Ping Pong!

King Kong was a movie like few others. It spawned an immediate sequel which while entertaining in its own way lacked the emotional power and scale of the original. Some years later there was Mighty Joe Young about a great big gorilla and a girl, but happy endings don't make for monster movies. What Kong had not had was a spirited satire, a send up of the tropes and oddities which populate the film. Well leave it to the boys at MAD to solve that problem with the sixth issue of the comic.

Harvey Kurtzman was large and in charge as he and the inimitable Will Elder took hold of the modern myth of "The Eighth Wonder of the World" and gave us "Ping Pong". To read the awesome "Ping Pong" check out this overstuffed link. You'll be glad you did.

If you'd like to own the story, it was reprinted most recently to my knowledge in the Will Elder volume of the MAD's "Original Idiot" set which also featured Wally Wood and Jack Davis. I have the story in a larger format in a tome which reprints the first six issues of the venerable magazine.

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