Mort Todd, writer of the
SADISTIK photo novels, has been professionally involved in comics since he was a teenager, and became Editor-in-Chief of
Cracked Magazine at 23. He quickly turned the title from a fifth-rate
Mad imitation to a third-rate one.
Almost 20 years before he started publishing SADISTIK, the premier photo comic, Mort dabbled in the medium at
Cracked. Nanny Dickering was a long-running strip in the magazine, most notably drawn by the legendary King of Pin-Ups, cartoonist
Bill Ward. Nanny would do satiric interviews with the "Kings" of various industries (from skateboards to hamburgers, along with celebrities) and Mort got it in his head to create a photo comic based on the feature.
A medly of Nanny Dickering poses as illustrated by Bill Ward, The King of the Pin Ups! Who better to portray Nanny than an actual former
Playboy Playmate? Model and musician
Bebe Buell was essayed to play the role of the voluptuous
Cracked interviewer and Mort himself played the role of the "Rock Video King." The photos were shot by
Kevin McMahon, a talented TV director and producer who went on to produce TV series for such icons as
Howard Stern,
Jackie Mason and
Geraldo Rivera (he was there when Geraldo got his nose busted)!
The cover to Cracked Collectors' Edition #69 featuring the photo comic with Mort Todd (as the Rock Video King) and Bebe Buell as Nanny Dickering. One of the characters was portrayed by musician
Charles E. Hall, who went on to record the revered "Beware: Sadistik!" theme song used in
The Diabolikal Super-Kriminal film about the King of Crime. The song is also used for the
Kickstarter Sadistik animation video that just premiered.
Most interestingly, the photo comic also showcased the media premiere of future blockbuster movie star
Liv Tyler! Long before
Lord of the Rings and other memorable feature films, Bebe's daughter Liv made her debut in a cameo as a secretary in a
Cracked magazine photo comic!
A 9 year old Liv Tyler makes her acting debut in... Cracked Magazine?! The photo comic appeared in
Cracked Collectors' Edition #69 and is perhaps one of the only issue of
Cracked Collectors' Edition to live up to its title! All involved in the
Cracked production have gone on to greater things and made their mark on the entertainment world. Mort is currently releasing the SADISTIK photo novels and neck-deep in the production of the SADISTIK animated series. He has worked with many celebrities in the past and is drawing many of them together today to create voices for the project.
Soon, the earth-shattering announcement of the revered pop legend selected to do the voice of SADISTIK will be revealed and it will rock your world! Watch the video and see if you can guess who it is! And after you watch it, why not pledge a sum from $1 and up to the production and receive a Diabolikal Reward? You can get items from comics to T-Shirts, DVDs and original art from the series for your participation! Check it out at
Kickstarter now!