Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art
594 Broadway (Suite 401) between Houston & Prince Sts.
Thursday, February 23, $7, 7:00
212-254-3511
www.moccany.org
For more than forty-five years, nearly every issue of MAD magazine ended with a fold-in surprise by Al Jaffee, a full-page piece of art that became something completely different when readers brought the A and the B together and folded it in. In conjunction with the recent release of The MAD Fold-In Collection: 1964-2010 (Chronicle, September 2011, $125) — a deluxe four-volume hardcover set that includes a reproduction of every one of the 410 fold-ins Jaffee and the “usual gang of idiots” created, including a copy of the original unfolded page as well as a digital image of the folded result — the ninety-year-old Jaffee will be at the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art on Thursday night at 7:00, participating in a panel discussion with MAD art director Sam Viviano, MAD writer Arie Kaplan, and illustrator Arnold Roth, moderated by Danny Fingeroth. This is a rare chance to meet a living legend in the industry, a highly influential illustrator who counts among his minions Stephen Colbert, Gary Larson, and many others. You should also check out MOCCA’s current exhibits, which include “Michael Uslan: The Boy Who Loved Batman,” “Bat-Manga: The Secret History of Batman in Japan,” “Artists of Batman,” and “The Art of Howl: A Collaboration between Eric Drooker and Allen Ginsberg.”