Major Publications, also known as Major Magazines, was the publisher of the satirical magazine ''

Cracked Cracked may refer to: Television * ''Cracked'' (British TV series), a 2008 British comedy-drama television series that aired on STV * ''Cracked'' (Canadian TV series), a 2013 Canadian crime drama series that aired on CBC * "Cracked", a Season 8 ( ...

'', the most durable imitator of ''Mad'' magazine. Founded by Robert C. Sproul in 1958, the company generally imitated other publishers' successes in various genres, such as

Westerns The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...

, men's

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extr ...

, and the Warren Publications mid-1960s revival of

horror comics Horror comics are comic books, graphic novels, black-and-white comics magazines, and manga focusing on horror fiction. In the US market, horror comic books reached a peak in the late 1940s through the mid-1950s, when concern over content and the ...

. Even as the company chased publishing trends, its long-running flagship title was ''Cracked'', which the company published from 1958 to 1985. The company also published a number of monster-themed magazines, imitating publications like ''

Fangoria ''Fangoria'' is an internationally distributed American horror film fan magazine, in publication since 1979. It is published four times a year by Fangoria Publishing, LLC and is edited by Phil Nobile Jr. The magazine was originally released i ...

'' and ''

Famous Monsters of Filmland ''Famous Monsters of Filmland'' is an American genre-specific film magazine, started in 1958 by publisher James Warren and editor Forrest J Ackerman. ''Famous Monsters of Filmland'' directly inspired the creation of many other similar publicat ...

''. Editor

Terry Bisson Terry is a unisex given name, derived from French Thierry and Theodoric. It can also be used as a diminutive nickname for the names Teresa or Theresa (feminine) or Terence or Terrier (masculine). People Male * Terry Albritton (1955–2005), Am ...

recalled:

History

''Cracked''

''Cracked'''s first editor was

Sol Brodsky Soloman Brodsky (April 22, 1923 – June 4, 1984) was an American comic book artist who, as Marvel Comics' Silver Age production manager, was one of the key architects of the small company's expansion to a major pop culture conglomerate. He la ...

. Over the years, Bill Ward and

John Severin John Powers Severin (; December 26, 1921 – February 12, 2012) was an American comics artist noted for his distinctive work with EC Comics, primarily on the war comics '' Two-Fisted Tales'' and '' Frontline Combat''; for Marvel Comics, ...

were regular contributors to most of the company's publications. The production manager throughout the 1960s was Charles Foster. In addition to the flagship title, Major put out a number of publications under the ''Cracked'' umbrella, including ''Cracked Collector's Edition'', ''Giant Cracked'', and ''Super Cracked''. Many ''Cracked'' contributors worked on these titles.

''Web of Horror''

The most notable of Major's black-and-white horror magazines was ''Web of Horror,'' edited by Bisson, which published three issues from 1969 to 1970.

Bruce Jones Bruce Jones may refer to: * Bruce Jones (actor) (born 1953), British actor *Bruce Jones (American football) (1904–1974), American football player *Bruce Jones (comics) (born 1944), American comic book writer *Bruce Jones (surfboards) (?–2014), ...

made his professional debut in ''Web of Horror'' #3, writing and drawing the six-page story "Point of View."

Wayne Howard Wayne Wright Howard (March 29, 1949 – December 9, 2007) was an African-American comic book artist. He is best known for his 1970s work at Charlton Comics, where he became American comic books' first series creator known to be credited on cov ...

contributed to issue #1.

Syd Shores Sydney Shores (1916 – June 3, 1973) was an American comic book artist known for his work on Captain America both during the 1940s, in what fans and historians call the Golden Age of comic books, and during the 1960s Silver Age of comic books. Bi ...

penciled "Blood Thirst!" in #1 and "Strangers!" in #3.

Ralph Reese Ralph Reese (born May 19, 1949) is an American artist who has illustrated for books, magazines, trading cards, comic books and comic strips, including a year drawing the ''Flash Gordon'' strip for King Features. Prolific from the 1960s to the 1 ...

was a regular contributor to ''Web of Horror''. Other contributors included

Bernie Wrightson Bernard Albert Wrightson (October 27, 1948 – March 18, 2017), sometimes credited as Bernie Wrightson, was an American artist, known for co-creating the Swamp Thing, his adaptation of the novel ''Frankenstein'' illustration work, and for his o ...

Michael Kaluta Michael William Kaluta, sometimes credited as Mike Kaluta or Michael Wm. Kaluta (born August 25, 1947), is an American comics artist and writer best known for his acclaimed 1970s adaptation of the pulp magazine hero ''The Shadow'' with writer De ...

, and Jeff Jones. Bisson left after issue #3, leaving the editorial chores to Wrightson and Bruce Jones. As Wrightson recalls,

Sale to Globe Communications

In 1985, founder Sproul sold the company's assets to Globe Communications, which moved the operations to Florida and continued to published ''Cracked'' and some of its affiliated magazines under the Major Magazines name. Globe sold the assets to American Media in 1994.

Titles published

* ''Cracked'' titles: ** ''Cracked'' (212 issues, Feb./Mar. 1958–July 1985) — sold to Globe Communications ** ''Biggest Greatest Cracked'' (21 issues, 1965–Fall 1986) ** ''Cracked Collector's Edition'' (58 issues, 1973–February 1985) ** ''Cracked Digest'' (5 issues, Oct. 1986–Oct. 1987) ** ''Cracked Goes to the Movies'' (1 issue, 1971) ** ''Cracked Shut-Ups'' 2 issues, 1971) ** ''Extra Special Cracked'' (9 issues, 1976–Winter 1986) ** ''Giant Cracked'' (48 issues, 1965–Winter 1989) ** ''King-Sized Cracked'' (20 issues, 1967–Summer 1986) ** ''Super Cracked'' (32 issues, 1968–Fall 1986) * ''Monster Howls'' (1 issue, 1966) — Humor-Vision imprint * ''Monsters Attack'' (5 issues, 1989–1990) — Globe Communications imprint * ''Pow Magazine'' (3 issues, 1966–1967) — Humor-Vision imprint * ''Web of Horror'' (3 issues, Dec. 1969–Apr. 1970)

References

Notes

Sources consulted

* * {{refend Defunct comics and manga publishing companies Magazine publishing companies of the United States Publishing companies established in 1958 1958 establishments in New York (state) 1994 disestablishments in Florida