Al Jaffee

Infobox Artist
bgcolour = #6495ED
name = Al Jaffee


imagesize =
caption =
birthname =
birthdate = Birth date and age|1921|03|13
location = Savannah, Georgia
nationality = American
field = Cartoonist
works = "Mad," "Trump," "Humbug, "Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions," [ [http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=235&aid=84279] ] "Tall Tales" [ ["Tall Tales," Jaffee, Al, and Colbert, Stephen (Introduction by) Edition: Illustrated. Binding: Hard cover Publisher: Abrams Books for Young Readers Date Published: 2008, ISBN-13 9780810972728 ISBN 0810972727]
influenced by =
awards = Reuben Award – 2008; National Cartoonists Society Advertising and Illustration Award for 1973; Special Features Award for 1971 and 1975; Humor Comic Book Award for 1979

Al Jaffee (born March 13, 1921 in Savannah, Georgia) is an award winning American cartoonist. He is best known for his work in "Mad", including his trademark feature, the Mad Fold-in, which has appeared in almost every issue since 1964. In 2008, Jaffee was awarded the Reuben Awards' Cartoonist of the Year. Jaffee has also received critical acclaim from other cartoonists, such as Charles Schulz and fellow "Mad" contributor Sergio Aragonés.

Biography

Born in Savannah, Georgia, Jaffee spent six years of his childhood in Lithuania, returning to America in advance of the Nazis' takeover. He studied at The High School of Music & Art in New York City in the late 1930s, along with future "MAD" personnel Will Elder, Harvey Kurtzman, John Severin and Al Feldstein. [Mark Evanier, "MAD Art," Watson-Guptill Publications, 2002, ISBN 0-8230-3080-6] [Neil Genzlinger, "A Veteran Mad Man Remains in the Fold," "New York Times, "Arts and Leisure," 25, March 30, 2008]

He began his career in 1941 working as a comic book artist for several publications, including Timely Comics and Atlas Comics, the 1940s and '50s precursors, respectively, of Marvel Comics. While working alongside future "MAD" cartoonist Dave Berg, Jaffee created several humor features for Timely, including "Inferior Man", "Super Rabbit", and "Ziggy Pig and Silly Seal". For approximately a year and a half in the late 1940s, Al Jaffee was editing Timely's humor and teenage comics, notably "Patsy Walker".

From 1958-1965, Jaffee drew the elongated "Tall Tales" panel for the New York Herald Tribune, which was syndicated to over 100 newspapers. Jaffee credited its middling success with a pantomime format that was easy to sell abroad, but his higher-ups were unsatisfied with the strip's status: "The head of the syndicate, who was a certifiable idiot, said the reason it was not selling [better] is we gotta put words in it. So they made me put words in it. Immediately lost 28 foreign papers." [The Comics Journal #225, Fantagraphics Publications, July 2000, pg. 43] A collection of Jaffee's "Tall Tales" strips was published in 2008. Jaffee also scripted the shortlived strips "Debbie Deere" and "Jason" in the late 1960s and early 1970s. [ttp://lambiek.net/artists/j/jaffee_al.htm]

Career with MAD

Jaffee first appeared in "MAD" in 1955, shortly after its transformation from comic book format to magazine. But when editor Harvey Kurtzman left in a dispute, Jaffee went with Kurtzman. Jaffee contributed to Kurtzman's first two post-"MAD" publishing efforts, "Trump" and the creator-owned "Humbug". After the latter publication folded in 1958, Jaffee brought his unpublished material to "MAD", which bought the work. "Bill Gaines took out every "Trump" and "Humbug"," remembered Jaffee, "called me into his office, sat me down on the couch next to him, and went over every issue and said "Which is yours?" And as he came to each one, when he saw my stuff, he OK'd to hire me." [The Comics Journal #225, Fantagraphics Publications, July 2000, pg. 43]

Five decades later, Jaffee is still a regular in the magazine. No other current "Mad" contributor dates further back. Just one issue of "Mad" has been published since 1964 without containing new material by Jaffee. [http://users.ipfw.edu/slaubau/madstreak.htm]

In 1964, Jaffee created his longest-running feature, the fold-in. The fold-in is a recurring feature on the inside back cover of the magazine. A drawing is folded vertically and inward to reveal a new "hidden" picture (as well as a new caption). The Fold-In has since become one of "Mad"'s signature features, and has appeared in almost every issue of the magazine from 1964-2008. [Neil Genzlinger, "A Veteran Mad Man Remains in the Fold," "New York Times, "Arts and Leisure," 1, 25, March 30, 2008 ] "The Far Side" creator Gary Larson described his experience with the Fold-In: "The dilemma was always this: Very slowly and carefully fold the back cover... "without" creasing the page and quickly look at the joke. Jaffee's artistry "before" the folding was so amazing that I suspect I was not alone in not wanting to deface it in any way." ["Fold This Book!", Warner Books, 1997, ISBN 0-446-91212-3]

Frequent themes

Jaffee has contributed to hundreds of "MAD" articles, both as a writer and an artist. These include his long-running "Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions", and several articles on inventions and gadgets, which were presented in an elaborately detailed "blueprint" style. Sergio Aragones says of Jaffee, "He is brilliant at many things, but especially inventions. When he draws a machine for "MAD", no matter how silly the idea, it always looks like it works. He thinks that way because he is not only an artist, but a technician as well." [Mark Evanier, "MAD Art," Watson-Guptill Publications, 2002, ISBN 0-8230-3080-6] In a patent file for a self-extinguishing cigarette, the inventor thanked Jaffee for providing the inspiration. [The Comics Journal #225, Fantagraphics Publications, July 2000, pg. 43]

