''Swank'' is an adult or

pornographic Pornography (often shortened to porn or porno) is the portrayal of Human sexual activity, sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. Primarily intended for adults,

magazine published in the United States. The first incarnation was launched by Victor Fox of

Fox Comics Fox Feature Syndicate (also known as Fox Comics, Fox Publications, and Bruns Publications, Inc.) was a comic book publisher from early in the period known to fans and historians as the Golden Age of Comic Books. Founded by entrepreneur Victor S. ...

in 1941 (and again in 1945) as a men's lifestyle and

pin-up A pin-up model (known as a pin-up girl for a female and less commonly male pin-up for a male) is a model whose mass-produced pictures see widespread appeal as part of popular culture. Pin-up models were variously glamour models, fashion models ...

magazine in the style of ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...

''. Around 1954–1955, it was relaunched by Martin Goodman, the founder of

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

, and ran spicy adventure or suspense fiction by the likes of

Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer who is best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., a ...

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...

Norman Mailer Nachem Malech Mailer (January 31, 1923 – November 10, 2007), known by his pen name Norman Kingsley Mailer, was an American novelist, journalist, essayist, playwright, activist, filmmaker and actor. In a career spanning over six decades, Mailer ...

and Arthur C. Clarke. Humorist

Bruce Jay Friedman The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has been ...

was an editor in the late 1950s. Along with its sister title, ''

Stag Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...

'', the magazine was bought by the

Magna Publishing Group Magna Publishing Group, Inc. is an American publishing company headquartered in Paramus, New Jersey. Founded in 1975, the company publishes a number of magazine titles and is one of the largest publishers of pornographic magazines in the United ...

in 1993. Following that acquisition, the format of ''Swank'' changed to include

hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...

sex, such as the use of

sex toy A sex toy is an object or device that is primarily used to facilitate human sexual pleasure, such as a dildo, artificial vagina or vibrator. Many popular sex toys are designed to resemble human genitals, and may be vibrating or non-vibrating ...

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

sex, and

sexual intercourse Sexual intercourse (or coitus or copulation) is a sexual activity typically involving the insertion and thrusting of the penis into the vagina for sexual pleasure or reproduction.Sexual intercourse most commonly means penile–vaginal penetrat ...

between men and women. There are also a series of DVDs and an official website produced under the ''Swank'' name. Magna Publishing Group was bought by 1-800-PHONESEX in 2015.

History

According to its current owner,

, ''Swank'' has been established for "well over 65 years". A men's lifestyle title called ''Swank'' was launched in the early 1940s, by Victor Fox. In a 2002 article for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', Matthew Flamm wrote of the magazine's genesis: " 'Swank''can even draw a line to the same pulp publishing outfit – Martin Goodman's

Magazine Management Company Magazine Management Co., Inc. was an American publishing company lasting from at least 1947 to the early 1970s, known for men's-adventure magazines, risque men's magazines, humor magazine, humor, Romance novel, romance, puzzle, celebrity/film and ...

– that in 1939 started the comic book publisher that eventually became

, and that in the 1950s and 1960s employed future novelists like

Mario Puzo Mario Francis Puzo (; ; October 15, 1920 – July 2, 1999) was an American author, screenwriter, and journalist. He is known for his crime novels about the Italian-American Mafia and Sicilian Mafia, most notably ''The Godfather'' (1969), which ...

and

as writers and editors." Beat poet John Fles also wrote for the magazine. In keeping with its connection to Magazine Management, in the early 1970s Swank ran a three-page

comics a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...

section that was created by

Vaughn Bodē Vaughn Bodē (; July 22, 1941 – July 18, 1975) was an American underground cartoonist and illustrator known for his character Cheech Wizard and his artwork depicting voluptuous women. A contemporary of Ralph Bakshi, Bodē has been credited as ...

, and continued by

Bernie Wrightson Bernard Albert Wrightson (October 27, 1948 – March 18, 2017), sometimes credited as Bernie Wrightson, was an American artist, known for co-creating the Swamp Thing, his adaptation of the novel ''Frankenstein'' illustration work, and for his o ...

and then Jeff Jones. During its first two decades of operation, ''Swank'' had breaks in publication lasting up to several years. The original format was similar to that of the popular men's title ''

''. Magazine archivist Phil Stephensen-Payne gives the date of the first issue as August 1941 and suggests that, after perhaps seven issues, the publication folded and then relaunched in August 1945.

Humphrey Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart (; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American film and stage actor. His performances in Classical Hollywood cinema films made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film In ...

Oscar Levant Oscar Levant (December 27, 1906August 14, 1972) was an American concert pianist, composer, conductor, author, radio game show panelist, television talk show host, comedian and actor. He was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for reco ...

and Earl Wilson were among the guest contributors over this period. A later incarnation celebrated its 20th birthday on the cover of the October 1977 issue. By that time, the content included music-related feature articles by journalist and author Michael Gross. The Magna Publishing Group bought ''Swank'', along with titles including ''

'' magazine, in 1993. The previous owner was Charles "Chip" Goodman, the son of Martin Goodman. At the time of the purchase, the company was known as Swank Publications and was part of the GCR Publishing Group, which also published non-pornographic magazines such as ''New Body'' and ''Victorian Accents''.

References

External links

*
Cover archive at Galactic Central
{{Authority control Pornographic magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1941 Pornographic men's magazines Monthly magazines published in the United States Men's adventure magazines Men's magazines published in the United States