Cracked was an American humor magazine. Founded in 1958, Cracked proved to be the most durable of the many publications to be launched in the wake of Mad magazine.
In print, Cracked conspicuously copied Mad’s layouts and style, and even featured a simpleminded, wide-cheeked mascot named Sylvester P. Smythe on its covers (see Alfred E. Neuman). The Smythe character was referred to as Cracked’s janitor. Unlike Neuman, who appears primarily on covers, Smythe sometimes spoke and was frequently seen inside the magazine, interacting with parody subjects and other regular characters. A 1998 reader contest led to Smythe finally getting a full middle name: “Phooey.” An article on Cracked.com, the companion website, joked that the magazine was “created as a knock-off of Mad magazine just over 50 years ago”, and it “spent nearly half a century with a fan base primarily comprised of people who got to the store after Mad sold out.”
Cracked’s publication frequency was reduced in the 1990s, and was erratic in the 2000s. In 2006, the magazine was revived with a new editorial formula that represented a significant departure from its prior Mad style. The new format was more akin to “lad” magazines like Maxim and FHM. The new formula, however, was unsuccessful and Cracked again canceled its print magazine in February 2007 after three issues. Later that year, the brand was carried over to a website, Cracked.com, now owned by E.W. Scripps.
The magazine’s first editor was Sol Brodsky, who was better known as a journeyman artist and later production manager and a publishing vice president at Marvel Comics.
Cracked’s original publisher, Robert C. Sproul’s Major Publications, often imitated other companies’ successes in various genres, such as westerns, men’s adventure, and the Warren Publications mid-1960s revival of horror comics.
Editor Terry Bisson later recalled, “The whole company was about lowball imitations. The publisher, Robert Sproul, wanted to put out some imitations of western, romance and astrology mags, and I was hired (at about age 27) to put them together because of my romance mag experience… The pseudomags did pretty well (this was a very low end market).” Many of the Cracked contributors would also work on these titles. A number of monster-themed issues were printed under the Cracked umbrella, capitalizing on such publications as Fangoria and Famous Monsters of Filmland. Sproul published Cracked into the 1980s.
However, even as the company chased publishing trends, its long-running flagship title was Cracked Magazine—or Cracked Mazagine, as its cover often read, deliberately misspelling “magazine”. (In the same vein, the magazine’s website Cracked.com originally referred to itself as a “wesbite.”)
Some notable artists have appeared in Cracked’s pages, in particular John Severin. Severin was one of the original artists on Mad and worked heavily on EC Comics’ war books, as well as being one of the pre-eminent artists in western comics. But he would eventually come to be best known as Cracked’s house cartoonist. For almost 40 years, he was the magazine’s mainstay artist, frequently illustrating multiple articles in the same issue, and virtually all of its covers. Reacting to his own company’s obituary of Severin in 2012, Fantagraphics co-publisher Kim Thompson wrote, “I don’t think I’m [alone] in thinking of Cracked for most of its run as ‘a bunch of crap, and John Severin.'”
A typical issue of Cracked included two TV or movie parodies illustrated by Severin. The magazine also published “interview” articles featuring the recurring character Nanny Dickering (Nancy Dickerson was then an investigative newscaster).
One of the magazine’s longest-running features was “Shut-Ups,” which were two-panel gags in which a character would make an observation or excuse in the first panel, and then be told to “SHUT UP” in the second, as the true situation was visually revealed. “Hudd & Dini” by Vic Martin, a gag strip about two convicts’ failed schemes to escape prison, also ran frequently, as did John Severin’s Western strip “Sagebrush.” Other recurring features included “Ye Hang-Ups”, “The Talking Blob”, “Spies vs. Sabs” (originally “Saboteurs & Investigators”) and, in the 1980s, “the Uggly Family” by Daniel Clowes.
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UPDATE 2022-11
Cracked Magazine 049
Cracked Magazine 052
Cracked Magazine 063
Cracked Magazine 064
Cracked Magazine 065
Cracked Magazine 066

