Celebrating 50 years of marginal thinking

It's hard to believe cartoonist Sergio Aragones has been at it 50 years.

Aragones was the artist who put the madness in Mad Magazine, a publication which was so important to my generation. Anyone who grew up in the late 1960s or early 1970s will remember laughing at the little cartoons, "Drawn-out Dramas," sketched in the page margins.

I remember reading about his work habits, how hyperactive a cartoonist Aragones was. He'd draw anywhere, at any time. He'd decorated many napkins and place mats while waiting for the waiter to take his order. The guy was incredible. Spontaneous. This ability to create something out of nothing at any time is a hallmark of the real artist, on a par with a John Coltrane solo.

It wasn't just his work in the margins that caught my attention; his crowd scenes were something else. Numerous sight gags. You could stare at some of his crowd drawings for a good while, laughing all the way.

I haven't picked up a Mad Magazine in years. I reckon I'd have a hard time viewing some of his art now; my eyeballs are not what they used to be.

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