Mad #60 for Sale - First Appearance of The Black Spy - Where to Buy

Identification plate

Series: Mad (EC, 1952 series)
Issue: #60
Publication date: January 1961
Key date: 1961-01-00
On-sale date: 1960-11-08
Indicia publisher: E.C. Publications Inc.
Price: $0.25
Pages: 52

Match the book in your hand against this plate before paying an edition-specific price.

Why this issue matters

First appearance of The Black Spy - the earliest non-flashback appearance on record for this character.

First appearance of The White Spy - the earliest non-flashback appearance on record for this character.

First appearance of Burt Lancaster - the earliest non-flashback appearance on record for this character.

The evidence

Claims here come from the story records for this issue, listed under Sources at the bottom of the file. Character hubs with full evidence tables are coming to this site.

Seq	Story	Type	Pages	Credits	Characters
0	Mad Congratulates Richard Nixon	cover	1	pencils: Bob Clarke; inks: Bob Clarke; colors: Bob Clarke	Alfred E. Neuman, Richard Nixon
1	The Furd Foulcar	cartoon	1	pencils: Bob Clarke; inks: Bob Clarke	Charlie Brown, Lucy Van Pelt
2	Vital Features	table of contents	2	pencils: various; inks: various; letters: typeset
3	-	letters page	1.45	letters: typeset
4	Ring out the Old Year and Ring in the New!	promo (ad from the publisher)	0.55	pencils: Mort Drucker; inks: Mort Drucker	Santa Claus
5	The Producer and I	comic story	6	pencils: Mort Drucker; inks: Mort Drucker	Charlie Chaplin, Burt Lancaster First, Frank Sinatra
6	-	comic story	1	script: Antonio Prohías; pencils: Antonio Prohías; inks: Antonio Prohías	The Black Spy First, The White Spy First
7	Tee Vee U.	comic story	4	script: Sy Reit; pencils: Bob Clarke; inks: Bob Clarke	John Daly; Dorothy Killgallen; Bill Cullen; Ralph Edwards; President Ulysses Simpson Grant
8	-	comic story	1	script: Antonio Prohías; pencils: Antonio Prohías; inks: Antonio Prohías	The Black Spy First, The White Spy First
9	The European Tourist's Guide to the United States	comic story	7	script: Frank Jacobs; pencils: Joe Orlando; inks: Joe Orlando
10	A Mad Peek Behind the Scenes	comic story	2	script: Phil Hahn; pencils: Paul Coker Jr.; inks: Paul Coker Jr.	Dr. Benjamin Spock
11	-	comic story	1	script: Antonio Prohías; pencils: Antonio Prohías; inks: Antonio Prohías	The Black Spy First, The White Spy First
12	The Mad Shakespeare Primer	comic story	3	script: Phil Hahn; pencils: Wally Wood; inks: Wally Wood	Julius Caesar, Juliet Capulet, Romeo Montague
13	Mad's College Songs and Cheers for Traitors, Defeatists and Cowards	comic story	3	script: Larry Siegel; pencils: George Woodbridge; inks: George Woodbridge
14	Dieting	comic story	3	script: Dave Berg; pencils: Dave Berg; inks: Dave Berg
15	"Warm-Ups" to Everything	comic story	4	script: Gary Belkin; pencils: George Woodbridge; inks: George Woodbridge
16	Educational Toys	comic story	3	script: Al Jaffee; pencils: Bob Clarke; inks: Bob Clarke
17	20 Years in the Shipping Dept.	comic story	2	script: Don Martin; pencils: Don Martin; inks: Don Martin
18	Naked Town	comic story	4	script: Larry Siegel; pencils: Mort Drucker; inks: Mort Drucker	Horace McMahon [as Lt. Poker]; Paul Burke [as Det. Flinch]; Lt. Mascara
19	For Mad Christmas Gift-Giving this Year...Have a Ball!	promo (ad from the publisher)	1	pencils: ? (photo); inks: ? (photo); letters: typeset
20	Mad Congratulates John Kennedy	cover	1	pencils: Bob Clarke; inks: Bob Clarke; colors: Bob Clarke	Alfred E. Neuman, John F. Kennedy
21	Appropriate Casting for Old Movies	text article	0	letters: typeset

Where to read it

Collection	Year
The Worst from MAD #5	1962	On eBay ›
More Trash from Mad #5	1962	On eBay ›
The Mad Sampler #P3495	1965	On eBay ›
Mad for Decades #[nn] ISBN 978-1435101289; 1435101286	2007	On eBay ›
Mad #18	2021	On eBay ›

Reading the story costs a fraction of owning the issue. Both routes are on every file.

Before you buy

Check spine ticks and cover gloss in the photos; silver-age Marvels chip at the edges easily.
Look for tanning at the page edges and transfer stains on the inside covers.
Confirm the cover price against the plate; higher prices can mean a later or foreign printing.

Series context

‹ #5960 of 550#61 ›

Sources

Grand Comics Database, issue record (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Found an error in this file? corrections@comicrecord.com