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National Lampoon (magazine)
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===Cover art=== The magazine's original art directors were cartoonist Peter Bramley and Bill Skurski, founders of New York's Cloud Studio, an alternative-culture outfit known at the time for its eclectic style. Bramley created the ''Lampoon''{{'s}} first cover and induced successful cartoonists [[Arnold Roth]] and [[Gahan Wilson]] to become regular contributors. Beginning with the eighth issue, the art direction of the magazine was taken over by [[Michael C. Gross]], who directed the look of the magazine until 1974. Gross achieved a unified, sophisticated, and integrated look for the magazine, which greatly enhanced its humorous appeal.<ref name=Vulture /> A number of the ''National Lampoon''{{'s}} most acerbic and humorous covers were designed or overseen by Gross, including: * Court-martialed [[Vietnam War]] mass-murderer [[William Calley]] sporting the guileless grin of [[Alfred E. Neuman]], complete with the parody catchphrase 'What, [[My Lai]]?" (August 1971)<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.marksverylarge.com/issues/7108.html |title = National Lampoon Issue #17—Bummer |date = August 1971 |access-date = July 24, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080612141443/http://www.marksverylarge.com/issues/7108.html |archive-date = June 12, 2008 }}</ref> * The iconic Argentinian revolutionary [[Che Guevara]] being splattered with a cream pie (January 1972)<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.marksverylarge.com/issues/7201.html |title = National Lampoon Issue #22—Is Nothing Sacred? |date = January 1972 |access-date = July 24, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080612140529/http://www.marksverylarge.com/issues/7201.html |archive-date = June 12, 2008 }}</ref> * [[Cheeseface|A dog]] looking worriedly at the muzzle of a [[revolver]] pressed to its head, with what became a famous caption: "If You Don't Buy This Magazine, We'll Kill This Dog" (January 1973): The cover was conceived by writer [[Ed Bluestone]].<ref name="marksverylarge_34"/>{{efn|"This month's superb cover idea was conceived by Ed Bluestone, and through skillful art direction and minimal interference from asshole editors, it became the tasteful entity you hold in your hands."<ref name="marksverylarge_34"/>}} Photographer Ronald G. Harris initially had a hard time making the dog's plight appear humorous instead of pathetic. The solution was to cock the revolver; the clicking sound caused the dog's eyes to shift into the position shown. This was the most famous ''Lampoon'' cover gag, and it was selected by [[American Society of Magazine Editors|ASME]] as the seventh-greatest magazine cover of the last 40 years.<ref name="marksverylarge_34">{{cite web | url=http://www.marksverylarge.com/issues/7301.html | title=National Lampoon Issue #34—Death | date=January 1973 | access-date=July 24, 2008 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080720191946/http://www.marksverylarge.com/issues/7301.html | archive-date=July 20, 2008}}</ref><ref>[http://www.magazine.org/Press_Room/13806.cfm ASME Unveils Top 40 Magazine Covers] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070208234224/http://www.magazine.org/Press_Room/13806.cfm |date=February 8, 2007 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.magazine.org/Editorial/Top_40_Covers/ ASME's Top 40 Magazine Covers of the Last 40 Years] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070212114757/http://www.magazine.org/Editorial/Top_40_Covers/ |date=February 12, 2007 }}</ref> This issue is among the most coveted and collectible of all the National Lampoon's issues. * A replica of the starving child from the cover of [[George Harrison]]'s charity album ''[[The Concert for Bangladesh (album)|The Concert for Bangladesh]]'', rendered in chocolate and with a large bite taken out of its head (July 1974)<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.marksverylarge.com/issues/7407.html |date = July 1974 |title = National Lampoon Issue #52 - Dessert |access-date = July 24, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080723175648/http://www.marksverylarge.com/issues/7407.html |archive-date = July 23, 2008 }}</ref> Michael Gross and Doug Kenney chose a young designer from ''[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]'' named [[Peter Kleinman]] to succeed the team of Gross and David Kaestle. During his'' Lampoon'' tenure, Kleinman was also the art director of [[Heavy Metal (magazine)|''Heavy Metal'']] magazine, published by the same company. The best known of Kleinman's ''Lampoon'' covers were "Stevie Wonder with 3-D Glasses" painted by Sol Korby,<ref>{{cite web|url = http://lampoon.rwinters.com/Lampoon1975.htm |date=July 1975 | title=National Lampoon 1975|website=National Lampoon Covers: 1970 - 1998|first=Robert|last=Winters}}</ref> a photographed "Nose to The Grindstone" cover depicting a man's face being pressed against a spinning grinder wheel for the ''Work'' issue, the "JFK's First 6000 Days" issue featuring a portrait of an old [[John F. Kennedy]], the "Fat Elvis" cover which appeared a year before [[Elvis Presley]] died, and many of the [[Mara McAfee]] covers done in a classic [[Norman Rockwell]] style. Kleinman designed the logos for ''[[Animal House]]'' and ''Heavy Metal.'' Kleinman left in 1979 to open an ad agency. He was succeeded by Skip Johnson, the designer responsible for the ''[[Sunday Newspaper Parody]]'' and the "Arab Getting Punched in the Face" cover of the ''Revenge'' issue. Johnson went on to ''[[The New York Times]].'' He was followed by Michael Grossman, who changed the logo and style of the magazine. In 1984, Kleinman returned as creative director and went back to the 1970s logo and style, bringing back many of the artists and writers from the magazine's heyday. He left four years later to pursue a career in corporate marketing. At that time, the ''National Lampoon'' magazine entered a period of precipitous decline.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dougherty |first=Philip H. |date=1986-07-31 |title=ADVERTISING; National Lampoon Going Bimonthly in '87 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/07/31/business/advertising-national-lampoon-going-bimonthly-in-87.html |access-date=2025-01-18 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
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