Cracked v2.0
Aug 15
Cracked v2.0
So, after dying a slow, painful death, my favorite Mad Magazine alternative – Cracked – went away – well, Florida. And it never technically died, but it may as well have. When was the last time you saw Cracked in the supermarket?
BUT. Now it’s back! Rather than go head to head with Mad again, the magazine is now what I would describe as one part Daily Show, one part The Onion, and just a touch of Mcsweeney’s. In fact, the premiere issue, that just hit stands, features a cover parody of Steve Carrell’s 40 Year Old Virgin poster, and a head-to-head feature article between Rob Courdry and Ed Helms. And, just to be shameless, they completely lifted Mcsweeney’s journal of a Cobra Recruit, represented as a Cobra recruitment pamphlet – which, to be fair, is pretty funny, and comes off almost as a prequel to the Mcsweeney’s piece.
I’ve got to give it a thumbs up. I’m not exactly the target demographic (which seems to be somewhere between 17-27 year old males… The Daily Show demographic), but I had a laugh. One article was on them trying to convince the Army that it could solve their quota woes by recruiting civil war re-enactment societies… and then pay them a bird-dog fee. Another outlined why Tom Cruise was douchebag of the year (or Douchbag of the Year, I guess) – and as their advertising points out, as far as their lawyers are concerned, Tom Cruise is not gay.
Don’t know that I’m going to keep buying it, but it’s something to watch.
[update] Another, more serious banner ad says that writers from The Daily Show, SNL, Stella, MST3K, and Chapell’s Show are contributors to the magazine. So, no duh it feels the way it does. That’s it, I’m picking this magazine up for awhile – a test run, if you will.
