A humor magazine is a magazine specifically designed to deliver humorous content to its readership. These publications often offer satire and parody, but some also put an emphasis on cartoons, caricature, absurdity, one-liners, witty aphorisms, surrealism, neuroticism, gelotology, emotion-regulating humor, and/or humorous essays.
Humor magazines first became popular in the early 19th century with specimens like Le Charivari (1832–1937) in France, Punch (1841–2002) in the United Kingdom and Vanity Fair (1859–1863) in the United States.
| Title | Language | Country | Year founded | Notable Contributors | Frequency | Medium | Classification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academia Cațavencu | Romanian | Romania | 1991 | Mircea Dinescu, Sorin Ovidiu Vântu | Weekly | Paper | Satire |
| The American Bystander | English | US | 2015 | Michael Gerber, Brian McConnachie, Jack Handey, Kate Beaton | Quarterly | Paper | Satire, Parody |
| The Brown Jug | English | US | 1920 | S.J. Perelman, Nathanael West, Jordan Carlos, Ben "Bean Kid" Doyle | Quarterly | Paper | Satire |
| Le Canard enchaîné | French | France | 1915 | René Pétillon, Jean Effel, Cabu, Lefred Thouron | Weekly | Paper | Satire, cartoons |
| Charlie Hebdo | French | France | 1969 | Philippe Val, François Cavanna, Cabu, Le Professeur Choron | Weekly | Paper | Satire, cartoons |
| The Civilian | English | New Zealand | 2013 | Ben Uffindell | varied | Online | Satire |
| The Clinic | Spanish | Chile | 1998 | Patricio Fernández Chadwick | Weekly | Paper | Satire |
| CollegeHumor | English | US | 1999 | Ricky Van Veen, Jake Hurwitz, Amir Blumenfeld, Streeter Seidell | Daily | Online | Humor |
| The Comic News | English | US | 1984 | Thom Zajac, John Govsky | Monthly | Paper | Political Cartoons |
| The Cornell Lunatic | English | US | 1978 | Joey Green, Adam-Troy Castro, Naren Shankar | 2 per year | Paper | Satire |
| Cracked.com | English | US | 2009 | Jack O'Brien, Seanbaby, Daniel O'Brien | Daily | Online | Humor |
| The Daily Currant | English | US | 2012 | Varied | Online | Satire | |
| The Daily Mash | English | UK | 2007 | Paul Stokes, Neil Rafferty | Daily | Online | Satire |
| Dartmouth Jack-O-Lantern | English | US | 1908 | Dr. Seuss, Buck Henry, Chris Miller, Mindy Kaling | 4 per year | Paper | Satire |
| The Michigan Every Three Weekly | English | US | 1997 | Megan Ganz | Monthly | Paper and Online | Satire |
| Eulenspiegel-Das Satiremagazin | German | East Germany, Germany | 1946 | Mathias Wedel | Monthly | Paper | Satire |
| Faking News | English | India | 2008 | Rahul Roushan | Daily | Online | Satire |
| Fish Rap Live! | English | US | 1985 | Skyler Hanrath, Ryan Schreiber | 9 per year | Paper | Satire, absurdism, theme issues |
| Frank | English | Canada | 1987 | Michael Coren, Michael Bate, David Bentley, Fabrice Taylor | Biweekly | Paper | Satire |
| Frigidaire | Italian | Italy | 1980 | Andrea Pazienza, Tanino Liberatore, Vincenzo Sparagna, Massimo Mattioli | Monthly | Paper | Comics |
| Funny Times | English | US | 1985 | Susan Wolpert, Raymond Lesser | Monthly | Paper | Satire, cartoons |
| The Georgetown Heckler | English | US | 2003 | Jack O'Brien | varied | Paper | Satire |
| Le Gorafi | French | France | 2012 | Jean-René Buissière | Daily | Online | Satire |
| Grönköpings Veckoblad | Swedish | Sweden | 1902 | Nils Hasselskog | Monthly | Paper | Satire |
| Harvard Lampoon | English | US | 1876 | Doug Kenney, George Meyer, Conan O'Brien, Robert Benchley, Kurt Andersen, John Updike | Five per year | Paper | Satire |
| Heuristic Squelch | English | US | 1991 | 6–8 per year | Paper | Satire | |
