The list reports the number of issues each contributor has appeared in, not the number of articles or pages contributed. Thanks to Fred von Bernewitz, Sergio Aragonés, Dick DeBartolo, Desmond Devlin, Mark Evanier, Dan Gillespie, Charlie Kadau, Doug Gilford, Sam Viviano, and Bill Morrison for their help in making these lists as accurate as possible. MAD will sometimes report an incorrect or uncredited artist from a prior issue. For example, page 55 of MAD No. 11 (CA issue), identifies three contributions not credited in the previous issue.

A "contributor" is defined as an individual who has had their creative work appear in a regular issue of MAD. Therefore, work that was not specifically prepared for MAD, many posthumously, such as classic poems, historical art, book excerpts, political quotes, and quotes from Shakespeare are included on the lists (i.e., those individuals are considered "christened" as contributors by their inclusion in MAD). Some examples: Edgar Allan Poe's poem "The Raven" in MAD No. 9; Sir John Tenniel's illustration from the original edition of "Alice in Wonderland" on the cover of MAD No. 15; paintings by Pablo Picasso used on the cover of MAD No. 22 and in an article in MAD No. 500; book excerpt from G.A. Mills' "A Saw Screams at Midnight" in MAD No. 20; and Richard Nixon's and Benjamin Franklin's juxtaposited quotes used for "Poor Richard's Almanac" in MAD No. 171. Max Brandel had several contributions that used text written by others: "The Preamble Revisited" (No. 109, text by Alexander Hamilton, William Samuel Johnson, Rufus King, James Madison, and Gouverneur Morris), "The Ten Commandments - Revisited" (No. 112, inscribed by Moses), "America, the Beautiful - Revisited" (No. 113, lyrics by Katharine Lee Bates), and "Communism Revisited" (No. 133, text by Friedrich Engels, Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, and Joseph Stalin). Shakespeare quotes were used for articles in five issues of MAD (No. 37, 39, 92, 224, and 225). Finally, Donald Trump quotes were used in "Donald Trump vs. The Bible" in MAD No. 540 with passages from the Bible written by King Solomon, Moses, St. Luke, and St. Matthew.

Contributors are listed using real names and, where applicable, may include contributions made under known pseudonyms. Examples: Lewis Carroll, author of "Alice in Wonderland" excerpted in MAD No. 15, 18, and 163, is a pseudonym for Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, so his real name appears on the lists, not his pseudonym; the cover of MAD No. 252 is signed by Armanli which, according to "MAD Cover to Cover", is a pseudonym for Doug Webb; Wikipedia identifies Steven Soenksen as the real name of the pseudonym Gris Grimly for the Wisenheim Museum page in MAD No. 4 (2018); Sam Viviano has been credited under the pseudonym Jack Syracuse numerous times in the pages of MAD; all of which are included under Viviano's total on the lists rather than a separate Jack Syracuse entry; R. Wilcox Deckert in MAD No. 5 (2019) is a pseudonym for Bill Morrison; and a gag for "Naughty Comics" in MAD No. 6 (2019), was credited to "Phil T. Meinde", but was actually by Al Jaffee. Sometimes, the real name of a contributor cannot be determined. For example, the colorist of "A MAD Look at Hollywood" in MAD No. 2 (2018) is identified as Vincent Vidi Vici which appears to be a fictional name, but the real name is unknown; therefore, that individual appears under their fictional name on the lists.

The twelve Bob (Elliott) & Ray (Goulding) articles that appear in No. 34-44 and No. 47 were ghostwritten by either Tom Koch (No. 34 to 44) or Vic Cowen (No. 47). However, because Bob & Ray had final script approval on all twelve articles, they are still included in the lists. Similarly, of the ten "Ernie Kovacs' Strangely Believe It" that appeared across six issues of MAD, there is documentation that Mark Marmer co-wrote many of these. However, to date, only three have been specifically been associated with Marmer contributions: No. 33, 37, and 38. Therefore, only those three issues are included on the lists.

Although uncredited in MAD No. 1 (2018), other sources document that Doug Thomson and Suzy Hutchinson designed the new logo and Bill Morrison and Michael C. Falk created the Alfred bombarded by letters illustration on the first page of the letters column. All are included on the lists for the first appearances of these graphics.

