That Hot Rod "88".... [PIC]

One of the comic book genres that disappeared with the 1954 "Comics Code" disaster, when the Comic Magazine Association of America yielded to threats by a US Senate committee. was about teen strip and street racers. The imposed bans included horror, parody, satire (of any government officials) right down to characters deemed improperly dressed. That was when "Mad Comics" became "Mad Magazine" to escape censorship. Anyhow, I was too young to relate to the teen angst of the story lines, but the kids drove cool looking hot rods of the time and disputes were generally settled by drag racing. (think of it as an edgy "American Graffiti".) Unlike the bulk of the cast of characters, the hero drove a green '49 Oldsmobile that always seemed to edge out those multi-carb flat head V8s which I guess meant OHV V8s 'uber alles'. I don't know if DM had the hero's Olds in mind, but they nailed it color and all.