Some say that parody is the highest form of flattery. If this is true then Mad magazine must have really been kissing Star Wars' butt in its January 1978 issue. Their 7-page ribbing of the previous year's biggest blockbuster entitled 'Star Roars' makes all the gags you might expect (and have probably seen since countless times in the last 30+ years) and a few that you might not. I had actually never considered that if a starship can fly beyond the speed of light, and has lasers that travel at a bit less than the speed of light, would it be possible for a starship to shoot itself down? A few other things tickled me too like the sign on R2-D2's body that says '25c to see what the butler saw'.
Anyway, the artwork is superb and really gets the actors spot on. Mad isn't for everyone but you can't deny the cultural factor here. It's been around since 1952 and, like Star Wars, it is a part of American culture. In those early days of 1978, Star Wars had no chance of escaping the eventual Mad treatment.
2 comments:
Thanks for that! Havent seen that strip for over 20 years!
Which Mad Magazine publication number has Princess Leia give a speech to the people at the end as follows: " People of Dreidel, evil has, at long last, been wiped from the face of the universe, the Star Wars are over forever."
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