| Humor Times | English | US | 1991 | Will Durst, Dan Piraro, Ruben Bolling | Monthly | Paper | Satire |
| The Inconsequential | English | UK | 2005 | Graham C Hodgson, Stephen McCartney | Quarterly | Paper (2005) Online (2012) | Satire, Verse, Short Stories, Cartoons, Absurdism |
| Jester of Columbia | English | US | 1901–1997, 2005 | Allen Ginsberg, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Tony Kushner, Ted Rall | Quarterly | Paper | Satire, absurdism |
| El Jueves | Spanish | Spain | 1977 | Joan Vizcarra, J.L. Martín, Jordi Sellas | Weekly | Paper | Satire |
| The Lemon Press (University of York) | English | UK | 2009 | Joe Regan, Ryan Fitzgerald, Chris Burgess, Dave Walker | 4 or 5 times per year | Paper | Satire |
| Light | English | US | 1992 | X. J. Kennedy, Willard R. Espy, Tom Disch, John Updike | Quarterly | Paper (1992–2012) Online (2012–) | Light verse |
| Mad | English | US | 1952 | Harvey Kurtzman, Al Jaffee, Sergio Aragonés, Mort Drucker | Monthly (1952–2009), Quarterly (2009-2012), Bi-monthly (2012-) | Paper | Satire; comics |
| McSweeney's Internet Tendency | English | US | 1998 | Dave Eggers, Michael Ian Black, Tim Carvell, Nick Hornby | Daily | Online | Satire |
| The Milking Cat | English | US | 2018 | Weekly | Online | Teen Humor, Satire, Comics | |
| Nebelspalter | German | Switzerland | 1875 | René Gilsi, Franz Hohler, Heinrich Danioth, Marco Ratschiller | Weekly | magazine | Satire |
| Neurococi | Romanian | Romania | 2018 | Radu Barsan | Daily | Online | Satire, Parody |
| Nonsense | English | US | 1983 | Butch D'Ambrosio, Billy Scafuri, John Milhiser, Serious Lunch | 6 times a year | Paper (1983-2011), Online (2012-present) | Satire, Parody |
| Noseweek | English | South Africa | 1993 | Martin Welz | Monthly | magazine | Satire |
| Onion.com | English | US | 1996 | David Javerbaum, Ben Karlin, Scott Dikkers, Carol Kolb | daily | Online | Satire |
| The Oxymoron | English | UK | 2008 | 3 per year | Paper | Satire | |
| The Pennsylvania Punch Bowl | English | US | 1899 | Ezra Pound, Morton Livingston Schamberg, John Valentine Lovitt, Leo Yanoff | 3 per year | Paper (1899) Online (2007) | Satire |
| The Phoenix | English | Ireland | 1983 | Paddy Prendeville, John Mulcahy | Fortnightly | Paper | Satire, Politics |
| The Plumber's Faucet | English | Canada | 1984 | Triweekly | Paper and online | Humor, satire, cartoons | |
| Phroth | English | US | 1909 | 2 per year | Paper | Satire, humor | |
| Points in Case | English | US | 1999 | Amir Blumenfeld | Daily | Online | Satire, humor |
| Princeton Tiger | English | US | 1882 | Booth Tarkington, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Robert Caro, John McPhee | Quarterly | Paper (1882–) Online (2009–) | Satire |
| Private Eye | English | UK | 1961 | Peter Cook, Ian Hislop, Richard Ingrams, John Wells | Biweekly | Paper | Satire |
| De Rechtzetting (The Correction) | Flemish | Netherlands | 2010 | Indiyan | Daily | Online | Fake News |
| De Speld (The Pin) | Dutch | Netherlands | 2007 | Daily | Online | Fake News | |
| Satyr Magazine | English | US | 1970 | Daily | Online | Satire | |
| Savage Henry Independent Times | English | US | 2010 | Sarah Godlin, Sonny Wong (artist), Zack Newkirk, Chris Durant | Monthly | Paper, Online | Satire |
| The Serpopard | English | US & Germany | 2017 | Luger James, Ricarda Stevenson, Andrea Julia Smith, Zac de la Vigne | Daily | Online | Satire |
| The Stanford Chaparral | English | US | 1899 | Josh Weinstein, Doodles Weaver, Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston | 6 per year | Paper | Satire |
| Svikmøllen | Danish | Denmark | 1915 | Sven Brasch | Annual | Paper | Satire |
| Titanic | German | Germany | 1979 | Martin Sonneborn | Monthly | Paper | Satire |
