide is a strange mixture of classic Gaines and the modern DC versions of the title. Dave Berg's 'The Lighter Side Of...' is featured throghout the book as are Drawn Out Dramas, those great tiny cartoons by Sergio Aragones. Classic MAD artists like Al Jaffee and Don Martin are featured too. But the majority of the features in the book is the modern day drivel that MAD is now known for. Though a feature about the types of lunches packed by mom, that featured an up-and-coming Amanda Conner, was a delight.
The new MAD is like those classic kids magazines from the 70s and 80s: Dynamite and Hot Dog. But those titles, the brain child of future DC EIC Jeanette Kahn, were from day one geared at kids. MAD wasn't! EC Comics were more known for having an adult auidence. But thanks to the coming of the Comics Code, William Gaines had to switch the format from a 4-colored comic to a black and white tabloid style in order to be free from the CCA's censoring body.
For almost 40-years, MAD was the authority in satire and biting wit and gave birth to such institutions as National Lampoon, Saturday Night Live, and even a live-action series on FOX called MADTV. But when Gaines died in 1992 the title's spirit of piss and vinegar died with it. The effects of Gaines death was both immediate and lingering. The company was bought out by Time Warner and the publication was looked at as just another title in the conglomerate's vast catalogue.
Sales were deemed more important than Gaines' attitude that MAD was a labor of love. Eventually, the title was consumed by another Time Warner property DC Comics and slowly became more of kids publication. MAD is now like like a Doberman pincher with all of it's teeth removed- and kinda sad. Sometimes, things are best left alone... this book being one of them.
Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.
But I remember that the MAD's of the 70s and 80s tackled issues like Nixon and Watergate, The Sexual Revolution, Women's Lib, Gorbachev and his silly birthmark, the Gary Sex scandal, and Iran-Contra. This was biting stuff that stuck it to the man or whoever else was in charge. It was the print version of the attitude of founder William Gaines (creator of EC classics like Weird Science and The Vault of Horror.) Gaines saw first hand what happened when government got involved in your business from the aftermath of the 1950s comics scare and created MAD as a way to skewer the traditonal (and often flawed) American Way of life.
The MAD Student Survival Guide is a strange mixture of classic Gaines and the modern DC versions of the title. Dave Berg's 'The Lighter Side Of...' is featured throghout the book as are Drawn Out Dramas, those great tiny cartoons by Sergio Aragones. Classic MAD artists like Al Jaffee and Don Martin are featured too. But the majority of the features in the book is the modern day drivel that MAD is now known for. Though a feature about the types of lunches packed by mom, that featured an up-and-coming Amanda Conner, was a delight.
The new MAD is like those classic kids magazines from the 70s and 80s: Dynamite and Hot Dog. But those titles, the brain child of future DC EIC Jeanette Kahn, were from day one geared at kids. MAD wasn't! EC Comics were more known for having an adult auidence. But thanks to the coming of the Comics Code, William Gaines had to switch the format from a 4-colored comic to a black and white tabloid style in order to be free from the CCA's censoring body.
For almost 40-years, MAD was the authority in satire and biting wit and gave birth to such institutions as National Lampoon, Saturday Night Live, and even a live-action series on FOX called MADTV. But when Gaines died in 1992 the title's spirit of piss and vinegar died with it. The effects of Gaines death was both immediate and lingering. The company was bought out by Time Warner and the publication was looked at as just another title in the conglomerate's vast catalogue.
Sales were deemed more important than Gaines' attitude that MAD was a labor of love. Eventually, the title was consumed by another Time Warner property DC Comics and slowly became more of kids publication. MAD is now like like a Doberman pincher with all of it's teeth removed- and kinda sad. Sometimes, things are best left alone... this book being one of them.
Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.
December 10, 2023
It's cool that SBS put this out (thus showing a bit of mercy to bored schoolkids everywhere). But all that reliance upon Dave Berg...ugh! The guy was about as funny as a teacher himself.
And I must admit that I let out a snicker when I spotted the following line on the copyrights page: "MAD boy's head device and all related indicia are trademarks of E C Publications."
And I must admit that I let out a snicker when I spotted the following line on the copyrights page: "MAD boy's head device and all related indicia are trademarks of E C Publications."
April 1, 2008
I really like the book its about thing kids do in school and the excuses they mack
October 2, 2009
Hilarious (and short) little book of jokes and comics all related to school and homework. Excellent for wasting a few minutes when the everyday school stress gets you down.
April 20, 2011
It's by MAD. Need I say more?
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews