Method in Madness. The Comic Art of Mel Brooks by Maurice Yacowar

Published June 28, 2026

By FontsInUse

Contributed by Florian Hardwig

When Bob Silverman designed the jacket for Maurice Yacowar’s book on the comic art of Mel Brooks, he chose Ruby Shadow for the title. He apparently deemed its M to be too tame for the topic. In any case, it got replaced by the sweeping glyph found in another bold 1970s script: the initials are taken from Charade.

Al Elliott’s Charade – a Canadian creation just like the book – did come with a Shadow style. The shadow was customized to match the one in Ruby Shadow, though. Printed in two colors, the alliterating title is combined with what looks like skewed caps from Venus. The all-caps roman at the top is Hess Old Style.

About the book, from the inner flaps:

The critics hate Mel Brooks. But does that stop him? When a Playboy interviewer once remarked, “You've been accused of vulgarity,” Brooks replied, “Bullshit!” No critic could ever stop Mel Brooks from being one of the best-loved comedians in film history—in fact, his movies consistently out-gross (in every sense of the word) those of much-praised Woody Allen. Mel Brooks is funny, and the people love him.

How does he do it? Is he really as crazy as he seems? Maurice Yacowar, whose previous book (on Woody Allen) received unanimous critical acclaim, takes us on a Brooks-lover’s tour through his work on television with Sid Caesar’s Your Show of Shows, his records as the “Two-Thousand-Year-Old Man,” and all of the films from The Producers to Blazing Saddles, from Young Frankenstein to High Anxiety. The resulting tribute will have film buffs nodding their heads nostalgically, and fans laughing out loud on every page.

Mel Brooks turned 100 years old today. Happy birthday!

Device from the front flap

Tite page. The book’s interior was designed by Dennis J. Grastorf using Caledonia.

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