That guy there is Dick DeBartolo, known to many of us as MAD's Maddest Writer. In the past, we've written on this blog of his amazing streak of appearances in the magazine known as MAD. Dick had his first article in MAD #69, the issue dated March of 1962. To put that date in perspective, MAD was ten years old in March of 1962 and so was I.
He did other scripts for the magazine and then began an uninterrupted streak of appearances in MAD #103, cover-dated June of '66. He had a piece in #104 and #105 and #106 and #107 and #108 and #109 and #110 and #111 and #112 and I have to stop listing these or I'll break the Internet. Dick had a piece in every issue after these of the old MAD, the one that ended recently with #550. There were a few scares along the way where an issue would come out and Dick's credit was nowhere to be seen but upon closer inspection, it always turned out that he'd written something uncredited…or in one issue, that someone else's credit had accidentally been affixed to a piece Dick authored.
#550 was the last issue to be produced out of New York. MAD then began to emanate from Burbank, California where numbering began anew. Dick had a piece in #1 and in #2 and #3 and #4 and #5 and #6 and #7 and #8 and #9 and #10 and #11 and…well, I don't know how to break this to you so I'll just come right out and say it:
MAD #12 comes out next week. There is no new material by Dick DeBartolo in it.
As you may know, MAD has had a lot of trouble lately. Not long ago, there was an announcement that the magazine was going all-reprint. That has not happened. The issues now are mostly reprint. There's a new cover and a new articles…but not enough new material that one of them could be by Dick. As the great Stan Laurel once said, "I am housebroken about this."
So who, I hear you wondering, now holds the record for the most consecutive issues of MAD to contain something by them? Well, it's still Dick but it may soon be Sergio Aragonés.
Sergio did his first work in MAD in #76 and thereafter contributed mightily. Alas, due to a problem with mail delivery, he was absent from #111 so his streak started again with #112. He has had new material in every issue since then so Sergio has been in 451 consecutive issues. Dick's streak ended with 459 issues…so assuming MAD continues to publish and that MAD continues buying new material each month, Sergio will surpass Dick's record soon. Will he make it? You still have time to get a bet down.