By Oyintari Ben
Al Jaffee, a cartoonist who won awards, broke records and was most known for his work with the venerable satirical magazine Mad Magazine, has died.
According to his grand daughter Fani Thomson, he died on Monday at the age of 102 in a hospital in Manhattan due to multi-system organ failure.
With his debut appearance in Joker Comics in 1942, renowned artist Jaffee owns the Guinness World Record for the longest career in comic books. For more than 50 years, he has provided contributions to the magazine.
He invented some of the magazine’s most iconic features, such as “Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions,” where a seemingly innocent query results in a plethora of unexpected sarcasm, or the Mad fold-in, which was the magazine’s inside back page that, when folded, deftly transformed one work into another previously hidden image.
The fold-in was created in 1964 as a spoof of the glossy fold-outs of Playboy and National Geographic. It quickly became popular and an iconic representation of chaos.
Mad released a statement on Monday that described Al as “a humble and kind creator, whose presence, his astute social commentary, and his endless amusement at life’s ups and downs shaped the fabric of the magazine.”
Jim Lee, DC’s chief creative officer and publisher, lauded Al Jaffee as “an incredibly gifted man who touched our hearts and never failed to make us laugh.” He received the highest honours and appreciation in the realm of comics and illustrations.
Over the course of his lengthy career, Jaffee received numerous honours for his astute parodies and satire, including the Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year Reuben Award in 2008.
The Society of Illustrators’ Hall of Fame and the Will Eisner Hall of Fame both inducted him in 2013. Columbia University has an archive of his work, according to the magazine.
John Ficarra, a former Mad editor-in-chief who collaborated with Jaffee for over 35 years, remarked, “Al was, at heart, a rascal.” He exhibited a humorous sparkle in his eyes at all times and infused that sense into everything he produced.
When Jaffee received his Guinness World Record in 2016 for his longest career as a comic artist, he spoke fondly of working at Mad Magazine. “The Mad staff, in particular, was tough but fair and outstanding,” he remarked.
