Kelly Freas, a cover artist and illustrator of many of Mad's most memorable advertising parodies, is even better known as a science-fiction illustrator. In the New Encyclopedia of Science Fiction he is called "the most popular illustrator in the history of science fiction. " His specialty is a realism unique to the genre: his characters have wrinkles, expressiveness, and bit of humor. These qualities served him well when he began contributing art to Mad's advertising parodies in 1955: he always seemed to hit just the right balance among realism, warmth, and mockery. By 1957, Freas had mastered the art of rendering Alfred E. Newman on Mad's cover.

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