Totally Mad

By Chris Taylor

You may not be able to read them under the bedcovers with a flashlight, but now every issue of Mad magazine can be yours. This mammoth seven-CD collection (for PC only) is unabated puerile nostalgia: a comprehensive archive from the pre-Alfred E. Neuman years (1952-56) through 1998. The multimedia element lets you complete all the fold-ins, listen to all the plastic 7-in. (Free Gift!) singles and watch short videos of legendary artists like Mort Drucker at work. The comic strips themselves look a little faded and grainy on a computer monitor, but at least future generations will see what all the snickering was about.

--By Chris Taylor