TRUMP

Trump was a glossy magazine of satire and humor, mostly in the forms of comic-strip features and short stories. It was edited by Harvey Kurtzman and published by Hugh Hefner, with only two issues produced in 1957. The magazine's mascot was a trumpeter or herald in the style of John Tenniel's Alice in Wonderland illustrations.

Kurtzman began work on Trump shortly after leaving Mad following a break with its publisher William M. Gaines. Mad also lost two of its top cartoonists in the dispute's aftermath, when Will Elder and Jack Davis chose to follow Kurtzman. Wally Wood 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 and Arnold Roth, appeared in Trump's pages.

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.

Harvey Kurtzman would spearhead more humorous publications such as Humbug and Help!, but Trump was his last best chance. He never again succeeded in recapturing the magic that he'd fostered and enjoyed as the editor of Mad. Kurtzman and Elder continued to work at Playboy for another three decades, chiefly producing the sumptuously-colored and sight-gag loaded Little Annie Fanny strip. Jack Davis became a top freelancer for advertising agencies and various magazines, including a return to Mad in 1965.

Harvey Kurtzman/Bill Elder Eti Quette, from the second issue of Kurtzman's Trump (March 1957):

Pair of 8.5x10.75" magazines, each w/56 pages. Published by "Playboy" founder Hugh Hefner as a response to "MAD Magazine" w/"Playboy Ideals." Magazine was edited by Harvey Kurtzman w/art by Jack Davis, Will Elder and contributions by Wally Wood. Only 2 issues published by the HMH Publishing Co. in Jan., 1956 and Mar., 1957. First issue features satire of Li'l Abner and fold-out of "Primitive Man" which has Marilyn Monroe, Howdy Doody and Alfred E. Neuman. Oscar statues and Mobil flying horses also appear. 3-1/2 panel illustration done by Will Elder. Half panel is obscured by a discreetly covered topless woman who says "Hey! Wrong Fold-Out! This Fold-Out Goes In A Different Magazine!" Second issue features "Snapshots From The Trump Family Album With Snappy Titles." These are vintage photos w/amusing captions. Also has small humorous section on baseball and an illustration of King Kong reading "Trump" magazine as citizens flee done by Jack Davis. Lt. handling wear w/pinch creases to spine. Lt. aging. Fine+. Contents remain VF/N. Mint. (G/H - $100 to $400)

TRUMP

Following Fantagraphics’ reprinting of all of Harvey Kurtzman’s Humbug magazine, the premiere Kurtzman satire, here comes Dark Horse with a reprinting of the “complete” Trump magazine, Kurtzman’s aborted effort for Playboy that preceded Humbug: a gorgeous magazine production (compared to the shoe-string operation at Humbug), it ran only two issues, so “complete” is much shorter than Humbug’s 11 issues.

Harvey Kurtzman (October 3, 1924, Brooklyn, New York – February 21, 1993) was a U.S. cartoonist and the editor of several comic books and magazines. Kurtzman often signed his name H. Kurtz, followed by a stick figure (i.e., H. Kurtz-man).

In 1952, he was the founding editor of the comic book Mad. Kurtzman was also known for the long-running Little Annie Fanny stories in Playboy (1962–88), satirizing the very attitudes that Playboy promoted.

Because Mad had a considerable effect on popular culture, Kurtzman was later described by The New York Times as having been "one of the most important figures in postwar America."^[1] Director and comedian Terry Gilliam said, “In many ways Harvey was one of the godparents of Monty Python.”^[2] Underground cartoonist Robert Crumb asserted that one of Kurtzman's cover images for Humbug "changed my life,"^[3] and that another Mad cover image “changed the way I saw the world forever!”^[2] Writing for Time, Richard Corliss touted Kurtzman's influence:

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