Mad Magazine is not the place you'd expect to see artwork from the likes of Frank Miller or Jim Lee, but maybe that's exactly what the editors of Mad Magazine were thinking when they signed up some of comics top talent to illustrate an upcoming issue of the long running satire magazine.

Issue #438 of Mad Magazine, in stores this January, features a who's who list of comic creators joining the magazine's "Usual Gang of Idiots" in a story by Jeff Kruse called "The League of Rejected Super-Heroes." The list of artists contributing to the story include Arthur Adams, Michael Allred, John Byrne, J. Scott Campbell, Dave Gibbons, Jim Lee, Frank Miller, and John Romita, Jr. The issue also features an alternate painted cover by animator Bruce Timm which displays the assembled rejected heroes.

"When we received the script from writer Jeff Kruse we thought it would be a great idea to have it illustrated by legendary comic book artists," said MAD Editor John Ficarra in a release. "We just hope their work appearing in MAD doesn't totally destroy their careers they way it has so many of our other contributors."

"I'm sure I don't have to point out how rare it is to have such a stellar lineup of talent in one place," says Bob Wayne, DC's VP - Sales & Marketing said in a release. "When word about this issue gets out, readers are going to want it, so we urge retailers to increase their orders on it now."

There will also be a newsstand edition version of this issue with a non-super-hero cover by Drew Friedman. The issue is scheduled to arrive in stores on January seventh with a cover price of $3.50. (Cheap, naturally!)