| The UnReal Times | English | India | 2011 | Ashwin Kumar, CS Krishna, Karthik Laxman, Ajayendar Reddy | Daily | Online | Satire |
| Viz | English | UK | 1979 | Chris Donald, Simon Donald, Joel Morris, Christina Martin | 6 per year | Paper | Comics |
| The Yale Record | English | US | 1872 | Garry Trudeau, Cole Porter, Peter Arno, Vincent Price | 8 per year | Paper | Satire, cartoons |
| The Zamboni | English | US | 1989 | Josh Wolk, Luke Burns, Graham Starr | Monthly | Paper (1989–)/Online (2014–) | Humor. Satire, Installation Art, Parody, Cartoons, Mixed Media, sketch |
| Toons Mag | English | Norway | 2009 | Arifur Rahman | Daily | Online | Cartoon, Comics, Caricature, Satire |
| Blandaren | Swedish | Sweden | 1863 | Pontus Hultén, Gunnar Asplund | Annually | Paper | dadaistic, absurdist, satirical and surrealist |
Comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the oldest genres in film, and it is derived from classical comedy in theatre. Some of the earliest silent films were slapstick comedies, which often relied on visual depictions, such as sight gags and pratfalls, so they could be enjoyed without requiring sound. To provide drama and excitement to silent movies, live music was played in sync with the action on the screen, on pianos, organs, and other instruments. When sound films became more prevalent during the 1920s, comedy films grew in popularity, as laughter could result from both burlesque situations but also from humorous dialogue.
A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images intended for satire, caricature, or humor; or a motion picture that relies on a sequence of illustrations for its animation. Someone who creates cartoons in the first sense is called a cartoonist, and in the second sense they are usually called an animator.
Fantasy comedy or comic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that is primarily humorous in intent and tone. Typically set in imaginary worlds, fantasy comedy often involves puns on, and parodies of, other works of fantasy.
A joke is a display of humour in which words are used within a specific and well-defined narrative structure to make people laugh and is usually not meant to be interpreted literally. It usually takes the form of a story, often with dialogue, and ends in a punch line, whereby the humorous element of the story is revealed; this can be done using a pun or other type of word play, irony or sarcasm, logical incompatibility, hyperbole, or other means. Linguist Robert Hetzron offers the definition:
A joke is a short humorous piece of oral literature in which the funniness culminates in the final sentence, called the punchline… In fact, the main condition is that the tension should reach its highest level at the very end. No continuation relieving the tension should be added. As for its being "oral," it is true that jokes may appear printed, but when further transferred, there is no obligation to reproduce the text verbatim, as in the case of poetry.
Humour or humor is the tendency of experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. The term derives from the humoral medicine of the ancient Greeks, which taught that the balance of fluids in the human body, known as humours, controlled human health and emotion.
A humorist is an intellectual who uses humor, or wit, in writing or public speaking. A raconteur is one who tells anecdotes in a skillful and amusing way.
Erma Louise Bombeck was an American humorist who achieved great popularity for her newspaper humor column describing suburban home life, syndicated from 1965 to 1996. She published fifteen books, most of which became bestsellers.