Cracked Magazine 067
Cracked Magazine 068
Cracked Magazine 069
Cracked Magazine 073
Cracked Magazine 074
Cracked Magazine 077

Cracked Magazine 078
Cracked Magazine 079
Cracked Magazine 080
Cracked Magazine 081
Cracked Magazine 082
Cracked Magazine 083

Cracked Magazine 084
Cracked Magazine 086
Cracked Magazine 090
Cracked Magazine 092
Cracked Magazine 094
Cracked Magazine 096

Cracked Magazine 098
Cracked Magazine 100
Cracked Magazine 102
Cracked Magazine 103
Cracked Magazine 105
Cracked Magazine 107
Cracked Magazine 108
Cracked Magazine 109

Cracked Magazine 113
Cracked Magazine 115
Cracked Magazine 117
Cracked Magazine 124
Cracked Magazine 128
Cracked Magazine 134
Cracked Magazine 138

Cracked Magazine 139
Cracked Magazine 140
Cracked Magazine 155

Cracked Magazine 163
Cracked Magazine 165
Cracked Magazine 174
Cracked Magazine 194
Cracked Magazine 196
Cracked Magazine 197
Cracked Magazine 198
Cracked Magazine 201

Cracked Magazine 206
Cracked Magazine 209
Cracked Magazine 212
Cracked Magazine 217
Cracked Magazine 218
Cracked Magazine 240

Cracked Magazine 242
Cracked Magazine 245
Cracked Magazine Blockbuster 08
Cracked Magazine Monster Party 09

Cracked Magazine Monster Party 14
Cracked Magazine Monster Party 15
Cracked Magazine Monster Party 16
Cracked Magazine Monster Party 18
Cracked Magazine Monster Party 20
Cracked Magazine Monster Party 24

Cracked Magazine Monster Party 29
Cracked Magazine Monster Party 30
Cracked Magazine Monster Party 31
Cracked Magazine Monster Party 35
Cracked Magazine Monster Party 38
Cracked Magazine Monster Party 39

Cracked Magazine Monster Party 41
Cracked Magazine Monster Party 43
Cracked Magazine Super 05
Cracked Magazine Super 06
Cracked Magazine Super 16

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UPDATE 16-01-2022
Cracked Magazine 054
Cracked Magazine 055
Cracked Magazine 057
Cracked Magazine 060
Cracked Magazine 062
Cracked Magazine 071
Cracked Magazine Giant Fun Kit 1978-01
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UPDATE 18-03-2021
Cracked Magazine 6-10,19-25

Cracked Magazine 26,32,33,38-40,42-47

Cracked Magazine 48,56,58,61,70,76,91,93,101,104

Cracked Magazine 106,111,114,116,118-122,125
Cracked Magazine 127,129,132,135,145,147,149,151,152,160

Cracked Magazine 167,170,177-181,184,186,186

Cracked Magazine 190,203-205,210,214

Cracked Magazine 223

Cracked Magazine 224,227

Cracked Magazine 229

Cracked Magazine 232,233

Cracked Magazine 236,237,239,241,246,247

Cracked Magazine 250,252,253,264,266,267

Cracked Magazine 298,314,319,330,334,335,339

Cracked Magazine 341,342

Cracked Magazine Biggest Greatest 1984.cbr

Cracked Magazine Blockbuster 03,06

Cracked Magazine Collector’s Edition 011,065,066,069,071

Cracked Magazine Collector’s Edition 082

Cracked Magazine Collector’s Edition 1984-11
Cracked Magazine Collector’s Edition 1985-02
Cracked Magazine Extra Special 04

Cracked Magazine Giant 14
Cracked Magazine Giant 1979-07

Cracked Magazine Giant Fun Kit 1984-10
Cracked Magazine Giant Fun Kit 1984-12
Cracked Magazine Giant History
Cracked Magazine King Sized 008
Cracked Magazine King Sized 018

Cracked Magazine Monster Party 04,06,07

Cracked Magazine Monster Party 42,44
Cracked Magazine Summer Special 1999
Cracked Magazine Super 01

