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Feb 12, 2015 Weird Al Yankovic By Austin Trunick

“Weird Al” Yankovic will join forces with Alfred E. Neuman in the team-up of “Als” that comedy fans have been dreaming of for decades. According to his twitter account, Yankovic has been named the first-ever guest editor of MAD Magazine, taking on those duties for issue #533, which will hit stands in April.

Yankovic has always been open about the inspirational role MAD Magazine’s Usual Gang of Idiots played in his pursuing comedy. Here’s what Al told Under the Radar last year when we asked him about MAD’s influence:

“It was huge. In fact, I had a meeting with my school guidance counselor when I was 12 years old. At the time they were trying to get all of the kids to figure out what they wanted to do with the rest of their lives, and what they wanted to do for a living. He asked me what I wanted to do, and I said, “I want to be a writer for MAD Magazine.” And my counselor talked me out of it! He said, “Comedy is a hard field, and not very many people make it. I know you’re good at drafting, and you’re good at math. Why don’t you be an architect?” And I said, “Ohhhh, okay.” [Laughs] And I went to college and got my degree in architecture based on that. By my third year in I realized that wasn’t what my passion was, and I kind of got back on course with comedy.

But MAD Magazine’s always been a huge influence and inspiration. I was obsessed with it when I was 11, 12 years old. I would have my parents drive me around to the used magazine shops and I would try to find back issues. I don’t know what it is about that certain age—I find that some of my most obsessive fans are 12-year-old boys. There’s something that happens to your brain when you’re 12 years old, and you really start to appreciate that brand of irreverent comedy. That happened to me with MAD Magazine, and now I find that happens with a lot of my own fans at that age.”

MAD Magazine #533 hits stands in April. You can read our full feature on “Weird Al” Yankovic in Under the Radar’s Best of 2014 issue, which is currently available.

(www.madmagazine.com)

(www.weirdal.com)