Dynamite (youth magazine)
Dynamite was a magazine that appeared in the United States between 1974 and 1992. The monthly magazine was aimed at children of primary school age. Dynamite was published by Scholastic and was mainly distributed through schools and the Scholastic Book Club.
content
The rainbow-colored logo , which was designed in a cursive font , was striking . The cover story was mostly dedicated to a pop culture star , who then took the cover alone . It could be about people like Michael J. Fox , Rick Springfield or Lisa Whelchel , but also about fictional personalities like Mork & Mindy , Miss Piggy or Chewbacca . Fixed categories were the magic tricks that Magic Wanda (Linda Williams) explained, parodies of commercials, games, puzzles and riddles as well as the so-called bummers - humorous experiences of frustration that the readers sent in. Usually there was also a bonus item in the magazine, such as posters, records or baseball cards.
The Good Vibrations column was an advice column that the children could write to with their problems, while the Hot Stuff column was devoted to new toys, TV shows or other novelties. The puzzles were presented by the comic vampire Count Morbida , who became popular enough that his own puzzle book was published under this name. A regular comic strip portrayed the adventures of the duo Pam and Bill, who were able to transform themselves into the superheroes Dawn-star and Nightglider. At times the magazine adopted a young stallion , Foxy Fiddler , and described his growing up in extensive photo series over several years.
distribution
Dynamite appeared primarily as part of the Scholastic Book Club. Once a month, pupils at affiliated primary schools received a list at the school where they could order new books or a Dynamite magazine. A few weeks later, the teacher handed out the orders through the book club, including the Dynamite magazine.
history
Dynamite was invented by the comic book author Jeanette Kahn . She also designed the first three issues before the magazine was passed on to Jane Stine for the next 100 issues and eventually fell into the hands of Linda Williams . Dynamite was Scholastic's greatest success so far. The magazine managed to turn the previously financially troubled publisher into a successful and expanding media company. After the success of Dynamite, Scholastic founded the sister magazine Bananas , which addressed a somewhat older clientele with similar content.
After the commercial success of Dynamite Magazine slowly waned in the mid-1980s, Scholastic changed the concept. The magazine only appeared six times a year and the number of color pages in the magazine decreased.
On the cover of the first edition in 1974, the characters Hawkeye and Radar from the TV series was M * A * S * H . On the cover of the last issue in 1992 were Julia Roberts and Arnold Schwarzenegger . A total of 165 issues were published.
Remarks
- ↑ a b c d Cathleen Heard: 10 Or So Dynamite Magazine Covers Dissected , Technology Tell December 2, 2013
- ↑ a b c Matthew W. Turcotte And Boom Goes The Dynamite… Magazine A Pop Culture Addicts Guide to Life, August 23, 2011
- ↑ a b c Dynamite Magazine in: Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, Brian Bellmont: Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops ?: The Lost Toys, Tastes, and Trends of the 70s and 80s Penguin, 2011 ISBN 1101515996