MAD Magazine Letter Pages Recurring Features
The Big Easel / The Big Robot
in Order of Appearance in Regular Issues
In response to “Strike Up The Sand” in Issue #420, MAD asked readers to send them their own sand sculptures of Alfred E. Neuman or maybe to work in a different medium — marbles or jelly-beans or maybe a mixed medium of things found in the trash. Readers were to send in non-returnable photos of their best creative efforts to Amy “The Big Easel.”
| Feature Title | Mediums Used to Make Alfred | Issue / Date |
|---|---|---|
| Strike Up The Sand | Sand Sculpture | 420 — Aug 2002 |
| The Big Easel | Buttons and Spools of Thread; Cereals (Count Chocula, Froot Loops, Frosted Cheerios) and Nesquik and Two Oreo Cookies; A Peach | 423 — Nov 2002 |
| The Big Easel | Beans; Magic Etch-A-Sketch Screen; Dog and Cat Food Treats and Crisco; Lite Brite; Tree Bark and Glue on Styrofoam With Leaves and Branches; Vegetables and Tortoises; Can Tabs and Cardboard; Cookie Dough; Chalk on Black Paper; Clay on Black Binder; German Coins | 429 — May 2003 |
| The Big Easel | Assorted Candies (including Chiclets, Kit Kats, M&M’s, Smarties, Tootsie Rolls, Turtles) and Several Chocolate Bars (including Coconut, Coffee Crisp, Hershey, Mars, Nestle’s Crunch, Oh Henry, Snickers, 3 Musketeers) and Oreos | 431 — Jul 2003 |
| The Big Easel | Old Computer Circuit Board | 433 — Sep 2003 |
| The Big Easel | Swiss Cheese and Other Unidentifiable Food Stuff; MAD Magazines (Arranged Into The Head Shape of Alfred E. Neuman) | 434 — Oct 2003 |
| The Big Easel | Sponge | 435 — Nov 2003 |
| The Big Easel | Kid-Sized Cricket Bat | 436 — Dec 2003 |
| The Big Easel | Deck of Cards (Alfred E. Neuman’s Face Drawn On Them) | 437 — Jan 2004 |
| The Big Easel | Carving of Alfred E. Neuman | 439 — Mar 2004 |
| The Big Easel | Oil Painting with Ben-day Dots | 440 — Apr 2004 |
| The Big Easel | Yarn on Plastic Canvas | 441 — May 2004 |
| The Big Easel | Garbage and Old Junk (Lips are Old Pieces of Rubber and Teeth are Chalk) | 442 — Jun 2004 |
| The Big Easel | Shrinky Dinks | 443 — Jul 2004 |
| The Big Easel | ASCII Art (Computer Print-Out of Alfred E. Neuman’s Face) | 444 — Aug 2004 |
| The Big Easel | Toy Cars and K’nex and Other Stuff Found In Bedroom | 445 — Sep 2004 |
| The Big Easel | Gumball Machine | 446 — Oct 2004 |
| The Big Easel | Piece of Scrimshaw done on Woolly Mammoth Ivory | 447 — Nov 2004 |
| The Big Easel | Fusion Beads | 449 — Jan 2005 |
| The Big Easel | Wood | 451 — Mar 2005 |
| The Big Easel | Glass and Plaster with a Wood Back | 453 — May 2005 |
| The Big Easel | Snowman | 454 — Jun 2005 |
| The Big Easel | Stained Glass Window (Sharp Glass, Lead and Hot Irons) | 461 — Jan 2006 |
| The Big Easel | Cartoon Drawing | 463 — Mar 2006 |
| The Big Easel | Paint and Vases | 464 — Apr 2006 |
| The Big Easel | Gemstones | 466 — Jun 2006 |
| The Big Easel | Pizza (Ingredients Used: Anchovies, Black Olives, Jalapeno Peppers, Mushrooms, Onions, Pepperoni, Roasted Garlic, Spinach, Sun-Dried Tomato) | 468 — Aug 2006 |
| The Big Easel | Wikki Sticks | 472 — Dec 2006 |
| The Big Easel | Vegetables (Banana Pepper, Bell Pepper, Blueberry, Cabbage, Lettuce, Purple Onion, Tomato) | 473 — Jan 2007 |
| The Big Easel | Legos (Spy Vs. Spy) | 474 — Feb 2007 |
| The Big Easel | Used Torn United States and South Africa Postage Stamps | 475 — Mar 2007 |
| The Big Easel | Paint and ’85 Toyota Pickup | 478 — Jun 2007 |
| The Big Easel | MAD “Subscribe Now” Cards | 479 — Jul 2007 |
| The Big Easel | Middle School Planner and Stickers from the back of the Planner | 483 — Nov 2007 |
| The Big Easel | Toe Nail (Drew Alfred E. Neuman’s Face on Toe Nail) | 486 — Feb 2008 |
| The Big Easel | Post Office Boxes (Dancing Alfred E. Neuman Robot) | 487 — Mar 2008 |
| E. Robot(The Big Robot) | Drawing (Dancing Alfred E. Neuman Robot. This is in addition to the one shown earlier in the magazine in “The Big Easel” column) | 487 — Mar 2008 |
| The Big Easel | Poker Chips and Playing Cards | 489 — May 2008 |
| The Big Robot | Drawing (In Reply to E. Robot (The Big Robot) in Issue #487, Readers Respond to MAD’s Request to Draw a Dancing Alfred E. Neuman Robot) | 490 — Jun 2008 |
| The Big Easel | Fruit (Apple Skin, Blueberries, Lemon Rind, Mint Leaves, Strawberries) | 492 — Aug 2008 |
| The Big Easel | Legos (Alfred E. Neuman); Legos (Spy Vs. Spy) | 493 — Sep 2008 |
| The Big Easel | Hand-Painted Sculpture | 499 — Apr 2009 |
| The Big Easel | 400-Square-Foot Mosaic (Dropcloth as Canvas and 1,500 Junk Mail CD’s) | 500 — Jun 2009 |
| The Big Easel | Snowman | 503 — May 2010 |
| The Big Easel | Wax and Yarn | 505 — Oct 2010 |
| The Big Easel | Stained Glass | 506 — Dec 2010 |
| The Big Easel | Dog Poop and Tongs (To Arrange The Dog Poop) | 516 — Aug 2012 |
| The Big Easel | Drawing | 519 — Feb 2013 |
Compiled by John R. Racano
excerpt from The Big Easel — from #500, Jun 2009