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Various news outlets including The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline are reporting that the National Lampoon ‘Vacation’ movie series is being adapted into a television series for the HBO Max streaming platform. While this doesn’t immediately sound like comic or speculation related news – it very much is.

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It was only last year that we wrote a post about the National Lampoon Magazine and the key issues in our Magazine Speculation series. (What ever happened to those? ). After the success of Animal House the National Lampoon magazine developed strong relationships with various Hollywood studios and it was in 1979 that Warner Brothers and the National Lampoon decided to adapt the John Hughes short story “Vacation ’58” into a full length feature film. John Hughes who was a print writer for the National Lampoon magazine at the time went on to write the film’s screen play which was later titled National Lampoon’s Vacation. After his success with this film Hughes went on to write and direct classic films like Pretty in Pink and The Breakfast Club.

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The short story that became the basis for this film franchise, “Vacation ’58”, was first published in the September 1970 issue of National Lampoon. This magazine features the first appearances of the entire Griswolds family and tells the entire Wally World storyline (Except its Disney Land in the original storyline). You can read the entire short story here.

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Another magazine within the Griswold storyline is the December 1980 issue of National Lampoon. This issue features the short story “Christmas ’59” by John Hughes which became the basis for the National Lampoon Christmas Vacation film.

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One last Griswold related issue that you should be looking for is the National Lampoon July 1983 issue. Unlike the previous two issues mentioned this book sells very well on the secondary market. This is the National Lampoon Vacation issue and features a Chevy Chase photo cover.

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All three of these books are very undervalued at the moment – mainly because most people don’t realize their significance. These are both magazines you should be looking for. Check out our full National Lampoon Speculation list from last year here, and let me know in the comments or on social media what you think about this new HBO series!

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