The Optimism of Youth

If you think that the dimwit in today's cartoon is Alfred E. Newman from Mad Magazine, you'd be wrong. Harvey Kurtzman, a cartoonist, and the original editor and creator of Mad first spotted the image on a postcard pinned to the office bulletin board of the editor of Ballantine Books . The image had, for years been used on comic postcards. In 1965 Mad was sued for copyright infringement by the widow of cartoonist Harry Spencer Stuff. She claimed it was a copy of Stuff’s caricature “The Original Optimist,” also known as “Me-worry?”, which he had copyrighted in 1914.
Mad Magazine argued that it had copied the picture from various materials dating back to 1911 and won the case.* * * I and my LSW (Long Suffering Wife) are in need of financial help.
Unfortunately there's no one we can sue for anything.
Our only hope is that you Dry Bones fans will support us.
To help, please click on: Help Dry Bones and his LSW (Long Suffering Wife)