Category Archives: Newsstand Parodies

Full-length specials and features in magazines.

Parodies in Mad, 1954-2017

Posted on September 5, 2017 by

Wikipedia helpfully lists all of Mad’s movie and TV-show spoofs, but I believe this is the first attempt to catalog parodies of publications. Real, identifiable publications, that is: I’m not counting the fake lifestyle mags for groups like beatniks and hippies and mobsters … Continue reading →

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Parodies In Playboy, 1970-2000

Posted on April 2, 2017 by

That’s “in,” not “of,” though some of the following are both. The Bunny Book is such an inviting target that not even Playboy could resist cooking up fake editions of itself every now and then. Self-parodies make up nearly half … Continue reading →

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Corey Ford’s “Mis-Fortune,” 1934

Posted on March 28, 2017 by

Parody Of: Fortune. Title: “Mis-Fortune.” In: Vanity Fair, March 1934, pp. 22-23, 62. By: “John Riddell” (Corey Ford).  Availability: Findable; usually pricey. Dwight Macdonald dismissed Corey Ford’s parodies as “mild” and didn’t include him in his magisterial Parodies: An Anthology from Chaucer to Beerbohm – And … Continue reading →

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“Paul Ryan: The Magazine” Needs You

Posted on January 18, 2017 by

The brains behind last summer’s masterful online-only parody of The New Yorker (a.k.a. “The Neu Jorker”) are now seeking funds for their follow-up project: an “unofficial parody magazine” devoted to Speaker of the House Paul Ryan. In addition to mocking the Wisconsin Republican, the one-shot … Continue reading →

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Online: Spy’s “New York Times,” 1992.

Posted on November 23, 2016 by

Parody Of: The New York Times. Title: “The New York Times.” Parody By: Spy. Date: July 15, 1992. Length: 4 pages. Contributors: Uncredited. Availability: Occasionally seen on eBay and abebooks; online right here. Amid the current worry over “fake news,” it might be soothing to revisit a political hoax that only wanted to raise a … Continue reading →

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Online: National Lampoon’s “Mad,” 1971

Posted on August 25, 2016 by

Parody Of: Mad. Title: “Mad.” Parody In: National Lampoon. Date: October 1971. Length: 15 pages. Contributors: John Boni, Sean Kelly, Henry Beard (writers); John Romita, Joe Orlando, Ernie Colon, Al Weiss, Babi Jeri, John Lewis, Stuart Schwartzberg, Ralph Reese. Availability: Online here. Reprinted in National Lampoon Comics (1974) and National Lampoon’s Magazine … Continue reading →

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Parodists and Copycats

Posted on August 11, 2016 by

When is a parody not a parody? When it’s a straight-faced, money-grubbing imitation, according to the courts. Lawsuits over parodies of copyrighted works are rare and their outcomes unpredictable, but two things any accused parodist better be able to show are (1) that no reasonable person could … Continue reading →

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Esquire’s “Ladies Whom BeCause,” 1962.

Posted on August 3, 2016 by

Parody Of: McCall’s / Ladies’ Home Journal. Title: “Ladies Whom BeCause.” Parody In: Esquire.  Date: July 1962. Pages: 7. Contributors: Howard Zieff (photos), John McCray (art); no writer credits. Availability: Not hard to find. Every so often, a magazine develops an unexpected craving for parodies, features them for a few years, then moves … Continue reading →

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Spy’s 10-Magazine Parody Pack, 1991

Posted on July 13, 2016 by

Parody Of (in order): Vanity Fair, People, The New Republic, Architectural Digest, Esquire, Rolling Stone, New York, GQ, New York Times Book Review, Harper’s. Title: “Coming Soon to a Newsstand Near You.” Parody In: Spy, August 1991. Pages: 9. Contributors: Uncredited. … Continue reading →

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