Seventeen-Year Twitch

Here's yet another parody from RIOT #4 in 1954.

That splash page bothers me because of the shoes on the subway grate. The holes are bigger than the heels so theoretically they would fall in unless she balanced them very carefully. Not to mention that standing over a subway grate gives you a whiff of smelly air. Maybe it didn't in the mid 50s. I guess the fact that it's supposed to be funny increases your suspension of disbelief. Some of you would probably ask why I would notice such discrepancies with Marilyn Monroe's dress blowing upwards. All I can say in my defense is that I'm a cartoonist myself.

It's not the first time it's been done and bothered me. There was a story Kevin Smith wrote for THE NEW YORK TIMES where a panel also parodied the SEVEN-YEAR ITCH poster and the artist did the same thing...

Anyway, back to the story...




Marvel/Atlas/Timely/Magazine Management had an edict that if a successful magazine was on the stands, they would drown it out with several imitations of it. There were at least three comics they did copying MAD. Stan Lee was among the few who even came close to imitating Harvey Kurtzman's style and timing.