Mad About Star Wars

A long time ago (thirty years) in a galaxy far, far away (California) . . . 

It is a period steeped in cinematic lore. Rebel filmmaker George Lucas, striking from a base in Northern California, won a tremendous box office victory against all odds with Star Wars, his sci-fi spectacular.

During the ensuing craze, MAD’s “Usual Gang of Idiots” managed to steal a few laughs at the movie’s expense, soon discovering that Star Wars was the ultimate pop culture punching bag.

Pursuing each Star Wars film’s release with more mockery, the MAD men spent the next three decades making a farce of the Force and spreading mirth across the galaxy.

Now, in this special edition volume, you’ll chuckle as the Star Wars saga’s greatest moments are mocked by such MAD greats as Dick DeBartolo, Mort Drucker, Don Martin, and Sergio Aragonés; smirk as the striking similarities between the space battles created by Industrial Light & Magic and by the “Usual Gang of Idiots” are revealed; hum along to the unforgettable Star Wars musical, as penned by MAD’s master lyricist, Frank Jacobs; gasp at the startling insights into R2-D2’s love life; and marvel at the real reason why Lucas’ s lawyers never sued MAD.

And that’s just the beginning. . . .

So, pick up this book and see why, when Star Wars gets the MAD treatment . . . Sith happens! It is your destiny.

Jonathan Bresman is MAD Magazine’s senior editor in charge of developing new talent. What has he done to deserve such a punishment? Well, in previous incarnations he’s served as a conceptual researcher on Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace, as Star Wars online's production correspondent, and as the author of the book The Art of Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace.Bresman was also Creative Director of Vis-a-vis/Kerplink, an animation and design firm where he co-created award-winning cartoon properties. Additionally, he supervised concept design projects for clients such as Mainframe, Hasbro and LeapFrog, and e-learning animations for companies such as Oracle, Pfizer and Autodesk. Back in his undergraduate days at Harvard, Bresman interned for The Late Show with David Letterman, Lucasfilm, MAD, Marvel Comics and Valiant Comics, and studied animation writing at the American Film Institute’s Television Writers Workshop. He also has a master’s degree in Communication and Education from Columbia University’s Teachers College. Now that he is a member of MAD’s“Usual Gang of Idiots” he wonders if it’s not too late to become a nice doctor or lawyer.