The Lighter Side Of...: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 13:29, 4 December 2024

The Lighter Side Of... is an American satirical comic strip series created by Dave Berg and published in Mad Magazine from 1961 until 2002. Known for its gentle humor and observational satire, the series became one of Mad's most enduring and beloved features.

Concept

The Lighter Side Of... focused on everyday situations, offering lighthearted commentary on topics such as medicine, office life, marriage, school, shopping, and psychiatry. Early installments typically centered on a single topic—like "Noise," "Spectators," or "Dog Owners"—with around 15 short, multi-panel cartoons exploring different facets of the theme. From 1980 onward, the strip adopted a multi-topic format for each installment.

The series included a recurring character, Roger Kaputnik, a hypochondriac and self-caricature of Dave Berg. Kaputnik appeared alongside his family and personal doctor, often concluding the strip's monthly installments. Berg also caricatured colleagues from Mad Magazine, including publisher William M. Gaines, who frequently appeared in gags set in an office environment. Following Gaines' death in 1992, his portrait was often depicted on a wall in the strip.

Compared to the often edgy and irreverent humor typical of Mad, The Lighter Side Of... stood out for its more old-fashioned and less biting comedic style. Its art was also notably more realistic than many of the magazine’s other features. Despite—or perhaps because of—its gentler tone, it became one of Mad's most popular features.

Legacy and End of the Series

The Lighter Side Of... was retired after Dave Berg’s death in 2002. His final set of gags, which had been written but not illustrated, was published posthumously as a tribute. Eighteen regular Mad artists, including Jack Davis (in his final original contribution to the magazine), contributed artwork for this final installment.

Homages and Reboots

Tributes: Four months after the strip ended, Mad Magazine published Berg's last set of gags, illustrated by other artists as a tribute.
The Darker Side of the Lighter Side: In 2007, Mad introduced an occasional feature where reprinted The Lighter Side Of... strips were rewritten with dark comedy themes.
Modern Reboot: From October 2018 to December 2019, a reboot of the strip, written by Tammy Golden and illustrated by Jon Adams, appeared in Mad. The reboot was canceled when the magazine shifted to a mostly reprint format in 2020.

Publications

Between 1964 and 1987, sixteen original collections of The Lighter Side Of... were published as paperback books, cementing the strip's popularity and accessibility outside the magazine.

Berg paperbacks

Year	Title	ISBN
1964	Mad's Dave Berg Looks at the U.S.A.
1966	Mad's Dave Berg Looks at People
1967	Mad's Dave Berg Looks at Things
1969	Mad's Dave Berg Looks at Modern Thinking
1971	Mad's Dave Berg Looks at Our Sick World
1972	Mad's Dave Berg: My Friend God
1973	Mad's Dave Berg Looks at Living
1974	Mad's Dave Berg: Roger Kaputnik and God
1975	Mad's Dave Berg Looks Around
1977	Dave Berg: Mad Trash
1977	Mad's Dave Berg Takes a Loving Look
1979	Mad's Dave Berg Looks, Listens and Laughs
1982	Mad's Dave Berg Looks at You
1984	Mad's Dave Berg Looks at the Neighborhood
1986	Mad's Dave Berg Looks at Our Planet
1987	Mad's Dave Berg Looks at Today

In Popular Culture

The Lighter Side Of... left a lasting impression on popular culture, often referenced or parodied in other media:

National Lampoon Parody (1971): In a Mad parody, National Lampoon satirized Berg’s lightweight humor and moralistic tone, portraying him as a "wishy-washy liberal."
The Simpsons: In the episode "Bart of Darkness", Bart Simpson reads The Lighter Side Of... Hippies and quips, "They don't care whose toes they step on!" In "The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson", Alfred E. Neuman calls for "Kaputnik and Fonebone" (referencing Mad characters).
Family Guy: In "It’s A Trap!", a Star Wars parody, Chris Griffin (as Luke Skywalker) suggests that Stewie Griffin (as Darth Vader) embrace "the lighter side" instead of the dark side, leading to a spoof of the comic strip.

Influence

Despite its softer humor, The Lighter Side Of... was one of Mad Magazine's longest-running and most popular features. Its observational humor and Dave Berg’s unique artistic style remain fondly remembered by fans, and it continues to be celebrated as an integral part of Mad’s legacy.

