John Ficarra facts for kids

Quick facts for kids John Ficarra
Ficarra at a signing for Inside Mad at a Barnes & Noble in Manhattan
Nationality	American
Area(s)	Editor, Publisher
Notable works	Mad magazine

John Ficarra (born around 1956) is an American publishing expert. He is best known for his long career at Mad magazine. This famous American magazine is known for its funny and often silly take on current events and pop culture. Ficarra started working at Mad in 1980. He first joined as an assistant editor. Before that, he had already written some articles for the magazine. In 1985, he became the editor-in-chief. He shared this important role with Nick Meglin until 2004. Ficarra stayed as editor until 2018.

John Ficarra's Time as Editor of Mad Magazine

John Ficarra played a big part in Mad magazine for many years. He helped shape the magazine's humor and content.

Ficarra in Mad Magazine's Pages

From the late 1980s until 2002, a cartoonist named Dave Berg often drew Ficarra. These drawings showed Ficarra and other Mad staff members in their office. Ficarra was usually shown as a young man with glasses, curly dark hair, and a beard.

Sharing Insights: Ficarra's Interviews

John Ficarra often shared how Mad magazine created its unique content. In March 2013, he was interviewed by the Film Society of Lincoln Center. He explained how Mad put together its yearly issue that made fun of movies.

In July 2014, Ficarra spoke with Nerd Reactor. He talked about changes Mad was making. The goal was to make the magazine more interesting for people in the 21st century. Later, in August 2014, he took part in a Warner Brothers interview. Here, he described the creative process behind Mad magazine.

In December 2015, MStars News interviewed Ficarra. This article explained how the magazine created its popular "20 Dumbest People, Events & Things of 20xx" issue each year.

Speaking Up for Freedom of Speech

In January 2015, a sad event happened. A French satirical magazine called Charlie Hebdo was attacked. Satirical magazines often use humor to criticize powerful people or ideas. On January 11, 2015, Ficarra appeared on the TV show CBS Sunday Morning. He talked about how such attacks could make cartoonists afraid to express themselves freely. He stressed the importance of freedom of expression for artists.

Ficarra's Retirement and Mad's New Start

John Ficarra retired from Mad magazine with issue #550. This issue was dated April 2018. He had been the editor for 34 years. Issue #550 was also the last issue of the first volume of the magazine. Mad first started in 1952.

After Ficarra's retirement, Mad magazine got a fresh start. A new issue #1 was released in June 2018. The magazine also got a new look. Bill Morrison, an illustrator and comic book artist, became the new editor. The magazine's offices also moved. For decades, Mad was based in Manhattan, New York. First, it was on Madison Avenue, then on Broadway. Now, it moved to Los Angeles, California.