National Lampoon June 1973

National Lampoon

June 1973

June, 1973, and atop the singles charts is Paul McCartney and Wings, with 'My Love.'

The June issue of the National Lampoon has the theme of 'violence.' This is one of the year's better issues: some good stuff in its pages.

 

This is the golden era of album oriented rock, and the advertising reflects this. A couple of memorable album releases: Houses of the Holy, and the 'red' and 'blue' Beatles compilations (when, in 1978, I bought my very first LPs, these two were the ones). 

Todd Rundgren and Johnny Winter also get the full-page ad treatment.....

 

The Lampoon's stage show, Lemmings, enjoys critical praise, and releases an LP. Two years later, Lemmings would morph into Saturday Night Live.

 

Chris Rush (the stage name of Christopher John Mistretta, 1946 - 2018) is rather obscure now, but back in the early 1970s he was successful enough as a comedian to get his own LP released. You can find tracks from First Rush on YouTube. The bits are a bit dated (who under the age of 60 is familiar with the book 'The Naked Ape' ?), so I can't see modern audiences responding to the material........

Bob Guccione and Penthouse get themselves a full-page ad, too........!

The comic book satire, 'Kit and Kaboodle,' takes brilliant aim at the inherently brutal nature of 'funny animal' comics and cartoons. 

The Lampoon's 'house' cartoonist Charles Rodriguez provides 'Hemophunnies.' For some reason the magazine prints the blood in a shade of pink ?!

  

 

The Lampoon satirizes gun culture with Gun Lust, a magazine parody.

And.......let's not overlook the 'Foto Funnies' and the chance for boobies ! That's right, while back in '73 most newsstands, and five-and-dime stores, and pharmacies, had their 'adult' magazines wrapped in plastic or paper, the Lampoon usually was not, meaning enterprising adolescents could sneak a look inside, and be rewarded.......... 

Chris Miller's short story, 'Is it Still 'Playing' Post Office' features a novice mail deliverer who encounters some strange goings-on, in the affluent neighborhood of Sylvan Estates.

Let's close our trip back in time 53 years ago with some cartoons from Gahan Wilson and Vaughn Bode and Jeff Jones. As always, Jones's 'Idyll' is weird and obtuse. Hurry up and get that sex change operation already, Jeffy !

 

 

And so we say 'farewell' to that long-ago year 1973 AD, when 75 cents could buy you an issue of the National Lampoon.........