National Lampoon Sunday Newspaper Parody [Paperback]

P. J. O'Rourke (Editor), John Hughes (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 16, 2004

The sequel to National Lampoon’s 1964 High School Yearbook and considered the Rosetta stone of news parody, National Lampoon’s Sunday Newspaper is a cult classic of puerile genius.
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Dateline:
Dacron, Ohio, Sunday, February 12, 1978 (Motor Home Capital of the World)

Now in a vibrant tabloid format, the Dacron, Ohio Republican-Democrat, one of America’s newspapers, returns with a complete Sunday edition of all the news that’s unfit to print. With stories and photos that are as remarkably plausible today as they were in 1978, the Republican-Democrat is littered with grade-A-quality humor.

Including National News, Local News, and More Local News, a Sports Section, Entertainment, Television Listings, Travel, Real Estate, Gardening, Your Pet, Women’s Pages, Classified Ads, a Swillmart Discount Store Advertising Supplement, a Parade Magazine Parody, a Sunday Week Local Magazine, and Eight Pages of Comics, it will take you back in time even if you were never there to begin with.

Any fan of The Onion will discover its recipe for success–take National Lampoon’s Sunday Newspaper, rejigger the news to reflect today’s absurdity, and maintain the National Lampoon’s pitch-perfect mimicry of editorial and design. Ask any comedy writer at work today, and she or he will tell you that National Lampoon’s 1964 High School Yearbook and National Lampoon’s Sunday Newspaper are the sine qua non of written humor.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

P. J. O’Rourke is the bestselling author of ten books, including The CEO of the Sofa, Eat the Rich, Parliament of Whores, and All the Trouble in the World. The former editor in chief of National Lampoon magazine, O’Rourke now writes for Rolling Stone and The Atlantic Monthly and lives in New Hampshire and Washington, D.C.

John Hughes was an editor and writer at National Lampoon and wrote the script for National Lampoon’s Vacation, which was based on a short story he wrote called “Vacation ’58.” He went on to write and direct Sixteen Candles; Weird Science; The Breakfast Club; Ferris Bueller’s Day Off; Planes, Trains, and Automobiles; She’s Having a Baby; and Uncle Buck, and wrote and produced Pretty in Pink, Some Kind of Wonderful, Home Alone, and Home Alone 2. He also collaborated on a script with P. J. O’Rourke inspired by the Sunday newspaper parody entitled The History of Ohio from the Beginning of Time to the End of the Universe, which was never made.

Product Details

• Paperback: 140 pages
• Publisher: Rugged Land (November 16, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590710371
• ISBN-13: 978-1590710371
• Product Dimensions: 13 x 9.7 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #980,651 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Back in Print! The Funniest Parody Ever!, February 15, 2005

By 

David Rolfe (Pasadena, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: National Lampoon Sunday Newspaper Parody (Paperback)

This is my favorite kind of humor. It looks like a local newspaper, divided into the usual sections. It reads like a local newspaper. But it's insanity sliced and diced in every possible way. The more you read, the more you'll find. Here's an advertisement from a local barber shop; look closely and you'll notice the special service is free ear and nose trim for senior citizens. There's an article advising how to use your golf gear to repel burglars, and which iron to select. There are comics and classified ads and movie listings and contests. If you keep reading, you'll find how the stories connect to each other to build to a higher level of absurdity. It's funny at a glance and funnier in depth.

This was originally published in newsprint in 1978, back when National Lampoon was at the height of its power. I've got the original, which has become brittle with age. Should have used acid-free paper! Anyway, this reprint is a large bound volume. It's not as realistic as the original, but it's probably more durable, and it's complete. Grab it!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great humor, but there are errors in the restoration, April 10, 2005

By 

J. Thomas (Fresno, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: National Lampoon Sunday Newspaper Parody (Paperback)

Of course, the Dacron Republican-Democrat is an all-time classic of parody, and on that basis alone, this is well worth a purchase.

But something that hasn't been mentioned yet -- this edition has been "restored" by the folks at Rugged Land, and it's obvious that they did not have access to the original 1978 printing plates. Nearly all of the text has been re-typeset, and it's not fully 100% accurate; I found at least one place where text "went to Courier" in the typesetting process -- something that didn't happen back then. And I found a couple of typos that might not have been in the original -- I don't have my newsprint copy anymore, so it's tough to tell.

Also, most of the simpler ads have been re-typeset, but the more complex ones have apparently been scanned from an original copy of the Republican-Democrat, giving them a noisy, low-res quality that stands out painfully on these high-gloss pages. The Swillmart circular, in particular, is of particularly low reproduction quality, but still mostly readable.

Don't let these goofs stop you from buying, but be aware that you're not getting the original product.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Timeless Parody, November 18, 2004

By 

Reader "Reader R. Reader" (Anytown, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: National Lampoon Sunday Newspaper Parody (Paperback)

This is a re-issue of the companion to the 1964 Yearbook Parody. An entire edition of the Dacron, Ohio Sunday Newspaper. Ads, Comics, Classifieds, Sports, TV Guide ... the whole enchalada.
You'll find something new each time you look at it. Be sure to read the fine print on every page. There's a joke to be found everywhere you look.
A true classic