Help! (1960-1965) was an American magazine published by
James WarrenJames Warren is a magazine publisher and founder of Warren Publishing.Pioneer magazine publisher, including After Hours, Wildest Westerns, Creepy, Eerie, Vampirella, Monster World, Spacemen, Screen Thrills, and Blazing Combat thrilled millions of comics fans...
. It was
Harvey KurtzmanHarvey Kurtzman was a U.S. cartoonist and magazine editor. Kurtzman often signed his name H. Kurtz, followed by a stick figure Harvey Kurtzman (October 3, 1924, Brooklyn, New York – February 21, 1993) was a U.S. cartoonist and magazine editor. Kurtzman often signed his name H. Kurtz, followed by a...
's longest-running
magazineMagazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles, generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
project after leaving
MadMad is an American humor magazine founded by editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines in 1952. Launched as a comic book before it became a magazine, it was widely imitated and hugely influential, impacting not only satirical media but the entire cultural landscape of the 20th century.The...
and
ECEntertaining Comics, more commonly known as EC Comics, was an American publisher of comic books specializing in horror fiction, crime fiction, satire, military fiction and science fiction from the 1940s through the mid-1950s, most notably the Tales from the Crypt series, until censorship...
Publications, and during its five years of operation it was always chronically underfunded, yet innovative. James Warren was also publishing successful monster-movie and horror
comicsComics is a graphic medium in which images are utilized in order to convey a sequential narrative; the term, derived from massive early use to convey comic themes, came to be applied to all uses of this medium including those which are far from comic...
magazines simultaneously.
For the magazine, Kurtzman has brought along several artists from his
Mad collaborations, including
Will ElderWilliam "Will" Elder was an American illustrator and comic book artist who worked in numerous areas of commercial art, but is best known for a zany cartoon style that helped launch Harvey Kurtzman's Mad comic book in 1952.Mad publisher Bill Gaines approvingly called Elder "unquestionably the...
,
Jack DavisJack Davis is an American cartoonist and illustrator. He was inducted into the Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2003. He also received the National Cartoonist Society Milton Caniff Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996....
,
John SeverinJohn Severin is an American comic book artist noted for his distinctive artwork with EC Comics, primarily on the war comics Two-Fisted Tales and Frontline Combat, and for Marvel Comics, primarily on its war and Western comics...
and
Al JaffeeAl Jaffee is an award-winning American cartoonist. He is best known for his work in Mad, including his trademark feature, the Mad Fold-in, which has appeared in almost every issue since 1964...
.
Kurtzman's assistants over the run of the magazine included a young
Terry GilliamTerrence Vance "Terry" Gilliam is an American-born British writer, filmmaker, animator, actor and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam is also known for directing several well-regarded films including Time Bandits , Brazil , The Fisher King , and 12 Monkeys...
and a young
Gloria SteinemGloria Marie Steinem is an American feminist, journalist, and social and political activist.Rising to national prominence as a feminist leader in 1969, Steinem was a columnist at New York magazine in the 1960s and broke ground in 1963 with an investigative report of how the women of Playboy were...
; the latter was apparently very helpful in gathering the celebrity comedians who would appear on the covers of each issue, as well as occasionally to serve as actor/models in the
fumettiFumetti is an Italian word which refers to all comics. In English, the term refers specifically to photonovels, a genre of comics illustrated with photographs rather than drawings. Italians call these fotoromanzi...
strips the magazine ran along with more traditional comics and text pieces.
Help! (1960-1965) was an American magazine published by
James WarrenJames Warren is a magazine publisher and founder of Warren Publishing.Pioneer magazine publisher, including After Hours, Wildest Westerns, Creepy, Eerie, Vampirella, Monster World, Spacemen, Screen Thrills, and Blazing Combat thrilled millions of comics fans...
. It was
Harvey KurtzmanHarvey Kurtzman was a U.S. cartoonist and magazine editor. Kurtzman often signed his name H. Kurtz, followed by a stick figure Harvey Kurtzman (October 3, 1924, Brooklyn, New York – February 21, 1993) was a U.S. cartoonist and magazine editor. Kurtzman often signed his name H. Kurtz, followed by a...
's longest-running
magazineMagazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles, generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
project after leaving
MadMad is an American humor magazine founded by editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines in 1952. Launched as a comic book before it became a magazine, it was widely imitated and hugely influential, impacting not only satirical media but the entire cultural landscape of the 20th century.The...
and
ECEntertaining Comics, more commonly known as EC Comics, was an American publisher of comic books specializing in horror fiction, crime fiction, satire, military fiction and science fiction from the 1940s through the mid-1950s, most notably the Tales from the Crypt series, until censorship...
Publications, and during its five years of operation it was always chronically underfunded, yet innovative. James Warren was also publishing successful monster-movie and horror
comicsComics is a graphic medium in which images are utilized in order to convey a sequential narrative; the term, derived from massive early use to convey comic themes, came to be applied to all uses of this medium including those which are far from comic...
magazines simultaneously.
For the magazine, Kurtzman has brought along several artists from his
Mad collaborations, including
Will ElderWilliam "Will" Elder was an American illustrator and comic book artist who worked in numerous areas of commercial art, but is best known for a zany cartoon style that helped launch Harvey Kurtzman's Mad comic book in 1952.Mad publisher Bill Gaines approvingly called Elder "unquestionably the...
,
Jack DavisJack Davis is an American cartoonist and illustrator. He was inducted into the Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2003. He also received the National Cartoonist Society Milton Caniff Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996....
