National Lampoon — May 1982 “Crime” Issue (Sealed)

1982. ATMs had been around for about a decade but were still new enough to feel like science fiction. National Lampoon put a man in a flat cap and trench coat holding one up at gunpoint. The screen reads: HELLO, MAY I HELP YOU?

National Lampoon, May 1982 — “Crime.” A monthly issue in sealed condition, still in its original poly bag. Cover price: $2.00. Unread, unhandled, exactly as it left the newsstand over 40 years ago.

The Cover

A man in a newsboy cap and dark trench coat leans into a 1st National Bank Automatic Teller machine, gun in hand, pulling out cash while the ATM screen politely asks if it can help. The joke is the collision of old-world crime — the classic film noir stick-up man — with brand-new technology that nobody had quite figured out yet. In 1982, robbing an ATM was still a novel concept. National Lampoon got there first.

Cover Teasers

“Jimmy the Weasel’s Guide to Murder, Extortion, and Picking Up Girls · The Unpublished Enemies of Dick Tracy · James Watt, Earth Enemy #1.”

James Watt was Reagan’s Secretary of the Interior — widely despised by environmentalists for opening federal lands to drilling and mining. Calling him “Earth Enemy #1” in 1982 was pointed. Dick Tracy had been a newspaper comic strip staple since 1931. Jimmy the Weasel was a real Chicago mob figure. This issue knew exactly what it was doing.

Condition

• Sealed in original poly bag — never opened
• Cover: Near Mint — clean, no visible damage through the bag
• One copy available

About National Lampoon

National Lampoon (1970–1998) was the most influential American humor magazine of the 20th century — the training ground for John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, Gilda Radner, and the writers who created Saturday Night Live, Animal House, Caddyshack, and Vacation. Monthly issues in sealed condition are increasingly rare.

Available in-store at The Foundry, 35 W. Huron Street, Pontiac MI, and online while this copy lasts.