Wreck of the Hesperus
art by Wallace Wood, story by Harvey Kurtzman
Mad #16 (1954)
For this story Harvey Kurtzman went pretty far afield from his usual parody targets in the movies and comics and took on the mid-19th century narrative poem "The Wreck of the Hesperus" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Most the the poem is presented as written by Longfellow (minus at least one overtly religious verse) as the captions, while Kurtzman and Wallace Wood treat is all with irreverence in the pictures and dialogue.
Among the highlights is the rather goofy look of the captain's daughter, the "old sailor" being drawn as Popeye and the constant confusion of the word "billows" with "pillows". Special mention to letterer Ben Oda, who pretty much handles a page and a half solo with mostly sound effects in the panels.
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