The Realist

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The Realist, edited and published by Paul Krassner, was a pioneering magazine in the American countercultural press of the mid-20th century. Although The Realist is often regarded as a major milestone in the underground press, it was a nationally-distributed newsstand publication as early as 1959. The Realist was the first satirical magazine to publish conspiracy theories.^[1]

First published in the spring of 1958 in New York City in the offices of Mad,^[1] The Realist appeared on a fairly regular schedule during the 1960s and then on an irregular schedule after the early 1970s. It was revived as a much smaller newsletter during the mid-1980s when material from the magazine was collected in The Best of the Realist: The 60's Most Outrageously Irreverent Magazine (Running Press, 1985). The final issue of The Realist was #146 (Spring 2001).

The Realist provided a format for extreme satire in its articles, cartoons, and Krassner's editorials, but it also carried more traditionally serious material in articles and interviews. Krassner most successful prank was his grotesque article following the censorship of William Manchester's book on the Kennedy assassination: The Parts That Were Left Out of the Kennedy Book.^[2] Krassner later commented: "People across the country believed - if only for a moment - that an act of presidential necrophilia had taken place. It worked because Jackie Kennedy had created so much curiosity by censoring the book she authorized - William Manchester's, "The Death Of A President" - because what I wrote was a metaphorical truth about LBJ's personality presented in a literary context, and because the imagery was so shocking, it broke through the notion that the war in Vietnam was being conducted by sane men.".^[3]

The magazine was the first to provide a forum for conspiracy researcher Mae Brussell and also published political commentary from Norman Mailer, Ken Kesey, and Joseph Heller.^[1] Among the more controversial products issued by Krassner was a red, white, and blue automobile bumper sticker, decorated with stars, which proclaimed "Fuck Communism". In advertising this item, Krassner advised that if anyone displaying the sticker received criticism, the critic should be told, "Go back to Russia, you Commie lover."

His Disneyland Memorial Orgy poster, illustrated by Wally Wood, was a highlight of the magazine, so successful that Krassner printed it as a poster that was widely pirated. The poster was recently upgraded by Krassner into a new, digitally-colored version. Other cartoonists featured in The Realist included Dick Guindon and Mort Gerberg.

When the magazine ran into financial difficulties in the 1970s, it was the conspiracy theory element that attracted ex-Beatle John Lennon to donate.^[1]

Art and articles from the magazine were collected in Best of the Realist (Running Press, 1984).

[edit] References

• Disneyland Memorial Orgy
• Paul Krassner column about The Realist
• The Realist Project on EP.tc