MAD Stories or My Favorite Item
If you have a MAD collecting story,
send me the story and I'll publish it.
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Pre-internet, auctions were via telephone.
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In 1992, Russ Cochran featured an item which was to be auctioned off late in the night. This item was a copy of Completely MAD that Bill Gaines had sent to Don Martin. Inside is the handwritten inscription:
For Don Martin-
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Enjoy!
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Love & XXX
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Madly,
Bill
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According to the auction brochure, accompanying the book when it was sent back to Bill was a letter that said:
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Dear Bill:
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Don and I don't want any favors from you. Here's your damn book back and -
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Fuck you, Bill
Love and xxx's
Norman Martin
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I won the auction and shortly after sent the letter shown below.
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A week or so later, my telephone rings and the caller is Bill Gaines. He says, I loved your letter, but it's Norma Martin, Don's wife, who sent the letter when she sent the book back.
He went on to explain that when he began selling off the original artworks from EC Comics and MAD, Don came to him and wanted his artwork back. Bill told him no. Don threatened to quit.
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According to Bill, he said, "I love you like a brother, Don, but the answer is still no. The agreement has always been that when we buy artwork for publication, it becomes the property of the magazine. It's always been that way."
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Don quit and, as we know, went over to Cracked for awhile.
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Bill asked me to rewrite the letter with Norma Martin's name in it and send it to him.
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On June 3, 1992, Bill Gaines died in his sleep.
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The completion of this story is why this is probably my favorite item.
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At the 1992 San Diego Comic Con, I ran into Annie Gaines, who was manning the MAD table in the DC booth. I told her how sorry I was about Bill and explained I had bought the book he had sent to Don Martin. She said, "You're the guy who sent Bill that letter. He got such a laugh from it."
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Knowing I made Bill Gaines laugh...priceless.