Harold Qwerty and Chic Glitz are credited with the "Cover Idea" for issues No. 258 to 260 and No. 264, but these names are fictitious and represent pseudonyms for the MAD staff. In addition, Reynaldo Cruz is credited with the "Cover Idea" for No. 261. Although Cruz was an accountant for MAD at the time, the cover idea was actually by the MAD staff. Therefore, Qwerty, Glitz, and Cruz are excluded from the lists.

Some contributors are only identified by a single name such as Myron, Rag, Semi, Ziraldo, etc. (i.e., full name unknown) and are included that way on the lists. MAD has occasionally used classic artwork (e.g., Sir John Tenniels' illustration that appeared on the cover of No. 15) and poems (e.g., Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" in No. 9) which are included on the lists as is Katharine Lee Bates who wrote the lyrics to "America the Beautiful" used in Max Brandel's article "America the Beautiful - Revisted" (No. 113).

The contributors to the Spy vs Spy 50th Anniversary poster in MAD No. 511 and additional figures in the letters column of MAD No. 513 are included (including Presspop, which is the name of a toy company, not an individual artist).

Particularly in the early issues of MAD, the writer of an article is not always identified. These uncredited articles, which include "house" contributions by the editorial staff, are not included in the lists unless the writer is identified through other sources such as contacts with the MAD editorial staff, "MAD Bytes It" CD-ROM, "Totally MAD" CD-ROM, Fred von Bernewitz's "Complete MAD Checklists", "MAD Cover to Cover", "Tales Calculated to Drive You MAD", fanzines such as "The Journal of MADness" and "The MAD Panic", MAD's website, etc. For example, although Harvey Kurtzman left after issue No. 28, "Totally MAD" indicates that the magazine continued to use some of his leftover material over the next several issues (No. 29 to 31). As another example, although not credited in the magazine itself or "MAD Cover to Cover", Nick Meglin was eventually credited for the cover idea for No. 245 at MAD's website here. Long-time editor Albert B. Feldstein undoubtedly had input into many features that appeared in MAD, but his only documented credits are for the "The EC Publisher of the Issue" parody that appeared in issue No. 5 (co-written with William M. Gaines, the publisher's only credit, according to Squa Tront #8), writer for the "Murder the Husband" (originally appeared in Crime SuspenStories No. 12) half of the "Murder the Story" parody that appeared in issue No. 11 of MAD, spot illustrator for "The Top Ten Bomb Song Hits" from MAD No. 36 (has "AF" intiials), and a self-portrait that appeared with his obituary in MAD No. 528.

Only first-time contributions, not reprinted material from prior issues, are included in the lists. As an example, the Fold-In by Al Jaffee in MAD No. 8 (2019) is a reprint of the one that appeared in MAD No. 153 and is only included in the list for the first appearance of that Fold-In. As another example, Bruce Stark has appeared in seven issues of MAD. However, three of those appearances (No. 114, 124, and 126) simply reprinted art that originally appeared in an earlier issue ("Cliché Movie Script" in No. 111). Other examples: 1. the Dr. Frankenstein illustrations by Will Elder surrounding the title of "MAD's Ink Blot Test" in No. 31 first appeared in issue No. 8; 2. the illustration of Alfred E. Neuman by C.F. Payne on page 7 of No. 535 originally appeared on the cover of MAD No. 392; 3., the "What The Heck is the Difference?" feature uses reprints of the covers of past covers of MAD magazines; 4. "The MAD Vault" features reprinted material from prior issues; and 5. "The Darker Side of The Lighter Side" feature that has also appeared in recent issue of MAD uses reprints of Dave Berg strips that appeared in past issues. Because these items do not contain original artwork, they are not included in the lists. Lastly, three one-panel gags were reprinted in later issues of MAD, two by P.C. Vey (No. 388 reprinted in No. 403 and No. 391 reprinted in No. 484) and one by Tom Cheney (No. 408 reprinted in No. 449). Only the first appearance of these gags are included on the lists.