External links

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{Short description|American satirical comic strip series}}
+'''The Lighter Side Of...''' is an American satirical comic strip series created by '''[[Dave Berg (cartoonist)|Dave Berg]]''' and published in ''[[Mad Magazine]]'' from 1961 until 2002. Known for its gentle humor and observational satire, the series became one of ''Mad''<nowiki/>'s most enduring and beloved features.
-"'''The Lighter Side Of...'''" is an American satirical [[comic strip]] series written and drawn by [[Dave Berg (cartoonist)|Dave Berg]] and published in ''[[Mad Magazine]]'' from 1961 to 2002.
-==Concept==
+=== Concept ===
+''The Lighter Side Of...'' focused on everyday situations, offering lighthearted commentary on topics such as medicine, office life, marriage, school, shopping, and psychiatry. Early installments typically centered on a single topic—like "Noise," "Spectators," or "Dog Owners"—with around 15 short, multi-panel cartoons exploring different facets of the theme. From 1980 onward, the strip adopted a multi-topic format for each installment.
-"The Lighter Side Of..." gently satirized everyday topics such as medicine, office life, parties, marriage, psychiatry, shopping, and school. Originally Berg would take an omnibus topic (such as "Noise", "Spectators", or "Dog Owners") and deliver approximately 15 short multi-panel cartoons on the subject. From late 1980 on he used multiple topics for each installment.
+The series included a recurring character, '''[[Roger Kaputnik]]''', a hypochondriac and self-caricature of Dave Berg. Kaputnik appeared alongside his family and personal doctor, often concluding the strip's monthly installments. Berg also caricatured colleagues from ''Mad Magazine'', including publisher '''William M. Gaines''', who frequently appeared in gags set in an office environment. Following Gaines' death in 1992, his portrait was often depicted on a wall in the strip.
-The series had no recurring characters, except for the [[hypochondria]]c Roger Kaputnik, his family, and his personal doctor, who typically concluded every monthly installment. Kaputnik was a self-caricature. Berg also caricatured his colleagues, including publisher [[William M. Gaines]], whenever he drew gags based around an office. After Gaines died in 1992, his portrait was often seen mounted on a wall.<ref>{{Cite news|agency=Associated Press|date=2002-05-25|title=Dave Berg, 81, Wry Cartoonist; Created Mad's 'Lighter Side' Strip|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/25/arts/dave-berg-81-wry-cartoonist-created-mad-s-lighter-side-strip.html|access-date=2022-12-31|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
+Compared to the often edgy and irreverent humor typical of ''Mad'', ''The Lighter Side Of...'' stood out for its more old-fashioned and less biting comedic style. Its art was also notably more realistic than many of the magazine’s other features. Despite—or perhaps because of—its gentler tone, it became one of ''Mad''<nowiki/>'s most popular features.
-Compared to much of the other content in ''Mad Magazine'' the strip was notable for being more old-fashioned and less brutal in its style of comedy. The drawing style was also more realistic. Still, according to ''Mad'''s editors, "The Lighter Side" was one of the magazine's most popular features.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lambiek.net/artists/b/berg_david.htm|title=Dave Berg|website=lambiek.net}}</ref> After Berg died the strip was retired.
+=== Legacy and End of the Series ===
+''The Lighter Side Of...'' was retired after Dave Berg’s death in 2002. His final set of gags, which had been written but not illustrated, was published posthumously as a tribute. Eighteen regular ''Mad'' artists, including '''[[Jack Davis (cartoonist)|Jack Davis]]''' (in his final original contribution to the magazine), contributed artwork for this final installment.
-==Homages and reboots==
+=== Homages and Reboots ===
-Four months after the last Berg artwork was published, his final set of gags, which Berg had written but not penciled, were published in ''Mad'' as a tribute. They were divided among 18 of the magazine's regular artists, including [[Jack Davis (cartoonist)|Jack Davis]]' last original work for ''Mad''. In 2007, an occasional feature called "The Darker Side of the Lighter Side" debuted, which consisted of reprinted Berg strips, with rewritten word balloons that changed the gags to [[black comedy]] topics. From October 2018 to December 2019, the [[Burbank, California|Burbank]] reboot of ''Mad'' featured a modern reboot of the strip by writer Tammy Golden and artist Jon Adams, which was canceled when the magazine switched to mostly-reprint content in 2020.