A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the form of a short essay by a specific writer who offers a personal point of view. Columns are sometimes written by a composite or a team, appearing under a pseudonym, or a brand name. Columnists typically write daily or weekly columns. Some columns are later collected and reprinted in book form.
A punch line concludes a joke; it is intended to make people laugh. It is the third and final part of the typical joke structure. It follows the introductory framing of the joke and the narrative which sets up for the punch line.
Sidney Joseph Perelman was an American humorist and screenwriter. He is best known for his humorous short pieces written over many years for The New Yorker. He also wrote for several other magazines, including Judge, as well as books, scripts, and screenplays. Perelman received an Academy Award for screenwriting in 1956.
Datamation is a computer magazine that was published in print form in the United States between 1957 and 1998, and has since continued publication on the web. Datamation was previously owned by QuinStreet and acquired by TechnologyAdvice in 2020. Datamation is published as an online magazine at Datamation.com.
ToyFare was a monthly magazine published by Wizard Entertainment that focused on collectible action figures, busts, statues, and maquettes. It previewed new and upcoming lines and figures each month, as well as providing a price guide for toy lines, both new and old. ToyFare was also known for its satirical humor.
American humor refers collectively to the conventions and common threads that tie together humor in the United States. It is often defined in comparison to the humor of another country – for example, how it is different from British humor and Canadian humor. It is, however, difficult to say what makes a particular type or subject of humor particularly American. Humor usually concerns aspects of American culture, and depends on the historical and current development of the country's culture. The extent to which an individual will personally find something humorous obviously depends on a host of absolute and relative variables, including, but not limited to geographical location, culture, maturity, level of education, and context. People of different countries will therefore find different situations funny. Just as American culture has many aspects which differ from other nations, these cultural differences may be a barrier to how humor translates to other countries.
The California Pelican was a college humor magazine founded in 1903 by Earle C. Anthony at the University of California, Berkeley. Lasting eighty years, it was the first successful student humor magazine in UC Berkeley, though it was preceded by Smiles in 1891 and Josh in 1895. It is succeeded by the Heuristic Squelch, which is still running.
Sigmund Freud noticed that humor, like dreams, can be related to unconscious content. In the 1905 book Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious, as well as in the 1928 journal article Humor, Freud distinguished contentious jokes from non-contentious or silly humor. In fact, he sorted humor into three categories that could be translated as: joke, comic, and mimetic.
Although humor is a phenomenon experienced by most humans, its exact cause is a topic of heavy debate. There are many theories of humor which attempt to explain what it is, what social functions it serves, and what would be considered humorous. Although various classical theories of humor and laughter may be found, in contemporary academic literature, three theories of humor appear repeatedly: relief theory, superiority theory, and incongruity theory. These theories are used as building blocks for the rest of the theories. Among current humor researchers, there has yet to be a consensus about which of these three theories of humor is most viable. Some proponents of each theory originally claimed that theirs, and theirs alone, explained all cases of humor. However, they now acknowledge that although each theory generally covers its area of focus, many instances of humor can be explained by more than one theory. Similarly, one view holds that theories have a combinative effect; Jeroen Vandaele claims that incongruity and superiority theories describe complementary mechanisms that together create humor.
An inherently funny word is a word that is humorous without context, often more for its phonetic structure than for its meaning.
Javad Alizadeh is an Iranian professional cartoonist best known for his caricatures of politicians, comic actors, footballers, and for his scientific/philosophical column titled 4D Humor, which has won awards from Italy, China and Japan. An active artist since 1970, his works have been published in international publications. He is the founder of the leading monthly cartoon magazine Humor & Caricature and is its founding and current publisher and editor-in-chief.
Letters from the Editors of National Lampoon was an American humor publication from 1973. It appears to be a book, but was a "special issue" of National Lampoon magazine that was published in April 1973. It was a compilation of the best of the "Letters to the Editors" pages of the magazine. The "Letters to the Editors" were humorous and were always written by the editors, and not by readers.
Yusuf Ziya Ortaç was a Turkish poet, writer, literature teacher, publisher and politician.