Spy vs. Spy

Spy vs. Spy is a wordless comic strip that debuted in Mad magazine No. 60, dated January 1961, and was originally published by EC Comics. It was originally published in black-and-white. The strip was created by Antonio Prohías.

The Spy vs. Spy characters have featured in media such as animated television series, merchandise such as action figures and trading cards, and video games.

Publication history
Prohías was a prolific cartoonist in Cuba and known for political satire. Prohías' parodies of newly installed Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro attracted criticism, and faced with the loss of work, possible arrest, and threats of execution, he fled to the United States on May 1, 1960 – 3 days before the Castro government nationalized the last of the Cuban free press. Prohías sought work in his profession and travelled to the offices of Mad magazine in New York City on July 12, 1960. After a successful showing of his work and a prototype cartoon for Spy vs. Spy, Prohías was hired.

Prohías completed a total of 241 strips for Mad magazine, the last appearing in Issue #269 (March 1987). He cryptically 'signed' each strip on its first panel with a sequence of Morse code characters that spell "BY PROHIAS". During an interview with the Miami Herald in 1983, Prohías reflected on his career, stating "The sweetest revenge has been to turn Fidel's accusation of me as a spy into a moneymaking venture." Prohías, however, was censored by Mad magazine publisher William Gaines on at least one occasion: the strip that eventually appeared in Mad magazine #84 (Jan. 1964) was altered as the Spies were depicted as drinking and smoking (Gaines had a strong anti-smoking stance).

Prohías eventually retired due to ill health, and died aged 77 on February 24, 1998. The strips continued, with writer Duck Edwing and artist Bob Clarke creating the majority. As of Mad magazine #356 (April 1997), Peter Kuper took over as writer and artist for the strip. It has since been drawn in full-color.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Art Spiegelman noted that "Getting published is very important to a young cartoonist, and I somehow have Antonio Prohias to thank for helping kick off my career."

Characters
The cover copy of the The All New Mad Secret File on Spy vs. Spy provides early insight to the characters and Prohías' views on the Castro regime and the CIA (who were constantly attempting to oust Castro):

You are about to meet Black Spy and White Spy – the two MADest spies in the whole world. Their antics are almost as funny as the CIA's...When it comes to intrigue, these guys make it way outtrigue. They are the only two spies we know who haven't the sense to come in out of the cold. But they have a ball – mainly trying to outwit each other.

The comic strip always features two spies, who are completely identical save for the fact that one is dressed in white and the other black. The pair are constantly warring with each other, using a variety of booby-traps to inflict harm on the other. The spies usually alternate between victory and defeat with each new strip.

In Mad magazine No. 73 (Sept. 1962), the strip was renamed Spy vs. Spy vs. Spy, as it was the debut of a third spy, Grey Spy (or the "Woman in Grey"). Grey Spy only appeared sporadically, but always triumphed, using the infatuation of Black Spy and White Spy to her advantage. Prohías stated "The lady Spy represented neutrality. She would decide for White Spy or Black Spy, and she also added some balance and variety to the basic 'Spy vs. Spy' formula." Grey Spy's last appearance in the magazine comics under Prohías was Mad magazine #99 (Dec. 1965); she did not appear again until Bob Clarke and Duck Edwing took over the strip. The leaders of Black Spy and White Spy's respective nations, barrel-chested, medal-decorated dictators, also occasionally appeared.

In other media

 * The Spy vs. Spy characters appeared in animated cartoons on MADtv and are in every episode of the animated adaptation of Mad.
 * A Sunday strip series (39 in total) was released in 2002-2003, syndicated by Tribune Media Services and featuring Duck Edwing and Dave Manak returning as writer and artist respectively.
 * In 2004, the characters were featured in television commercials for the soft drink Mountain Dew.
 * A series of thirteen strips, titled Spy vs. Spy Jr. was published in Mad Kids magazine from 2006–2009. It depicted the three Spies as children, playing harmless practical jokes on each other.
 * A "Spy vs. Spy" board game was released by Milton Bradley. In year ?
 * Three video games based on the strip have also been released (including one for the Nintendo Entertainment System).