-==Publications==
+* '''Tributes:''' Four months after the strip ended, ''Mad Magazine'' published Berg's last set of gags, illustrated by other artists as a tribute.
-Sixteen original collections by Berg were published as paperbacks between 1964 and 1987.
+* '''The Darker Side of the Lighter Side:''' In 2007, ''Mad'' introduced an occasional feature where reprinted ''The Lighter Side Of...'' strips were rewritten with dark comedy themes.
+* '''Modern Reboot:''' From October 2018 to December 2019, a reboot of the strip, written by '''Tammy Golden''' and illustrated by '''Jon Adams''', appeared in ''Mad''. The reboot was canceled when the magazine shifted to a mostly reprint format in 2020.
+=== Publications ===
+Between 1964 and 1987, sixteen original collections of ''The Lighter Side Of...'' were published as paperback books, cementing the strip's popularity and accessibility outside the magazine.
 ==Berg paperbacks==
@@ Line 56: / Line 60: @@
 |}
-==In popular culture==
+== In Popular Culture ==
+''The Lighter Side Of...'' left a lasting impression on popular culture, often referenced or parodied in other media:
-The artist's lightweight gags and sometimes moralistic tone were sharply satirized by the ''[[National Lampoon (magazine)|National Lampoon]]'''s 1971 ''Mad'' parody, which included a hard-hatted conservative and a longhaired hippie finding their only common ground by choking and beating Berg for being a "wishy-washy liberal".
-[[Bart Simpson]] reads "The Lighter Side Of... Hippies" in ''[[The Simpsons]]'' episode "[[Bart of Darkness]]" and laughs: "They don't care whose toes they step on!"<ref>{{Cite web|title=&#91;1F22&#93; Bart of Darkness|url=http://www.simpsonsarchive.com/episodes/1F22.html|access-date=2022-12-31|website=www.simpsonsarchive.com}}</ref> In "[[The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson]]", Bart visits ''Mad Magazine''{{'}}s headquarters, where he witnesses [[Alfred E. Neuman]] calling for "Kaputnik and Fonebone" (the latter being a regular character in [[Don Martin (cartoonist)|Don Martin]]'s comics). While Neuman is yelling, Kaputnik is walking right behind him.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.simpsonsarchive.com/episodes/4F22.txt|title=[4F22&#93; "The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson", The Simpsons Archive}}</ref>
-In ''[[Family Guy]]'''s parody of ''[[Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi|The Return of the Jedi]]'', the episode "[[It's A Trap!]]", [[Chris Griffin]] (as [[Luke Skywalker]]) suggests that [[Stewie Griffin]] (as [[Darth Vader]]) should hang out on the "lighter side" instead of "the dark side of the force". This leads to a cutaway which spoofs the comic strip.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.lightersideoftheforce.com/2015/06/family-guy-cutaways-with-star-wars.html|title=The Lighter Side of the Force: Family Guy Cutaways with Star Wars<!-- Bot generated title -->}}</ref>
+* '''National Lampoon Parody (1971):''' In a ''Mad'' parody, ''National Lampoon'' satirized Berg’s lightweight humor and moralistic tone, portraying him as a "wishy-washy liberal."
+* '''The Simpsons:''' In the episode ''"Bart of Darkness"'', Bart Simpson reads ''The Lighter Side Of... Hippies'' and quips, "They don't care whose toes they step on!" In ''"The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson"'', Alfred E. Neuman calls for "Kaputnik and Fonebone" (referencing ''Mad'' characters).
+* '''Family Guy:''' In ''"It’s A Trap!"'', a ''Star Wars'' parody, Chris Griffin (as Luke Skywalker) suggests that Stewie Griffin (as Darth Vader) embrace "the lighter side" instead of the dark side, leading to a spoof of the comic strip.
-==Sources==
+== Influence ==
-{{Reflist}}
+Despite its softer humor, ''The Lighter Side Of...'' was one of ''Mad Magazine''<nowiki/>'s longest-running and most popular features. Its observational humor and Dave Berg’s unique artistic style remain fondly remembered by fans, and it continues to be celebrated as an integral part of ''Mad''’s legacy.
 ==External links==