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Festivities Distraction: Doug Gilford’s MadCoverSite

By John Freeman on December 26, 2023

Over twenty-five years ago, when the internet was young, Doug Gilford thought it would be a good idea to share his MAD Magazine collection with the world, and launched the MadCoverSite.

Since it’s earliest days of rudimentary cover scans, his incredible site has evolved into an amazing, much respected resource for all kinds of MAD information and is well worth a visit.

Doug says his goal has been to keep 70 years of data simple and free to access for researching, even more important now as an organised lifeline to the past, for this much-loved title.

Some of the sections that are most popular to visit are the issues themselves in the form of regular issues and all the reprints of those articles in the form of annuals, specials, paperbacks and books.

“See who was responsible for the MADness on each issue’s page,” Doug enthuses, “but also see the Usual Gang of Idiots on a very long UGOI contributor list. Go to the movie and TV satire pages for a quick review and see other features that the magazine specialised in. Marvel at the ad parodies that poked fun at consumer culture. If you’re looking to buy or sell, there’s a price guide for that.”

The site is an amazing treasure trove of MAD information. You can check it out at madcoversite.com. Better than watching Christmas telly!

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.