Will Forbis wrote: "This is the core of Jaffee's work: the idea that to be alive is to be constantly beleaguered by annoying idiots, poorly designed products and the unapologetic ferocity of fate. Competence and intelligence are not rewarded in life but punished." [http://www.forbisthemighty.com/acidlogic/im_al_jaffee.htm]

Many of Jaffee's features were popular enough to be expanded into stand-alone books, including a 1997 collection of Fold-Ins entitled "Fold This Book!" and eight "Snappy Answers" paperbacks. Referring to the latter, Jaffee said, "I was going through a divorce when I started that. I got a lot of my hostility out through Snappy Answers." [Mark Evanier, "MAD Art," Watson-Guptill Publications, 2002, ISBN 0-8230-3080-6]

During the Vietnam War, Jaffee also created the shortlived gag cartoon "Hawks and Doves", in which a military officer named Major Hawks is antagonized by Private Doves, who contrives to create peace signs in various locations on a military base.

His work today

As of 2008, Jaffee continues to do the Fold-In for MAD, as well as creating specially commissioned artwork. "MAD"'s oldest regular contributor, Jaffee's work has appeared in over 440 issues of the magazine, a total unmatched by any other writer or artist. He has said, "I work for a magazine that's essentially for young people, and to have them keep me going, I feel very lucky . . . . To use an old cliche, I'm like an old racehorse. When the other horses are running, I want to run too." [Neil Genzlinger, "A Veteran Mad Man Remains in the Fold," "New York Times, "Arts and Leisure," 1, March 30, 2008 ]

His current work and technology

Jaffee only uses a computer for typographic maneuvers to make certain fold-in tricks easier to design. Otherwise, all of his work is done by hand. "I'm working on a hard, flat board. . . . I cannot fold it. That's why my planning has to be so correct." In 2008, Jaffee told the Cape Cod Times, "I never see the finished painting folded until it's printed in the magazine. I guess I have that kind of visual mind where I can see the two sides without actually putting them together." [http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080628/LIFE/806280303] Contrasting current art techniques and Jaffee's approach, "MAD"'s art director, Sam Viviano, said, "I think part of the brilliance of the fold-in is lost on the younger generations who are so used to Photoshop and being able to do stuff like that on a computer." [Neil Genzlinger, "A Veteran Mad Man Remains in the Fold," "New York Times, "Arts and Leisure," 25, March 30, 2008]

In August 2008 he was the subject of an interview on NY1 in a special feature about his career by NY1 reporter Budd Mishkin. [ [http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=235&aid=84279] ] "It astonishes me that I still am functioning at a fairly decent level,” Jaffee told Mishkin. “Because there were a lot of dark days, but you have to reinvent yourself. You get knocked down and you pick up yourself and you move on." [http://www.ny1news.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=235&aid=84279]

Cultural citations and references

The March 13, 2006 episode of "The Colbert Report" aired on Jaffee's 85th birthday, and comedian Stephen Colbert saluted the artist with a fold-in birthday cake. The cake featured the salutary message "Al, you have repeatedly shown artistry & care of great credit to your field." But when the center section of the cake was removed, the remainder read, "Al, you are old." [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/30/arts/design/30genz.html?pagewanted=print NYTimes] ]

Jaffee's work has earned him the National Cartoonists Society Advertising and Illustration Award for 1973, Special Features Award for 1971 and 1975, and Humor Comic Book Award for 1979. In 2008, he was the winner of the Reuben Awards' Cartoonist of the Year.cite news|url=http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/departments/syndicates/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003808284|title='Mad' Magazine Legend and Newspaper Cartoonists Among NCS Winners|last=Astor|first=Dave|date=2008-05-27|work=Editor & Publisher|publisher=Nielsen Business Media|accessdate=2008-05-27]

In 2005, the production company Motion Theory created a video for recording artist Beck's song "Girl" using Jaffee's "MAD" fold-ins as inspiration; Jaffee's name appears briefly in the video, on a television screen. [ [http://www.sparehed.com/2008/04/24/beck-in-a-jaffee-way/Beck video, retrieved August 28, 2008] ]

"Peanuts" creator Charles Schulz wrote, "Al can cartoon anything." New Yorker cartoonist Arnold Roth has said, "Al Jaffee is one of the great cartoonists of our time". ["Fold This Book!", Warner Books, 1997, ISBN 0-446-91212-3] Fellow "Mad" contributor Sergio Aragonés calls Jaffee "the guy who can do anything." [Mark Evanier, "MAD Art," Watson-Guphill Publications, 2002, ISBN 0-8230-3080-6]

ee also

* List of cartoonists
* List of illustrators

References

External links

* [http://www.reuben.org/ncs/awards.asp NCS Awards]
* [http://www.comedycentral.com/sitewide/media_player/play.jhtml?itemId=60230 Colbert Report 85th Birthday Tribute video on ComedyCentral.com]
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/30/arts/design/30genz.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=login&ref=books&adxnnlx=1206848854-E1f26mRA3v6z6tD46f8C6A 2008 New York Times profile of Al Jaffee]
* [http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/03/28/arts/20080330_FOLD_IN_FEATURE.html Fold-Ins, Past and Present] New York Times site of some Jaffee's Mad Fold-in
* [http://www.ny1.com/content/features/one_on_1/84279/one-on-1--cartoonist-al-jaffee-reveals-what-s-behind-his-fold-ins/Default.aspx Profile of Al Jaffee on NY1 News]