The lists includes colorists where specifically credited to an individual (e.g., Tom Luth) but not for companies (e.g., Digital Chameleon). Also included are two letterers, Ben Oda (several sources indicate he lettered all the comic issues of MAD, No. 1-23) and Rob Leigh (No. 500), and Oleg Romanko (No. 14 CA) who was credited for "Title Font & Background". Items that appear in the letters column such as reader submissions, envelopes of the month, reprinted editorial cartoons, photo credits, etc. are not included unless they were specifically commissioned by the MAD staff (e.g., Vic Arkoff is included on the lists for her credits as writer/photographer of the 2-Question interviews in the letters columns of MAD Nos. 464, 475, and 499).

Prior to the first Alfred E. Neuman quote on the table of contents page in MAD No. 38, quotes from real people were used for the following issues: Juvenal (No. 28, listed under his real name, Decimus Iūnius Iuvenālis), Jonahtan Swift (No. 28), Abraham Lincoln (No. 29), Time Magazine (No. 31, also appears on the table of contents of No. 300), Nicolas Chamfort (No. 32), Pierre Beaumarchais (No. 33), Benjamin Franklin (No. 34), Kahlil Gibran (No. 35), Charles Rollin (No. 36), and Henry Ward Beecher (No. 37). All but the Time Magazine quote (because the author is unknown) are included in the lists. In an interview with John Ficarra, it was revealed that over a period of "20-25 years" Lucille Goodyear "wrote all the Alfred quotes" that appeared on the table of contents page. However, because the specific issues and exact years are unknown, none are included in the lists.

Because of sensitivity of timing of events, two contributions made to MAD were pulled at the last minute. First, John Caldwell originally did the cover of MAD No. 411 but it was pulled after the events of 9/11 (replaced with a Mingo image of Afred E. Neuman). Second, Al Jaffee did a Fold-In for MAD No. 521 that was pulled after the shooting at an Aurora, Colorado movie theater (replaced with a reprint of the Fold-In from MAD No. 309). Neither is included in the lists.

None of the "Collegiate Whimsey" collections (No. 28, 30, and 34), which reprinted cartoons from college humor magazines, are included since many of the artists are unidentified or had illegible signatures.

Photographers (e.g., Irving Schild) and computer artists (e.g., Peter Sun) are included only when the images were created specifically for MAD (e.g., the photograph of Bernard Goetz by A. Tannenbaum in No. 256 is excluded since it was a news wire photo; none of the photo downloads from Dreamstime.com credited to various photographers in MAD are included as the photos were not created specifically for MAD). The photography studio of Swedowsky & Weiss (No. 81) as a single entry. Photographer Manolo Cerón has two credits working with two different studios (Mako Studios in No. 526 and Manolo Studios in No. 537). Jacob (last name unknown) is also credited along with Manolo for the Mako Studios credit in No. 526 and is listed as a separate entry. The lists also include the following photographers who contributed to "MAD Bash Blow Out!" in MAD No. 39 (2024): Ray Alma, Charlie Kadau, Jason Levine, Michele Siegel, Johnny Sampson, and the Norman Rockwell Museum. Also in MAD No. 39, Ian Scott McGregor received credit for a picture he took of an Al Jaffee cover idea that appeared in MAD No. 38 (CA).

On the fake Table of Contents page in MAD No. 452, the spot illustration in the upper right hand corner was illustrated by Charlie Kadau and colored by Nadina Simon. Patrick Merrell designed the MAD calendars for No. 536 and 542. Although the calendars consist mainly of reprinted illustrations by various artists, Merrell included an original mouse he drew for each calendar. He also confirmed that he drew the illustrations for the "On Public Transportation, Courtesy Counts" fake ad in MAD No. 535. All are included on the lists.

