If You Don't Click This Link, We'll Kill the Dick National Lampoon, that cheeky, irreverent kid brother to MAD Magazine that ran from 1970 to 1998, tried to act like the older brother. They offered "adult humour," theoretically aimed at a more sophisticated, mature crowd. But really, who were they trying to kid? It was … Continue reading The National Lampoon
Tag: Satire
Christopher Marlowe (The Wasteland)
Created by Martin Rowson British cartoonist Martin Rowson's The Wasteland, a 1990 graphic novel, is a surrealistic mash-up of -- and cockeyed tribute to -- T.S. Eliot's The Wasteland and the work of Raymond Chandler. But don't let that scare you away... T.S. Eliot was, of course, a literary big shot (and a crime fiction … Continue reading Christopher Marlowe (The Wasteland)
Ralph Nader
"Created" by Henry Beard "It didn't matter whether you ended up sitting in a bathtub with too many holes in your body to repair, or whether you did something stupid and they came back and took you away... it was all the same. Everyone goes back, sooner or later, back in the big recall." RALPH … Continue reading Ralph Nader
My Scrapbook: The Winking Brown Eye
My Scrapbook The National Lampoon ReviewsJohn D. MacDonald's "New" Travis McGee Book In the July 1981 issue of the National Lampoon (the special “Endless, Mindless Summer Sex” issue), they ran “Would You Like Something to Read?,” a spoof of a regular book column,by Sean Kelly and Ted Mann. Yes, it's cheeky, politically incorrect and embarrassingly juvenile. You should probably … Continue reading My Scrapbook: The Winking Brown Eye
Jim Haley
Created by Ron Goulart (1933--) Ron Goulart's fiction transcends genre -- or even easy explanation -- being a general mish-mash of detective, fantasy, satire, straight sci-fi, parody and just plain silliness, reflecting the author's passion for the detective and science fiction pulps and comics of yesteryear. He's a serious scholar, and has published several key … Continue reading Jim Haley
Max Kearney
Created by Ron Goulart (1933--) "Having trouble with psi powers, spooks or E.T. visitations? Take it up with Max Kearney!" -- the front cover blurb for Ghost Breaker Who ya gonna call? The answer may seem like a slam-dunk now, but before Ghostbusters hit theatres all around the world in 1984, the answer may have been … Continue reading Max Kearney
Conrad Metcalf
Created by Johnathan Lethem "The subject was as easy to spot as a kangaroo in a dinner jacket." -- Raymond Chandler "Tell him next time he wants to talk to me, don't send a marsupial." - Conrad offers some thugs some advice on etiquette Hard-boiled private "inquisitor" CONRAD METCALF made his debut in 1995's Gun, With … Continue reading Conrad Metcalf
Raymond Chandler’s Hamlet
A short, short story; winner of Honorable Mention in the 1995 International Imitation Raymond Chandler Competition By Jonathan Vos Post Something was rotten in Denmark, rank and gross, as rotten as a dame named Gertrude in bed with her husband's killer while the caterer recycled the funeral baked meats for the wedding reception, at which the bride … Continue reading Raymond Chandler’s Hamlet
Salted Peanuts Department
If Mickey Spillane Wrote Nancy This one comes from MAD Magazine, circa 1959. The name of the original article was "If Famous Authors Wrote the Comics," (from the "High Flown Balloons Dept.," of course), and featured dead-on parodies of not just the authors (who include the likes of Paddy Chayefsky, Edgar Allan Poe, Rudyard Kipling … Continue reading Salted Peanuts Department
Donald J. Trump, Private Eye
Created by River Clegg "It was late, folks, let me tell you. The kind of late where I knew only trouble could find me. It was late like you've never seen. And rainy. So rainy. So I'm sitting in my office, and in walks this dame. A solid nine. Ten if I'm being generous." -- … Continue reading Donald J. Trump, Private Eye