National Lampoon (magazine)

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National Lampoon

Cover of the January 1973 "Death" issue, featuring the dog Cheeseface
Editor	Douglas Kenney (1970–1975)
Categories	Humor
Format	Magazine
Circulation	1,000,096
Publisher	Matty Simmons (1970–1989)
Founder	Douglas Kenney Henry Beard Robert Hoffman
Founded	1969; 55 years ago (1969)
First issue	April 1970; 54 years ago (April 1970)
Final issue Number	November 1998; 26 years ago (November 1998) issue 246
Company	Twenty First Century Communications (1970–1979) National Lampoon, Inc. (1979–1990) J2 Communications (1990–1998)
Country	United States
Based in	New York City
Language	English
ISSN	0027-9587

National Lampoon was an American humor magazine that ran from 1970 to 1998. The magazine started out as a spinoff from The Harvard Lampoon.

National Lampoon magazine reached its height of popularity and critical acclaim during the 1970s, when it had a far-reaching effect on American humor and comedy. The magazine spawned films, radio, live theater, various sound recordings, and print products including books. Many members of the publication's creative staff went on to contribute creatively to successful media of all types.

During the magazine's most successful years, parody of every kind was a mainstay; surrealist content was also central to its appeal. Almost all the issues included long text pieces, shorter written pieces, a section of actual news items (dubbed "True Facts"), cartoons and comic strips. Most issues also included "Foto Funnies" or fumetti, which often featured nudity. The result was an unusual mix of intelligent, cutting-edge wit, combined with some crass, bawdy jesting.^[1] The magazine declined during the late 1980s and ceased publication in 1998.

Projects that use the "National Lampoon" (NL) brand name continued to be produced, but under its production company successor, National Lampoon, Inc.^[2] The 50th anniversary of the magazine took place in 2020 and, to celebrate, the magazine was issued digitally for the first time by Solaris Entertainment Studio.^{[citation needed]}