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It's a Mad (magazine) world at the Artists' Guild

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This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: June 23, 2008 - MAD Magazine, Letters Department

Dear Editor,

Congratulations!!!! My friend and I just attended the opening of the St. Louis Artists' Guild show in Oak Knoll Park called "Humor In A Jugular Vein, A MAD Art Show." I found the show very interesting, particularly the free beer and little pieces of cheese, which were delicious. But I do have a couple of questions. What's the story with this Bob Shay guy who ramrodded this thing, and is he any relation to that little kid with the big ears and the missing front tooth whose pictures we kept seeing everywhere inside the exhibit rooms? Also, I know it was a free show, but on the way to the park, a cop pulled me over for running a stop sign and gave me a ticket for $120. If you would be so kind as to reimburse me, it would be much appreciated.

Sincerely yours,

Dale Smirdley, Arnold

Dear Dale,

Thanks for your kinds words, Dale, and for your questions. Obviously, we here at the Artists' Guild were quite happy with the turnout at the grand opening. As for the beer, well, all we can say is we did not provide free beer. You are referring, perhaps, to the bottles of coyote urine we use to keep the rabbits out of the park's flower gardens?

As for Bob, we here at "The Guild" like to call him R.J. Shay. He seems to think he can charge higher rates through his Studio X Design company if he goes by his initials.

Mr. Shay's story is an interesting one. He was 10 years old when he happened to stop into a little drug store near his family's home in East St. Louis, Ill. That was when he noticed a copy of Mad No. 69 and was blown away by the cartoons and the humor. As he would say years later, "I scrounged up a quarter and bought it."

He went on to do artwork for the Edwardsville Intelligencer and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch before breaking off into the high-paying world of freelance art. In the ensuing years, he managed to collect every single issue of MAD comics and MAD Magazine that was ever published.

He also accumulated a ton of MAD and Alfred E. Neuman junk, like statues, record albums and board games, which are part of the exhibit. Perhaps it is Mr. Neuman whom you so curiously called "that little kid with the big ears and the missing front tooth"?

In addition to the other stuff, Mr. Shay also picked up between 75 and 80 pieces of original art that appeared in the pages of MAD magazine, which have become the focal point of the exhibit.

The work, of course, is by the usual gang of idiots -- Jack Davis, Mort Drucker, Sergio Arogones, George Woodbridge, Norman Ming, even Post-Dispatch editorial cartoonist R. J. Matson (another one of the R. J. boys).

Mr. Shay said he purchased many of the pieces long before the prices got out of hand. He noted that some of the early original artwork of MAD covers now sell for $10,000 to $15,000 each (CHEAP).

At any rate, again we are happy you enjoyed our little show. Tell your pals. It is free and open to the public through Sept. 6. The gallery building is in Oak Knoll Park near Clayton Road and Big Bend Boulevard.

As for your final point, we do not normally reimburse for traffic tickets obtained enroute to one of our shows. However, if you would be so kind as to climb on top of the Gateway Arch and jump off without a parachute, we will see what we can do.