Poking around some of the auction websites I stumbled on this glorious Jack Davis (that's EC Comics's Jack Davis) unused subscription Halloween ad for Humbug magazine.
Having never heard of Humbug, I did 60 seconds worth of internet research to discover that it was a humor magazine (more political than MAD) that only ran from 1957-1958.
The Heritage Auction listing provides this background info:
Jack Davis Humbug #4 Back Cover Illustration Original Art (Humbug, 1957). Harvey Kurtzman had made EC Comics all the wealthier with his development of MAD, only to find himself exiled from his own creation by corporate intrigues. Kurtzman followed through with a short-lived publishing deal with Playboy boss Hugh Hefner, for a magazine called Trump (a gambling term for a decisive card) -- only to wind up scuffling again with the independent Humbug, a more-or-less equal partnership among artists. Although Jack Davis remained aligned with MAD, he reserved his most diligent and labor-intensive work for Kurtzman's Humbug. This advertising piece pitches a subscription deal, timed to coincide with Halloween of 1957. The ad-copy proves to have been a matter of wishful thinking: It promises "the next 14 issues," but Humbug would crater in an onslaught of distribution hassles after 11 issues. The title closed with an embittered message from Kurtzman: "...as our names are carefully removed from our work in MAD [reprint books] ... a feeling of beatness creeps through our satirical veins and capillaries..." Kurtzman would rally, again, with HELP! magazine, and then with a long-term stake in the Little Annie Fanny serial for Playboy. Humbug remains a benchmark of the Kurtzman canon, a labor-of-love project that defied practical economic realities to convey a determined commitment to freewheeling, socially aware ridicule as an art form. Ink over graphite on illustration board. This piece has an image area of 10.25" x 15". A retouched, moon-shaped area appears at upper right. Some patched-in text has loosened or fallen away. Margins contain adhesive residue. Otherwise in Excellent condition. Includes two layout design sketches by Kurtzman on paper at approximately 4.5" x 5" each.
From the Roger Hill Collection.
The back of the art is just as interesting, showing what the color blocking direction was. Plus all the tape, erases, ink smudges, and glue residue of analog art made by hand.
The Heritage Auction link (while it lasts) can be FOUND HERE.
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