''Swank'' is an adult or

pornographic Pornography (often shortened to porn or porno) is the portrayal of 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 mode ...

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 gentleman ...

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

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book 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 Comics'' in 19 ...

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

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 Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (16 December 191719 March 2008) was an English science-fiction writer, science writer, futurist, inventor, undersea explorer, and television series host. He co-wrote the screenplay for the 1968 film '' 2001: A Spac ...

. Humorist Bruce Jay Friedman 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 reind ...

'', 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 U ...

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

s, lesbian sex, and sexual intercourse 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 – 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 Bruce Jay Friedman as writers and editors." Beat poet

John Fles Michael John Fles (born 11 November 1936), known both as John Fles and Michael Fles, is an American poet, editor, musician and film personality. Professor David James referred to him as "the single most important promoter of underground film" i ...

also wrote for the magazine. In keeping with its connection to Magazine Management, in the early 1970s Swank ran a three-page comics 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,

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