Cover to Kaputt Nr. 4
Kaputt was a German magazine that was published by Condor-Verlag in association with Major Magazines. Designed as the direct competitor to the German version of Mad, Kaputt utilized translated material that had previously appeared in Cracked, as well as original material. It was published from 1977 - 1983 in two volumes. Following the closure of Kaputt, translated Cracked material appeared in a new publication, Stupid.
The slogan of Kaputt was "Das Magazin für unterdrückte Lebensfreude." ("The magazine for suppressed Joie de vivre.") Later issues would mimic Cracked's "Mazagine" spelling by changing the phrase to "Das Mazagin für unterdrückte Lebensfreude."
Differences from Cracked
Numbering for Kaputt begins with number 4, which indicated it was published in April, the fourth month of the year. Issues that spanned multiple months were apparently meant to show both month's numbers, as the fourth issue is designated "Nr. 7/8". This was soon abandoned and subsequent issues were numbered sequentially. The "slash" numbering would return for the second volume, Das neue Kaputt.
Material that originated in Cracked was not substantially altered, except to change word balloons, signs, etc. into German. The magazine would, however, often add shades of red or orange to some pages.
Little attempt appears to have been made to keep the material reprinted topical. While popular parodies such as "Star-Warz" would appear shortly after their original publication, Kaputt also utilized material dating as far back as the 1950s.
A few Cracked regulars made the transition, most Notably Nanny Dickering, who made several appearances as "Margret Düser" and "Karin von Fieber". Sylvester P. Smythe appeared from time to time, usually when his image was part of a larger article, as he did not serve as any kind of mascot for the magazine. There were also a few appearances by The Talking Blob and regular features Sagebrush, Hang Ups and Hudd & Dini were occasionally featured.
Many covers for Kaputt were based on original Cracked covers, substanially reworked and completely redrawn.
One major departure from Cracked was that Kaputt had no taboo about nudity and naked women were a common sight in the magazine, even appearing several times on the cover.
Publications
After the success of Kaputt, other publications followed from Condor-Verlag.
- Das neue Kaputt, the second volume of Kaputt
- Kaputt-Nonsens, a reprint series of non-translated Kaputt material
- Total Kaputt
- Kaputt Paperbacks, a series of paperbacks that reprinted material originally appearing in Kaputt