''Trump'' was a glossy

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...

and humor, mostly in the forms of

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 ...

features and short stories. It was edited by

Harvey Kurtzman Harvey Kurtzman (; October 3, 1924 – February 21, 1993) was an American cartoonist and editor. His best-known work includes writing and editing the parodic comic book '' Mad'' from 1952 until 1956, and writing the ''Little Ann ...

and published by

Hugh Hefner Hugh Marston Hefner (April 9, 1926 – September 27, 2017) was an American magazine publisher. He was the founder and editor-in-chief of ''Playboy'' magazine, a publication with revealing photographs and articles which provoked charges of obsc ...

, with only two issues produced in 1957. The first issue appeared in January 1957. The magazine's mascot was a trumpeter herald in the style of

John Tenniel Sir John Tenniel (; 28 February 182025 February 1914)Johnson, Lewis (2003), "Tenniel, John", ''Grove Art Online, Oxford Art Online'', Oxford University Press. Web. Retrieved 12 December 2016. was an English illustrator, graphic humorist and pol ...

's ''

Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...

'' illustrations. Kurtzman began work on ''Trump'' shortly after leaving '' Mad'' following a break with its publisher

William M. Gaines William Maxwell Gaines (; March 1, 1922 – June 3, 1992), was an American publisher and co-editor of EC Comics. Following a shift in EC's direction in 1950, Gaines presided over what became an artistically influential and historically import ...

. ''Mad'' also lost two of its top cartoonists in the dispute's aftermath, when

Will Elder William Elder (born Wolf William Eisenberg; September 22, 1921 – May 15, 2008) was an American illustrator and comic book artist who worked in numerous areas of commercial art but is best known for a frantically funny cartoon style that helped ...

and Jack Davis chose to follow Kurtzman.

Wally Wood Wallace Allan Wood (June 17, 1927 – November 2, 1981) was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, widely known for his work on EC Comics's titles such as ''Weird Science (comic), Weird Science'', ''Weird Fantasy'', an ...

was also recruited for the ''Trump'' team in the form of an either-or option, but he chose to stay at ''Mad''. Other notable artists, including

Al Jaffee Allan Jaffee (born Abraham Jaffee; March 13, 1921) is an American cartoonist. He is notable for his work in the satirical magazine '' Mad'', including his trademark feature, the ''Mad'' Fold-in. Jaffee was a regular contributor to the magazine ...

and

Arnold Roth :''This is an article about Arnold Roth, the cartoonist. See also Arnie Roth, the musician.'' Arnold Roth (born February 25, 1929) is an American cartoonist and illustrator for advertisements, album covers, books, magazines, and newspapers. Noveli ...

, appeared in ''Trump''.

Production

Sales were reportedly good for ''Trump'', especially for a new title with a 50-cent cover price, then considered high. But the project was ill-fated. The magazine featured glossy (and costly) production standards and had the misfortune of debuting at the same time that a financial crunch forced publisher Hefner to scale back his non-''Playboy'' publishing interests. This put an end to ''Trump'' before the magazine ever got the chance to develop a steady readership. Speaking about the magazine's short run later, Hefner said, "I gave Harvey an unlimited budget, and he exceeded it."Schelly, Bill, Harvey Kurtzman: Harvey Kurtzman: The Man Who Created Mad and Revolutionized Humor in America, Fantagraphics Books, 2015, pg 357

Aftermath

Kurtzman Kurtzman is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Alex Kurtzman (born 1973), American film and television screenwriter and producer * David Kurtzman (1904–1977), American university Chancellor * Harvey Kurtzman (1924–1993), Amer ...

spearheaded additional humorous publications such as ''

Humbug A humbug is a person or object that behaves in a deceptive or dishonest way, often as a hoax or in jest. The term was first described in 1751 as student slang, and recorded in 1840 as a "nautical phrase". It is now also often used as an exclama ...

'' and ''

Help! ''Help!'' is the fifth studio album by the English Rock music, rock band the Beatles and the soundtrack to their Help! (film), film of the same name. It was released on 6 August 1965. Seven of the fourteen songs, including the singles "Help! ( ...

''. Kurtzman and Elder continued to work at ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

'' for another three decades, chiefly producing ''

Little Annie Fanny ''Little Annie Fanny'' is a comics series by Harvey Kurtzman and Will Elder. It appeared in 107 two- to seven-page episodes in ''Playboy'' magazine from October 1962 to September 1988. ''Little Annie Fanny'' is a humorous satire of contemporar ...

'', which made use of copious sight gags. Jack Davis became a top freelancer for advertising agencies and various magazines, including a return to ''Mad'' in 1965.

References

External links

Richard Corliss: "That Old Feeling: Hail, Harvey!"
{{Harvey Kurtzman navbox Satirical magazines published in the United States Comics magazines published in the United States Defunct magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1957 Magazines disestablished in 1957 Magazines edited by Harvey Kurtzman Satirical comics 1950s in comedy Comedy franchises