Cracked Magazine Super 28

Cracked Magazine Super 30,32
Cracked Magazine super Special 1984

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UPDATE 08-09-2019
95,131,183,231

251,256,258,259

260-263

265,268-270

271,273-275

277-280

281-283,285

286,288,289,293

294,296,299,300

302,303,306,307

308,320-322

323,326-328

329,331,336,337

338,340, Collectors Edition 9

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UPDATE 23-04-2018
3

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UPDATE 16-03-2018
Cracked Magazine 51

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UPDATE 21-02-2018
345,347,364

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UPDATE 25-10-2017
75,150,200,315,317,333

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UPDATE 13-06-2017
161,169,276, Collectors Edition 1, Monster Party 5

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UPDATE 10-11-2016
Cracked Magazine
Giant fun kit, 11,12,14

16,29,41,72,148

213,216,228,243,249,254,291

Blockbuster 2,10, Collectors edition 1981-02,1982-02

Collectors edition 1982-09,1982-12,1983-02,1983-05,1984-02,1984-07,1986-02

Digest 2,5, Don Martin summer special 2

For monsters only 1,6, Giant 46, Monster party 1,13,17

Monster party 19,23, Super 7

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UPDATE 04-09-2016
2,30,37,50,53,85,88

97,99,110,123,126,130

166,193,221,235,255

305,313,316

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1,4,5,13,15,17

18,27,31,34

35,36,59,112

136,137,141,142

143,146,153,154,156

157,158,159,162

164,171,172,173

176,182,185,188,189

191,195,199,202

207,208,211,215,219

220,222,225,226

230,234,238,244,248,257

272,284,287,290,292

295,297,301,304,309

310,311,312,318,324,325

332, Celebrity party pack 2, Collectors edition 43,62,

Collectors edition 67,78,97,100

Collectors edition 102,109, Monster party 2,28

Monster party 33, Super 3

Super 11,12, Super special 18

Hi. The link for these issues is not working:
Cracked Magazine Super 30,32
Cracked Magazine super Special 1984
LikeLike
Hey, I’ve got a request to ask of you, could you try to
do a full scan of Cracked Blockbuster #13? And in case
you don’t own a copy, could you try to buy one? I’m
really curious about the parodies of the South Park movie
that are featured in that issue, and I really want to read it to
check them out.
LikeLike
I don’t scan myself, i just find and place them on my blogs. And further more i made a comment awhile ago that i no longer maintain this blog, i leave it as it is and will no longer repair links or update it, i have other things that i want to spend more time for. You can read that also at the mainpost at the homepage. I only make some surprise updates whenever i find the time for it.
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Okay, I understand. Well, when or if you do get the full scans of that
issue posted, just let me know.
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By the way, I thought I should let you know, there’s a copy of the issue available
on eBay in pretty good condition, and for a decent price. So in case you feel like
it, maybe you could go ahead and purchase it. Here’s the link:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/304570869319
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Perhaps you can buy it yourself if it’s a decent price and make a scan or let someone scan it for you ?
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HI Boutje,
Just to let you know I tried loading files Cra11 and Cra19 and both were shut down by my computer, stating they were infected with URL: Blacklist.
Also Cra26 download file is missing.
Cheers, Gerry
LikeLike
Which issues are they ?
LikeLike
The blacklist ones are: Cracked 232, 233 and collector’s edition 82. The missing ones are Cracked Super 30, 32 and Super special 1984.
LikeLike
I can’t find any problem.
LikeLike
Cracked Monster Party #1 is only 9 pages long… do you have the rest of the issue? Thanks!
LikeLike
No, sorry, that’s how i found it on the internet.
LikeLike
When trying to download Cracked Magazine 106,111,114,116,118-122,125 I got “failed – virus detected”. I’m not sure if it’s my computer or the rar file. Can you check on your end? Thanks.
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I checked it but nothing seems wrong, i checked all individual issues with Microsoft Security also.
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