A Visit With Al Jaffee, Legendary Cartoonist and Creator of the Iconic MAD Magazine Fold-In

Ben Yakas of Gothamist had an amazing opportunity to visit with Al Jaffee, the legendary MAD Magazine cartoonist and creator of the iconic MAD Fold-In, which has graced the cover of the magazine since 1964. Jaffe also created the hilarious feature “Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions”. Still working at 95-years old, Jaffee considers his long career to be like a vacation.

We recently sat down with Jaffee to talk about his career as a cartoonist, from his early days with Stan Lee—creating characters like Ziggy Pig and Silly Seal—to the origins of MAD, the creation of his trademark fold-ins, and the many comedians who are indebted to him. Through his association with MAD, Jaffee was able to have a long, storied and very furshlugginery career while always remaining true to his freelancer roots: “One thing I can say is it’s been the most pleasurable vocation that I could ever imagine having.”

In 2013, Jaffee donated his archives to Columbia University.

In 2014, Jaffee explained to DC Entertainment how he creates the fold-ins.