Bananas, Hot Dogs & Dynamite, Oh My!

If you grew up between the late 70's to early 80s, you gotta remember all the cool magazines that were distributed by Scholastic Books™ at the time. I know I do. I was talking to a friend recently and we were both reminiscing about the days when the teacher would hand out to the class those wonderful little 2-3 page "catalogs" from Scholastic. If I remember correctly it was usually in the spring and/or fall. I remember fall for sure, because I specifically remember ordering a book of "monster mazes" and something with Snoopy on it, where he had fangs and a cape. I also remember that this was where I first learned to love the Bunnicula series of books written by James and Deborah Howe. To me, though, there will always be only 3 in the series I grew up with: Bunnicula, The Celery Stalks At Midnight and Howliday Inn. For those not familiar with the books, they were about a vampire bunny who sucked the juices from innocent vegetables. Neat!


In addition to all the cool books and posters that you could buy, you could also order magazines, the likes of which were Dynamite (my personal favorite), Bananas (a close second), Hot Dog! (favorite #3), Pizzaz and Supermag. I remember that in one class, the teacher actually passed out the issues of Dynamite for FREE! Wowee! If I remember correctly, it was Mrs. Meason. She was swell. Her daughter turned out to be pretty cool, too (we graduated together). And speaking of posters, believe it or not, Lou Ferrigno (one of my #1 lustmonkeys) actually offers them on his website, still! How awesome is THAT? I still want them. One of these days I will make them mine! I totally remember the one that says "The Hulk Wants You To Have An Incredible Year!" That's exactly what it'd be alright, with Lou on my wall! Dreamy.

Well, in addition to the occasional catalog we would get in class, we also used to have an annual "book fair," which was held in the library. I looked forward to it every year. It was almost as exciting as seeing that box on the teacher's desk that signified that our book orders had finally arrived. I remember it felt so exhilirating just seeing the box opened and all the books inside! I could barely contain myself! I couldn't wait to hold them. Sigh. Good memories.

And for those who have noticed that I snuck a picture of 16 Magazine into the collage, you're pretty sharp! Yes, my love of magazines knows no bounds. I remember loving Star Hits (later changed to Smash Hits), Circus, 16, Bop, Teen Beat, Tiger Beat, Super Teen, Teen Machine, etc. I still run across the occasional copy around the house and enjoy reminiscing at how wonderfully cheesoriffic they were at the time. I think it's the reason I still buy the newer versions like J-14 and whatever others catch my eye.

I remember there used to be another magazine I would buy, but I can't remember the name of it. It was something "Lyrics," and it contained the song lyrics to all the popular songs they played on the radio. Very cool at the time. I also remember loving the magazine "specials" that would come out, and the entire magazines would open up into a gigantic poster. I remember having one of Madonna in all her day-glo glory. It's one of my favorite images of her. You know, the one where she's wearing the lime green sweater. It's a hard picture to find, or I'd hyperlink you to it. Trust me, it's very cool.

Also, do you remember when Fangoria magazine (for those who read it) had centerfold posters inside?! They would be scenes from whatever horror/slasher was hot at the moment. I distinctly remember the one for My Bloody Valentine, An American Werewolf In London and Friday The 13th. I miss that. It was a very cool idea. For they money they charge for a copy of their magazine now (try $8!!), there should still be a centerfold, dammit.

Well, I hope you've enjoyed this stroll down magazine memory lane. I know it brought back lots of great memories for me. And for those who now feel the need to own some of these wonderful old magazines, check on eBay. Someone always has copies of Dynamite for sale.