November 1974 - I can only imagine what it was like in the Lampoon offices in the early to mid-70s. Here you are, writing a scathing satire/humor magazine, and the biggest political scandal in a century falls right in your lap. Like manna from heaven.This issue is almost entirely dedicated to Watergate--of course. Other than the regular strips in the back "Funny Pages" section ("Nuts" by Gahan Wilson, "One Year Affair" drawn by Ralph Reese, Jeff Jones' "Idyl", "Trots and Bonnie" by Shary Flenniken, and Ed Subitzky's form-busting comic strips), the rest of the magazine is all Watergate, Watergate, Watergate.
The main color comic feature is called "Constitutional Comics", written by Christopher Cerf and Henry Beard, and drawn to an almost mathematical precision by the one and only Russ Heath:
I dunno, I woulda bought a set like this.
There's also a second comic book feature, this time drawn by another comics mainstay, Don Perlin, again written by Cerf and Beard:
There's also a second comic book feature, this time drawn by another comics mainstay, Don Perlin, again written by Cerf and Beard:
...writing for this magazine around this time must have been like falling off a log.
1 comment:
That Constitutional Comics bit is hilarious! I love the part with him talking to Nixon while Rose Mary Woods is transcribing. Of course, these references would mean nothing to anyone who didn't live through it or doesn't know anything about Watergate, but at the time I'm sure it hit all the right buttons. National Lampoon came along at just the right time and then outlived its usefulness.
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