Al Jaffee: Record-breaking US cartoonist dies at 102

Award-winning American cartoonist Al Jaffee, renowned for his enactment connected satirical mag Mad, has died astatine the property of 102.

Jaffee, who was inactive moving up until 3 years ago, acceptable a Guinness World Record for his 77-year career.

He died successful infirmary connected Monday of multi-system organ failure, his granddaughter told the New York Times.

Mad mag was aimed astatine pre-teens and teens, with Jaffee famed for his fold-ins connected the wrong backmost cover.

Jaffee's celebrated fans included Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz and his enactment was referenced successful The Simpsons.

His trademark fold-ins were a spoof connected the likes of Playboy and Sports Illustrated fold-out inserts.

They featured an representation with a question supra and a caption below. When the leafage was folded vertically into thirds, the 2 outer sections joined to signifier a caller representation and caption which answered the question.

The fold-ins included 1 Jaffee created successful 1968 during the Vietnam war, which showed students extracurricular a occupation centre accompanied by the question: "What is the 1 happening astir schoolhouse dropouts are definite to become?"

When folded, the representation changed to a young idiosyncratic successful a cannon with the caption: "Cannon fodder."

A box-set of his fold-ins was published successful 2011.

Jaffee was besides known for a regular conception called Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions, which included sarcastic ripostes to silly questions.

A comic from 1980 showed a antheral connected a sportfishing vessel with a bent reel. "Are you going to reel successful the fish?" his woman asks. "No," helium says, "I'm going to leap into the h2o and wed the gorgeous thing."

Al Jaffee's Mad Inventions were besides popular, including items specified arsenic a smokeless ashtray.

Speaking to the Guardian successful 2016 astatine the property of 95, Jaffee said helium believed satire was becoming harder due to the fact that of lying politicians.

"I deliberation they're defeating Mad, due to the fact that they're going beyond thing we tin deliberation of doing to amusement the clownish quality of their claims," helium said. "It utilized to beryllium that politicians claimed that they would marque jobs for everybody successful the state wrong 2 years oregon thing similar that; present they assertion that they're going to marque jobs for everybody connected Mars."

Jaffee's celebrated fans included Far Side creator Gary Larson and TV big Stephen Colbert, who marked Jaffee's 85th day by featuring a fold-in barroom connected his amusement The Colbert Report.

Matt Groening's The Simpsons made references to Mad mag and the fold-in successful respective episodes implicit the years.

DC tweeted: "His signature benignant and wit volition beryllium MADly missed."

Satirical vocalist Weird Al Yankovic described Jaffee arsenic 1 of his "all-time heroes".

The cartoonist was calved Abraham Jaffee (he aboriginal legally changed his sanction to Allan) successful 1921, successful Savannah, Georgia. His parents were Jewish Lithuanians but his parent ne'er truly settled successful the US and she took Al and his 3 younger brothers backmost to Lithuania for six years.

His begetter brought him backmost to America erstwhile helium was 12 and helium began to be the High School of Music and Art successful New York.

He went connected to enactment for Stan Lee and the New York Herald Tribune earlier enjoying a agelong vocation astatine Mad, though helium ever remained a freelancer.

His awards included the Reuben Awards' Cartoonist of the Year successful 2008.

To people his status successful 2020, Mad issued a Special "All Jaffee" contented - a play connected the connection Al - featuring a enactment of his enactment implicit the years.