333. “The ’80s: A Look Back”

August 30, 2011

Q: Had dinner with a cousin tonight and he was telling me about an issue of National Lampoon that came out in 1979—it was a look back to the ’80s. In one part there was an interview with a dolphin—comic strip. This is all I know about the issue. Does it sound familiar? Do you know what issue it is?

A: It was produced by a bunch of Lampoon writers and artists (including some who had left the magazine), but it wasn’t published by National Lampoon. The book was called “The ’80s: A Look Back”. It was published by Workman Publishing. The main writers were Tony Hendra, Christopher Cerf, and Peter Ebling. Michael Gross, NL‘s original art director, was also involved, as were some regular NL artists, such as Rick Meyerowitz.

Comments

Let me be horribly fannish/anal about this for a moment. The dolphin interview isn't a comic strip. It's text and fotos parodying the layout and style of the 'Playboy' mag interviews. I reckon the main fault of "The 80s: A Look Back" was its lack of comics. That, and it being so badly "perfect-bound" that I've now used up two copies.

—Britannia Dinwiddy

September 9, 2011 9:49 pm

Of course. Thanks for the clarification, Brit.

—Mark

September 25, 2011 4:30 pm

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