Another cartoonist who lived a long life and had a prosperous career is Al Jaffee.
The book by Mary-Lou Weisman about his life, Al Jaffee's Mad Life is the incredible history and life story of Jaffee and how he grew up between Savannah Georgia and his mother's native home in Lithuania.
Born Abraham to Morris and Mildred Jaffee in Savannah Georgia after moved there for a job from New York City. His parents had two more sons, his brother Harry and Bernard. But Mildred is very unhappy in the south and America in general, so she takes the boys back to Lithuania for a visit that ends up lasting years. Their father, Morris stays in the States and works for years to earn enough money to fly to Lithuania and have enough money for tickets to bring them all home again. This happens more than once in Al's young life and in the end he ends up in America with his father but leaves his mother and brothers overseas. These childhood experiences are part of the making of the man, they shape who he grows up to be.
He grows up drawing incredible, intricate drawings of how things work. He makes many connections along the way attending art school and creating relationships and working with such big names as Stan Lee, Harvey Kurtzman and Will Edler finally landing on his feet at Mad Magazine where he had a very successful run starting in 1955.
This is a fascinating tale. A brilliant cartoonist at the height of Mad Magazine's incredible success.
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