Gargoyle Humor Magazine

Gargoyle Humor Magazine or The Gargoyle is the official student-run humor magazine for the University of Michigan. It has been satirizing both local and national events for nigh 100 years. The magazine is part of the University's [http://www.pub.umich.edu Student Publications] , which also includes the campus newspaper, "The Michigan Daily", as well as the yearbook, the " [http://www.michiganyearbook.com/ Michiganensian] ".

To current and former editors and staff, "Gargoyle Humor Magazine" is often known simply as The Garg.

Location

The "Gargoyle"'s office is located on the second floor of the Student Publications Building at 420 Maynard Street in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The office serves as the staff's production area; it is also home to a number of relics, including two bombshells obtained from the local army surplus and a poster from popular film Whore 2.

History

The "Gargoyle" was founded in 1909. Its first editor in chief, Lee A. White, eventually became editor of the "Detroit News" and helped found La Choy Foods. "Gargoyle" was initially a literary magazine featuring stories, articles and pictures with a back section devoted to comedy.cite news
publisher=The University Record
date=1996-01-30
title=Bentley's gargoyles sit on shelves, not gutters
url=http://www.umich.edu/~urecord/9596/Jan30_96/artcl17.htm
accessdate=2007-05-14]

In the 1920s and 30s, a period during which it was selected as America's Outstanding College Comic Magazine, "Gargoyle" was published monthly during the school year. The decrease in male students brought about by World War II resulted in the first woman, Olga Gruhzit, becoming editor of "Gargoyle" in 1942. In 1944, at the height of the war, "Gargoyle" briefly ceased publication, only to return in the fall of 1945.

"Gargoyle" was declared dead in 1950 when the Board in Control of Student Publications took offense to the "The Smooth Gargoyle" issue. Publication continued off campus for a year, and when "Gargoyle" returned the next year, literary pieces were discontinued and the focus became solely humor. During the 1950s the magazine acquired a counterculture reputation, promoting everything from co-ed housing in the '50s to Vietnam War protests in the '60s. In response to the advent of "Playboy" in the '50s and the sexual revolution of the '60s, "Gargoyle" became progressively more risque. While sex, illegal drugs, and otherwise raunchy jokes have been common fare in issues of the "Gargoyle" since the 1970s, the magazine has generally tried to maintain a level of intelligence and artistry in its humor.

Art editor Phil Zaret's satirical cartoon, "Kill a Commie for Christ", originally published in the "Gargoyle" in 1967, became extremely popular during the Vietnam War and was re-published by college publications throughout the United States.

Though the "Gargoyle" was very successful in the '60's, it struggled to publish in the early '70s, returned for a few issues in 1974-75, and returned to consistent publication in 1979. The magazine has been forced off-campus (in 1950) and shut down completely (1960-61, 1997) as the result of editorial and financial conflicts with the Board for Student Publications (previously the Board in Control of Student Publications). At one time the magazine was sold for prices varying from fifty cents to two dollars, but for the last five years, it has been free, all revenue being generated by advertisements.

In 1962 cartoonist Charles M. Schulz responded to a request for a Peanuts cartoon by drawing Snoopy with his nose perched over the end of his dog house in the manner of a gargoyle -- this became a standard Snoopy pose.

Mascots

Over the decades it has been a Gargoyle tradition for the mascot to periodically change at the whims of the current editor and artists on staff.

Notable alumni

In the 1999 book "Gargoyle Laughs at the 20th Century," editor John Dobbertin compiled all "Gargoyle" staff members credited in the masthead to date. This list includes several University of Michigan alumni before they became famous, including the followingcite book
last = Dobbertin
first = John
title = Gargoyle Laughs at the 20th Century
publisher = Percheron, Inc
year = 1999
month = September
id = ISBN 0967423805 ] :

*Lee Blaser, cartoonist.
*Mark Dancey, cartoonist/editor (Motorbooty).
*Lloyd Dangle, cartoonist (Troubletown).
*Jerry Ellison, cartoonist.cite news
publisher=The University Record
date=1999-10-04
title=The Gargoyle focus of exhibition
url=http://www.umich.edu/~urecord/9900/Oct04_99/12.htm
accessdate=2007-05-14]
*Max Hodge, television screenwriter/director/producer.
*Lawrence Kasdan, screenwriter/director.
*Terry LaBan, cartoonist (Edge City).
*George Lichty (under the name Maurice Lichtenstein), cartoonist (Grin and Bear It).
*Allen Milgrom, cartoonist/editor (Marvel Comics).
*Arthur Miller, playwright.
*David Newman, screenwriter.
*Robert Shaye, producer (New Line Cinemas).
*Paul Showers, journalist ("New York Times").
*Fred Ziv, screenwriter/producer.

References

ee also

*College humor magazines
*Bentley Historical Library

External links

* [http://www.pub.umich.edu/garg/ Gargoyle Humor Magazine]