John Burton Davis Jr. was an American cartoonist and illustrator, known for his advertising art, magazine covers, film posters, record album art, and numerous comic book stories. He was one of the founding cartoonists for Mad in 1952. His cartoon characters are characterized by extremely distorted anatomy, including big heads, skinny legs, and large feet.
Davis in 2015
Davis's flair for caricature made him a natural choice for satire magazines such as Mad, Cracked, Trump, Humbug and Help!
Mad is an American humor magazine first published in 1952. It was founded by editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines, launched as a comic book series before it became a magazine. It was widely imitated and influential, affecting satirical media, as well as the cultural landscape of the 20th century, with editor Al Feldstein increasing readership to more than two million during its 1973–1974 circulation peak.
Cover of the August 2017 issue
Harvey Kurtzman's cover for Mad No. 1 (cover-dated Oct./Nov. 1952)
With issue 24 (July 1955), Mad switched to a magazine format. The "extremely important message" was "Please buy this magazine!".
Actor Michael Biehn autographing a copy of Mad No. 268 (Jan. 1987), which parodies Biehn's film Aliens