re: #170 wheat-dogg

That’s the one! And I remember all those covers.

In many ways, 20th century superheroes are not far removed from ancient tales of heroes and demigods like Samson and Hercules, and gods (and sons-o-gods) like YHWH and Jesus. So, putting Jesus in a superhero costume makes sense, though of course it would offend tons of people.

Here’s a story from my youth. My father was a very conservative guy, while my mom was more liberal and tolerant. When I was 13 or so, my older cousin bought me a subscription to National Lampoon for my birthday. First issue arrived, but it was weeks before I saw it. My old man got the mail first, found the magazine and started leafing through it, and went ballistic (apparently) when he came across Foto Funnies, which usually featured some bare-breasted woman with a fully clothed man. Well, he raised hell with my mom and with my cousin (who’s female, btw) but after he calmed down, a few weeks later I got to see the magazine and every one thereafter. My mom, I presume, was rather persuasive.

(Honestly, no one should have picked a fight with her. Five foot tall and full of spit and vinegar.)

I remember the Foto Funnies in question vividly, but I can’t find it online. Man and woman are on the couch. She’s naked, he’s not. He asks her a series of questions about what to do: go out to eat, order in, go to a movie, — all non-sexual activities. She says no to each one. Finally, he asks, “Do want to screw?” Her reply, as she covers her boobs, is “Beast! Is that all you ever think about?”

NatLamp was a great magazine for its day. Michael O’Donohue went on to write briefly for SNL, but his skits were deemed too out there even for the free-wheeling first season. His Star Trek parody was one of the best bits written for Belushi.

And Lampoon set off widespread outrage with their famous ‘dog’ cover. I’ve still got this issue somewhere.