MAD subscription and related advertisements are also included (hence the relatively large number of contributions by Giuseppe Baggi and a posthumous contribution by Jack Rickard in No. 350), but only for the first and original appearance. For example, the Bill Elder art on the subscription coupon of No. 31 is excluded since it originally appeared in No. 7, but the Elder subscription art in No. 32 is included since it did not previously appear in MAD. As additional examples: the illustration by Tom Bunk for the survey ad in No. 406 is excluded since it first appeared in No. 400, the illustration by Paul Coker, Jr. for the subscription ad in No. 328 is excluded since it first appeared in No. 142, the photo by Lester Krauss for the bust ad in No. 54 is excluded since it first appeared in No. 53, etc. Although uncredited, the "Dan Brown" and "Jeffrey Lozenge" ads in No. 371, 378-382, 480, 493, and 495 were written by Joe Raiola and photographed by Irving Schild and are included in the lists. In addition, the photo subscription ads that appeared in No. 61-77 were all shot in the same afternoon by Lester Krauss. Krauss is credited in No. 61-62, but not the other issues, but those are also included for purposes of the lists. Bill Morrison is included as the uncredited artist for the letters column illustration in MAD No. 1 (2018), but not when the same illustration was included in subsequent issues.

Although it appears that John Putnam drew Marvin in the margins of MAD Nos. 50 and 52-58 (e.g., "Marvin Talks About "Secret Ingredients" in No. 50) and the shelves for many of the paperback ads (e.g., "Do You Lack Shelf-Esteem?" in issue No. 109); none are credited to any artist; therefore, all are excluded. Same goes for the mailbox illustrations in the corner of the letters page, several variations of which were drawn by Nick Meglin from MAD No. 33 to 180. Tom Richmond was the uncredited artist for the subscription ad in the first California issue of MAD (2018), but was credited via other sources and is included on the lists.

The list includes the first appearance of the decorative borders by Harvey Kurtzman and Will Elder (No. 24 to 30) as well as the decorative logo by Kurtzman (No. 25) which reappears on many early MAD covers. Also included are the decorative borders by Tom Bunk (No. 356, 367), Rick Tulka (No. 357, 365), Sergio Aragonés (No. 358, 370), Paul Coker, Jr. (No. 359, 364), John Caldwell (No. 360, 366), Sam Viviano (No. 361), Angelo Torres (No. 362, 369), Al Jaffee (No. 363), and Monte Wolverton (No. 368) as well as the decorative MAD logos by Kelly Freas (No. 55), Norman Mingo (No. 76), Don Martin (No. 97), Al Jaffee (No. 98, 146), Antonio Prohías (No. 101), Sergio Aragonés (No. 102), Dave Berg (No. 105), and Bob Clarke (No. 170).

Also included are items that appeared in prior MAD publications, but appeared for the first time in a regular issue of MAD: Dave Berg's Lighter Side in MAD No. 540 which original appeared in MAD Super Special No. 95, the Prohias illustration on the inside front cover of MAD No. 18 originally appeared in MAD's Big Book of Spy vs Spy Capers and Other Surprises (1978), the Spy vs Spy centerfold in that same issue by Tom Bunk originally appeared in MAD Presents Spy vs Spy (2011), and the Rickard illustration on the inside cover of MAD No. 19 originally appeared on the cover of the paperbook book, A MAD Look At The Future (1978). For the Lenny Brenner tribute in MAD No. 540, which included the above mentioned Lighter Side by Berg, there were also illustrations by Nick Meglin and Paul Peter Porges from the MAD tour scrapbooks that had never appeared in MAD before and are included on the lists.

Over the years, various artists and writers have contributed to the Spy vs Spy espisodes. Most are identified in the original issue they appeared, but there are also numerous uncredited instances (mainly writers). All credits that were subsequently reported in the reprint compilations such as Spy vs Spy: The Complete Casebook and Spy vs Spy 2: The Joke and Dagger Files. All credits from those books are included on the lists.

Although MAD No. 17 (2020) was purportedly Aragonés farewell issue, several new marginals by him have appeared in MAD No. 18 to No. 22 and are included in his total on the list.

Finally, various writers have contributed to the Don Martin strips over the years including Martin himself. When the writer wasn't Martin, the writer was often credited. However, in other cases, the writer was not credited in the original issue but the credit was added when the strip later appeared in a reprint publication. Several uncredited writers have also been identified through other sources including confirmation from the writer himself (e.g., Dan Fiorella was the uncredited writer for "One Fine Morning At State Prison" in No. 252). All known writer credits are included on the lists.