,
John SeverinJohn Severin is an American comic book artist noted for his distinctive artwork with EC Comics, primarily on the war comics Two-Fisted Tales and Frontline Combat, and for Marvel Comics, primarily on its war and Western comics...
and
Al JaffeeAl Jaffee is an award-winning American cartoonist. He is best known for his work in Mad, including his trademark feature, the Mad Fold-in, which has appeared in almost every issue since 1964...
.
Kurtzman's assistants over the run of the magazine included a young
Terry GilliamTerrence Vance "Terry" Gilliam is an American-born British writer, filmmaker, animator, actor and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam is also known for directing several well-regarded films including Time Bandits , Brazil , The Fisher King , and 12 Monkeys...
and a young
Gloria SteinemGloria Marie Steinem is an American feminist, journalist, and social and political activist.Rising to national prominence as a feminist leader in 1969, Steinem was a columnist at New York magazine in the 1960s and broke ground in 1963 with an investigative report of how the women of Playboy were...
; the latter was apparently very helpful in gathering the celebrity comedians who would appear on the covers of each issue, as well as occasionally to serve as actor/models in the
fumettiFumetti is an Italian word which refers to all comics. In English, the term refers specifically to photonovels, a genre of comics illustrated with photographs rather than drawings. Italians call these fotoromanzi...
strips the magazine ran along with more traditional comics and text pieces. Among the then little-known performers in the fumetti were
John CleeseJohn Marwood Cleese is an Academy Award-nominated English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer who is known for being a member of the group of comedians responsible for the sketch show Monty Python's Flying Circus and the four Monty Python films: And Now for Something Completely Different,...
,
Woody AllenWoody Allen is an American screenwriter, film director, actor, comedian, writer, musician, and playwright....
and
Milt KamenMilt Kamen Born Milton Kaminsky was an American stand-up comic and actor who discovered Woody Allen while he was performing at a resort in the Catskills....
; better-known performers such as
Orson BeanOrson Bean is an American film, television, and stage actor. He appeared frequently on televised game shows in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, but is perhaps best known as a long-time panelist on the television game show To Tell the Truth....
were also known to participate. Some fumetti scripts were by
Bernard Shir-CliffBernard W. Shir-Cliff, an editor for Ballantine Books, Contemporary Books, Warner Books and other publishers, also translated books and later became a well-known literary agent. As a senior editor at Warner Books, he was responsible for the huge publishing success of Dr...
.
At
Help! Gilliam met Cleese for the first time, resulting in their collaboration years later on
Monty Python's Flying CircusMonty Python’s Flying Circus is a BBC sketch comedy programme from the Monty Python comedy team, and the group's initial claim to fame. The show was noted for its surreality, risqué or innuendo-laden humour, sight gags, and sketches without punchlines...
. Cleese appeared in a Gilliam fumetto, "Christopher's Punctured Romance" about a man who is shocked to learn that his daughter's new "Barbee" doll has "titties" but falls in love with and has an affair with the doll. Gilliam himself would appear on two covers of Help! and, along with the rest of the creative team, appeared in "crowd scenes" in several fumettis.
The magazine introduced young talents who went on to influential careers in
underground comixUnderground comix are small press or self-published comic books which are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, including explicit drug use, sexuality and violence...
as well as the mainstream: among them
Robert CrumbRobert Dennis Crumb , often credited simply as R. Crumb, is an American artist and illustrator recognized for the distinctive style of his drawings and his critical, satirical, subversive view of the American mainstream...
,
Gilbert SheltonGilbert Shelton is an American cartoonist and underground comix artist. He is the creator of The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers, Fat Freddy's Cat, Wonder Wart-Hog, Not Quite Dead, and the cover art to The Grateful Dead's 1978 album Shakedown Street.He graduated from Lamar High School in Houston...
, and
Jay LynchJay Lynch is an American cartoonist who played a key role in the underground comix movement with his Bijou Funnies and other titles. His work is sometimes signed Jayzey Lynch...
.
Algis BudrysAlgis Budrys was a Lithuanian-American science fiction author, editor, and critic. He was also known under the pen names "Frank Mason", "Alger Rome", "John A. Sentry", "William Scarff", "Paul Janvier", and "Sam & Janet Argo"....
and other science fiction writers were regular contributors of prose and scripts to the magazine.
Working with a minimal budget, Kurtzman relied on a combination of cheap up-and-coming talent, favors called in to "name" friends (such as cover poses by
Jackie GleasonHerbert Walton Gleason, Jr. , baptized as John Herbert "Jackie" Gleason, was an American comedian, actor and musician....
,
Mort SahlMorton Lyon Sahl is a Canadian-born American comedian and actor. He is credited with pioneering a style of stand-up comedy that paved the way for Lenny Bruce, Nichols and May, and Dick Gregory. He also occasionally wrote jokes for speeches delivered by President John F...
, or
Jerry LewisJerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, film producer, writer, film director, singer and humanitarian. He is best-known for his slapstick humor in stage, screen, television, radio, recording and is also known for his charity fund-raising telethons and position as national chairman for the...
) and inexpensive page-fillers (such as inserting dialogue balloons into news photos and publicity stills).
Somewhat more adult and risque than
Mad,
Help! was nonetheless less sexually explicit or taboo-breaking than the contemporaneous
The RealistThe Realist, edited and published by Paul Krassner, was a pioneering magazine of "social-political-religious criticism and satire" 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...
or the later underground comix and
National Lampoon were or would be. Nonetheless it had its moments, and served as a locus and starting point for a wide range of talent.
A total of 26 issues were printed ,12 issues comprised "Volume 1" and 14 issues comprised "Volume 2" , before the magazine folded.