The Mad Man From Mexico

Sergio Aragones Domenech sold his first cartoon when he was sixteen for twenty pesos, about $1.85. By the time he had moved from Mexico to the United States in 1962, he had drawn and sold thousands of panel gags, and his career was just getting started. In the summer of 1962 he walked into the Manhattan offices of MAD Magazine with his portfolio under his arm, and one of the iconic cartoon illustrators and stylists of the '60's had found his home.

Remember all of those little drawings and cartoon doodads in the margins and borders of MAD that didn't seem to be part of the story but were like gremlins that had invaded the magazine and taken on a life of their own? That was Aragones' invention, "Border incidents", breaking the rules of the layout and inventing a new language literally outside-the-box.

Here is a typical Aragones drawing. No dialogue balloon or caption necessary. Part of a series called "Viva Karate"!

I love this full page composition and the use of so much empty space. And the way he manages to draw time and create suspense with very simple lines.

And here is a real tour-de-force, a crowded frame of perfectly detailed characters and a comically absurd situation that are both hallmarks of this artist's style. The fertile ground of Latin American politics seemed to afford him ample opportunity for mischief.

His Mad colleague at the time Antonio Prohias, a Cuban exile, was the creator and artist behind the long running and very popular Spy Vs. Spy cartoons. These two Latin artists, speaking very little English but speaking volumes with their pen and ink, had a huge influence on the pop culture of my generation.

william

Comments

[Marta]

I just love his work, it's the first thing I look for in each new MAD (I started reading MAD only in my twenties and got addicted, he was one of the reasons why).

[dutchbaby]

Ingenious talent. I never read MAD, but I'm thinking that my fifteen-year-old son might like it. Thanks!

[Flassie]

Those are great! I read his bio.
Thanks for the links. I like his
little antimation of himself with
the ink dripping off his pen.

Did you email me? Are you Wonder Wall?

I can not just click on peoples email me
and get to them. So I didn't know if it
was you are not. I deleted one while ago
with that email. Dd told me to delete if
I didn't know who it was.

When I click on the email me, a screen
comes up that I can not sign into. But
if someone emails me first I can, if I
know who it is.

I have to get to my email a different route.

It finally clicked in my head that maybe
it was you. If so I am sorry that I deleted
the old one.

I haven't opened the more recent email yet. I thought I'd ask you if it was you.

God Bless You and Yours!!!

[James]

So great to see Aragones again. Always loved and laughed hard at his stuff in the magazine, but also the individual books. Genius.