John Ficarra (born ca. 1956) is an American publishing figure. He was hired as assistant editor of the American
satire
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...
magazine ''
Mad'' in 1980, shortly after his debut as a contributing writer. He became editor-in-chief (a position he shared with
Nick Meglin
Nick Meglin (July 30, 1935 – June 2, 2018) was an American writer, humorist, and artist. He was known for his work as a contributor, comics writer, illustrator and editor for the satirical magazine '' Mad''. He also scripted ''Superfan'', a 1 ...
until 2004
[Hendrix, Grady (March 13, 2013)]
"Interview: John Ficarra"
''Film Comment
''Film Comment'' is the official publication of Film at Lincoln Center. It features reviews and analysis of mainstream, art-house, and avant-garde filmmaking from around the world. Founded in 1962 and originally released as a quarterly, ''Film Co ...
''. Retrieved May 20, 2019.) in 1985, when the incumbent (
Al Feldstein
Albert Bernard Feldstein ( ; October 24, 1925 – April 29, 2014) was an American writer, editor, and artist, best known for his work at EC Comics and, from 1956 to 1985, as the editor of the satirical magazine '' Mad''. After retiring from ''Mad' ...
) retired,
to 2018.
[
]
As editor of ''Mad''
Dave Berg often drew Ficarra along with other ''Mad'' staff members in an office setting from the late 1980s until 2002; Ficarra was depicted as a bespectacled young man with curly dark hair and beard.
In March 2013 Ficarra was interviewed by Film Society of Lincoln Center, to explain how ''Mad'' created its annual movie-parody issue.[
In a July 2014 interview with Nerd Reactor, Ficarra explained the changes being made to ''Mad'' in an effort to make it more relevant to the 21st century.
In August 2014 Ficarra participated in a Warner Brothers interview to explain the creative process at ''Mad''.
In response to the 2015 attack on the French satirical magazine ''Charlie Hebdo'', on January 11, 2015 Ficarra made a personal appearance on the US television show '']CBS Sunday Morning
''CBS News Sunday Morning'' (normally shortened to ''Sunday Morning'' on the program itself since 2009) is an American news magazine television program that has aired on CBS since January 28, 1979. Created by Robert Northshield and original hos ...
'', to describe the chilling effect which such attacks were having on the previous freedom of expression
Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recog ...
enjoyed by cartoonists in the Free World.
In December 2015 Ficarra was interviewed by MStars News for an article detailing how the magazine created its annual "20 Dumbest People, Events & Things of 20xx" issue.
Ficarra retired with issue #550 (dated April 2018) after 34 years as the editor of ''Mad'' magazine. #550 was also the final issue of the first volume of the magazine which launched at EC Comics
Entertaining Comics, more commonly known as EC Comics, was an American publisher of comic books, which specialized in horror fiction, crime fiction, satire, military fiction, dark fantasy, and science fiction from the 1940s through the mid-1950 ...
in 1952 before being taken over by DC after EC ceased publication in the mid-'50s. ''Mad'' magazine was rebooted with a new #1 dated June 2018 and a new look, with illustrator and comic book artist Bill Morrison taking over as the new editor and the magazine shifting offices to Los Angeles, California after decades in Manhattan (first on Madison Avenue and then on Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
).[Fire, Larry (March 24, 2018)]
"Mad Magazine’s New Look Revealed at WonderCon 2018"
The FireWIre Blog. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ficarra, John
Mad (magazine) people
American magazine editors
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
American people of Italian descent