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Spy vs. Spy is a wordless comic strip that has been published in MAD magazine since 1961, under its "Joke and Dagger Dept." It was created by Antonio Prohias, a Cuban national who fled to the United States in 1960 days before Fidel Castro took over the Cuban free press when he was unofficially blacklisted for his political cartoons. Antonio Prohias's wordless, Cold War-inspired spoof of the agents of international intrigue portrays the twin enemies, the Black Spy and the White Spy trying to outdo each other in increasingly sophisticated--and elaborately stupid--plots to achieve their respective missions and along with these, the other's demise. They are made to look virtually identical: trilby hats, overcoats and long pointed noses (possibly plague doctor outfits). The only difference between them are the color of their clothes: one dresses in white, the other in black; hence, their names. This comic strip truly has gained a universal following and it would be fair to say it has attained legendary and cult status. And I've read MAD magazine through the years mainly because of it.

& 8220;Characters

The Black and White Spies: Employed by the embassies of two nations and identical except for the color of their uniforms, the Spies battle against each other with a variety of complicated (sometimes ridiculously so) weapons, machines and Rube Goldberg-style props. The victor alternates roughly every other comic, and neither spy is portrayed as good or evil since both of them are equally ruthless towards each other. Even though they are pretty much identical, their habits and jobs aren't exactly the same: the White spy is sort of a scientist, as in a good number of strips he's creating weapons and projects for his agency, while the Black spy is much more of an infiltrator, as he tries to steal the aforementioned plans. He's also a master of disguise, relying much more on deception than the White one, who rarely uses guns or melee weapons to kill his enemy.

The Grey Spy: Also known as the Lady in Grey (a variant on the stereotypical lady in black), a female spy who appeared in MAD 21 times from 1962–65. When she appeared, the strips were retitled Spy vs Spy vs Spy, and instead of either of the Black or White Spy winning, Grey won and they both lost. The Spies were completely enamored with her, often attempting to rescue her as she pretended to be in distress. Because she always won, Prohías decided to stop using her. Later writers and artists, including Peter Kuper, brought her back for occasional appearances.

The Black and White Leaders: The Black and White Leaders are the highest ranking officers of the embassies that the Spies belong to. Much like the Grey Spy, they often appear in the early strips, especially in the paperbacks. They are huge, barrel-chested decorated officers and give the Spies their missions to carry out. On more than one occasion, the Leaders get fed up with their employees, and in one particular episode, "Defection" (which was later turned into an animated cartoon for Mad TV), the Black Leader and the Diplomat fire the Black Spy from his job at the embassy. They have made no appearances in any strips drawn by subsequent artists. -- Wikipedia& 8221;

After Prohías's retirement, several artists worked on the strip. George Woodbridge drew two Spy vs. Spy which featured no byline. By 1988, Bob Clarke took over as the strip's artist, and continued through 1993 until being replaced by David Manak. Duck Edwing wrote the majority of the gags that Clarke and Manak illustrated; Manak and Edwing also created a short-lived, syndicated Spy vs. Spy comic strip in 2002. In April 1997, Peter Kuper took over as writer and artist for the strip, although occasionally the gags are written by other writers, such as Michael Gallagher or Dave Croatto. From 1997 to 2000, the strip was mostly drawn in black and white, although Kuper drew three in color, in issues 379, 387 and 399. From issue 402 onwards Kuper began regularly drawing the strip in color and it has been so ever since. As of MAD Magazine issue 500, Peter Kuper still writes and draws the strip, but Prohías's name still appears in Morse Code at the top of the feature.

This collection seems more or less complete from MAD Magazine issue 60 in 1961 when Spy vs. Spy first appeared, through issue 500 in 2009 (it should be noted that not all issues featured the strip). Full credit and appreciation to all the scanners involved.

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