First!

J/K... I suppose Mad Magazine is one of the few publications that could get away with this considering the Heath Ledger angle.

Vic

Although I like the artwork of Alfred as Joker, I think that's a cover that some folks might initially take the wrong way.

When I first saw this I got the impression that they were calling Heath Ledger's performance stupid, but now I get it. Not the best headline in my opinion.

Exactly what i thought.

too soon!

It's a good thing you added the slashfilm logo, so everyone will know where this "story" broke!!!!

Yea I'm one to say that I didn't think of Heath Ledger I actually got the joke they were portraying on the cover and the HEADLINE!! I haven't picked up a MAD magazine in a while actually I think since CRACKED you guys remember that one right, aww I miss them I still have a collection of them. Well this will be my first issue I get in a while. NICE WORK MAD!!!

MAD absolutely blows! It isnt even the slightest bit funny.. its just dumb humor, its the sort of humor that was in Napolean Dynomite--stupid humor that they go out of their way to create; its lame

Hopefully MAD magazine made the list.

screenname and rosie o'donnell ref = lol

of course it made the list, it's a gag that they've been doing for quite a while.

Even if this was implying that Heath Ledger was stupid, why is that a bad thing? IMO any addict that ODs is the definition of stupid

too soon?

We all knew Mad would do this.

Who reads/watches MAD???

I am not so sure he was an addict, but I must admit when I heard about him ODing the phrase in the image did cross my mind. I mean he had everything going for him. He was at the the pinnacle of his career.

The joke is appropriate on every level.

No one watches it. It got cancelled in October

Ha! Really??? Wow...

Yes, really. Go check out their Wikipedia page or Google it for a more credible source. MadTV, King of the Hill, and TRL were all cancelled within a month of a each other. 3 long time power shows go down for the count.

how considerate

i believe that heath ledgers death was a tragedy, and a great loss. I seriously doubt that heath would want us to treat him as a saint though. If an image of THE JOKER who was PLAYED by heath ledger creates a feeling of taboo, then people are taking it too far. thats like seeing a picture of batman making out with robin and saying its a gay joke about christian bale. we have to learn how to mourn the loss of an actor without looking like a bunch of idiots.

#1: People who think health Ledger is the patron saint of film.

BLASPHEMY I SAY!!!!

"MAD hasn't been funny since 1954... 1960... 1968... 1975... 1982... 1989... 1994... 2000... 2005...(pick one)."

It's amazing, the way the date of MAD's suckitude has been changing for forty years. And will keep right on changing. It's almost as if the wellworn comment says more about the speaker than the actual magazine.

Don't forget "Rosie Live"! A generation grew up on that show.

Dang! How did I know Palin's name would be on there?

Contemplating where I stand on if this was a poor decision relating to Heath's death has only made me sad that Heath died. :( God he was so f'ing talented.

Wow I got this issue like a week ago.

The rendering on that painting is beautiful.

If you look at that cover and your first response is to consider whether or not it is appropriate given the fact that Heath Ledger played this character in a movie, then you seriously need to lighten up. The idea that it is "too soon" to make a joke even tangentially related to someone who has died is silly.

I didn't even think of Heath Ledger when I looked at this.

Agreed.

Me neither.

too bad MAD hasn't been funny since the turn of the century.

I didn't get that "vibe"--guess I'm naive.

Besides the questions it raises (which is sort of THE POINT of a magazine ripping into social commentary, but anyway) this is one of the finest MAD covers I have seen in a long while. I'm no expert on the art of drawing, but I do know I found this very appealing to the eye.