Harvey Kurtzman (October 3, 1924, Brooklyn, New York – February 21, 1993) was a U.S. cartoonist and magazine editor. Kurtzman often signed his name H. Kurtz, followed by a stick figure (i.e., H. Kurtz-man).
In 1952, he was the founding editor of the comic book Mad. Kurtzman was also known for the long-running Little Annie Fanny stories in Playboy (1962-88), satirizing the very attitudes that Playboy promoted.
Because Mad had a considerable impact...
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Harvey Kurtzman (October 3, 1924, Brooklyn, New York – February 21, 1993) was a U.S. cartoonist and magazine editor. Kurtzman often signed his name H. Kurtz, followed by a stick figure (i.e., H. Kurtz-man).
In 1952, he was the founding editor of the comic book Mad. Kurtzman was also known for the long-running Little Annie Fanny stories in Playboy (1962-88), satirizing the very attitudes that Playboy promoted.
Because Mad had a considerable impact on popular culture, Kurtzman was later described by The New York Times as having been "one of the most important figures in postwar America." Director and comedian Terry Gilliam said, “In many ways Harvey was one of the godparents of Monty Python.” Underground cartoonist Robert Crumb asserted that one of Kurtzman's cover images for Humbug "changed my life," and that another Mad cover image “changed the way I saw the world forever!” Writing for Time Magazine, Richard Corliss touted Kurtzman's influence:
As a child he drew Ikey and Mikey, a...
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