blueSpirit - Animation : Spy vs. Spy 1995

 

Spy vs. Spy is a wordless black and white comic strip that has been published in Mad magazine since 1961. It was created by Antonio Prohías, a Cuban national who fled to the United States in 1960 days before Fidel Castro took over the Cuban free press.

The "Spy vs. Spy" cartoon was symbolic of the Cold War, and was Prohías's comment on the futility of armed escalation and détente.

Concept

 

The comic features two spies, Black and White (X and Y in some countries), who are constantly warring against each other, and coming up with increasingly sophisticated ways of doing away with the other.

A typical plot would be one spy setting up a booby-trap for the other to fall into and be "killed." Sometimes the trap would work, but sometimes the other spy would come up with a brilliant counter plan of his own and be the final winner, or in other cases, the spy uses a plan B to counter the other spy's counter. Frequently, the winning spy celebrates his victory with a V sign gesture toward the loser.

 

Some of the early cartoons, published in 1961, had both spies coming up with the same plan to trap the other, the result being a draw. But these were the exception rather than the rule and most of the time one protagonist would beat the other.

In the early years, the title panel of the comic would feature a one-panel gag presenting one spy besting the other; the main comic then used the rest of the panels to tell a different short story with the other spy winning.

 

During 1962-65 and again in 2007, the comic was sometimes called Spy vs. Spy vs. Spy ("X & Y & Z" in some countries) and featured a female spy, Lady in Grey, with whom both White and Black Spy were in love. She took advantage of this to set traps for which both male spies would fall for and "perish." The Lady in Grey ended up always winning.

 

After Prohías's retirement, several artists worked on the strip. George Woodbridge drew one Spy vs. Spy, and after that, artist Bob Clarke and writer Don Edwing took over in 1988 through the early 1990s. After Bob Clarke, Dave Manak took over the strip with Edwing writing (although sometimes, other writers contributed). In April 1997, Peter Kuper became the new Spy vs. Spy artist and still is doing it today.

 

 

 

 

Other Media

Spy vs. Spy animated short cartoons on MADtv have also been made.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spy_vs._Spy

 

1995 Klasky Csupo, INC. Commercials division opens.

In first year solicits and wins campaigns for Coca-Cola, Taco Bell, Oscar Mayer Lunchables, Kraft, 1-800-Collect and interstitial animated sketches of Antonio Prohias’ “Spy Vs. Spy” for “Mad TV.”

 

http://www.klaskycsupo.com

 

 

Spy vs. Spy - Projection 1995

 

This is the original black and white Spy vs Spy cartoon
that was featured in MAD magazine #60, 1961