Obituary: David Berg Essay, Research Paper

David BergFor more than 40 old ages, the American comic-book creative person and author David Berg, who has died of malignant neoplastic disease aged 81, worked on Mad magazine, satirizing the idiosyncrasies of suburban America. He besides produced legion paper-back books. Berg began lending to Mad in 1956. One eventide, he screened some comedy place films, starring his household and neighbors, for Mad editor Al Feldstein, who suggested he adapt the thought into what became the magazine & # 8217 ; s Lighter Side characteristic. The sketch explored a different subject each month & # 8211 ; from Little League baseball to auto care & # 8211 ; with thoughts from Berg & # 8217 ; s cartoonist married woman Vivian, and their kids and friends. Feldstein insisted that if Berg was traveling to express joy at people, he should include himself in the characteristic. His alter-ego & # 8211 ; in big black spectacless, pipe and athleticss jacket & # 8211 ; was the cranky, flawed broad Roger Kaputnik. For four decennaries, he surveyed issues of race, category, sex and daily life in US society with elegant, observant graphics and a elusive self-mockery. He wrote and illustrated 17 Mad books, including Mad & # 8217 ; s Dave Berg Looks At The USA, which have sold more than 10m transcripts and been translated into a twelve linguistic communications. His humourous university talks on spiritual subjects were collected into two books, My Friend God and Roger Kaputnik And God. Born I

n Brooklyn, Berg studied at the Pratt Institute, and Cooper Union art schools. His first job, in 1941, was with the young entrepreneur Will Eisner, and he assisted on backgrounds for Eisner’s moody noir newspaper strip, the Spirit. He was soon packaging complete comic book episodes of patriotic heroes Uncle Sam and Death Patrol. Berg never forgot Eisner’s encouragement: “You’re not a cartoonist, you’re the director, the actor, the set-designer. The whole motion picture is you.” Before Berg went off to do war service, he wrote and drew America’s biggest-selling superhero, Fawcett Comics’ Captain Marvel. If other artists were struggling to draw an awkward shot of the character, Berg, who was well-built, would take off his shirt and strike the appropriate pose. Also for Fawcett, he drew the charming Sir Butch, about a Brooklyn boy transformed into a knight in a fantastical realm. After serving in the army air force and as a war correspondent in Iwo Jima, Guam, Saipan and Japan, he resumed working for Eisner, now helping to pencil the Spirit, and co-writing it with Jules Feiffer. Later, he drew for Archie Comics. For Stan Lee at Marvel, he produced horror teenage humour, and for five years the commie-bashing GI, Combat Kelly. He is survived by his wife and two children. · David Berg, comic-book artist and writer, born June 12 1920; died May 17 2002