M.K. Brown National Lampoon

Illustration of a woman's face with white hair, red triangular earring, pearl necklace and cat's eye glasses.  Black and red text on a white background.

M.K. Brown is a cartoonist whose work was regularly featured in the American humor magazine, National Lampoon. One of her most popular contributions to the magazine was his comic strip titled "Aunt Mary's Kitchen." The strip ran from the early 1970s into the 1980s and featured the character of Aunt Mary, an older woman who gave recipe advice and spoke directly to the audience on how to cook a variety of different dishes. Over time the comic would change its focus from cooking recipes and instead developed a subplot where aliens invade the earth. The character proved popular enough that in 1983 a cookbook featuring the character was published and featured over one hundred and forty different recipes. Besides Aunt Mary, M.K. Brown had numerous works that were featured in the magazine throughout her time with National Lampoon between 1972 and 1981. In its early years, National Lampoon was hailed as a critically acclaimed magazine that helped shape American comedy and humor in the late 20th century. By the late 1980s, the magazine saw a decline in readership and began cutting back to publishing only one magazine per year in its final three years. The magazines final publication was released in November 1998.