Dynamite was a magazine for children founded by Jenette Kahn and published by Scholastic Inc. from 1974 until 1992. The magazine changed the fortunes of the company, becoming the most successful publication in its historyKahn, Jenette. "And Now... We Interrupt this Comic to Bring You a Word from Your New Publisher..." Our Fighting Forces #172 (Mar./Apr. 1977). and inspiring four similar periodicals for Scholastic, Bananas, Wow, Hot Dog! and Peanut Butter. Kahn edited the first three issues of Dynamite. The next 109 issues were edited by Jane Stine, wife of children's author R. L. Stine (who is famous for writing the children's horror fiction novel series Goosebumps), followed by Linda Williams Aber (aka "Magic Wanda"). The writer-editor staff was future children's book writer Ellen Weiss, future novelist-lawyer Alan Rolnick and future screenwriter-playwright Mark Saltzman. The first issue, Dynamite #1, was dated March 1974 and featured the characters Hawkeye and Radar from the television series M*A*S*H. The final issue, Dynamite #165, was dated March 1992 and featured actress Julia Roberts and Austrian actor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Description
Dynamite magazine served as an activity book each month, offering tricks, recipes, games, and contests. It also served as a monthly update on pop culture. Dynamite magazine was available through subscription, in limited quantities at newsstands, and through monthly orders circulated by school teachers using Scholastic's Arrow Book Club.
In 1984, Scholastic Inc. reduced the number of color pages and lowered the publication rate from twelve monthly issues of Dynamite per year to six (and subsequently five) issues per year. Editors developed more features about teen idols in the late 1980s and early 1990s, with cover stories on Johnny Depp, Alyssa Milano, Corey Haim, Corey Feldman, and rapper Will Smith, along with two 8 x 11 mini-posters per issue. Features from the later years included the Dynamite Activity Center, Dynamite Puzzle Pages, and spooky stories by R. L. Stine (aka Jovial Bob Stine), who would later create the Goosebumps series in the 1990s.
Features and format
Dynamites features included "Magic Wanda", a how-to guide to selected magic tricks; "Bummers", an emphasis of children's one-line woes, which would start with the words: "Don't you hate it when..."; "And Now a Word from Our Sponsor" a commercial parody in comic form; the puzzle pages of the ghoulish Count Morbida; "Hot Stuff," a section featuring gags and new items in stores; the birth and growth of a horse called Foxy Fiddler; reprinted origin stories on Marvel and DC superheroes (and later the comic superheroes the "Dynamite Duo"); and "Good Vibrations," an advice column. Dynamite covers profiled three decades in television series (from The Six Million Dollar Man to Beverly Hills, 90210), cartoons (from "Snoopy" (Peanuts) to "Garfield"), movie stars (from Bruce Lee to River Phoenix), music stars (from Kiss, John Denver, or Elvis to Paula Abdul and Rick Springfield), and other assorted themes.
In addition to items on the back covers to punch out or assemble (such as puzzles, games, postcards, mobiles, bookmarks, or masks), Dynamite also included bonus inserts, such as fold-out posters, greeting cards, calendars, or records. Often the magazine would contain additional bonus inserts such as baseball cards, stickers, or glow-in-the-dark items. Occasional 3-D posters with glasses were also popular, featuring images such as King Kong, skateboarding, and outer space.
The magazine's reader input included an invitation for readers to send in their own "Bummers". Dynamite offered a $5.00 royalty for any bummer it accepted and an incidental note that readers never have to draw the accompanying picture.
Cover stories
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="margin:auto;" |- ! style="background-color:#CCCCFF; width:050px;" | Issue ! style="background-color:#CCCCFF; width:050px;" | Volume ! style="background-color:#CCCCFF; width:050px;" | Number ! style="background-color:#CCCCFF; width:150px;" | Date ! style="background-color:#CCCCFF; width:500px;" | Cover Story ! style="background-color:#CCCCFF; width:050px;" | Notes |- | align="center" | 1
| align="center" | | Dynamite Meets M*A*S*H!
| align="center" | 2
| align="center" | | Dynamite and the Seven Waltons
| align="center" | 3
| align="center" | | A Visit to the MADhouse: A New Dynamite Reader – Ecch!
| align="center" | 4
| align="center" | | The Love Bug Returns: Herbie Tells All
| align="center" | 5
| align="center" | | Born Free: Dynamite gets thrown to the lions!
| align="center" | 6
| align="center" | | This Is Your Life, Snoopy
| align="center" | 7
| align="center" | | All About All in the Family
| align="center" | 8
| align="center" | | Inside The Six Million Dollar Man
| align="center" | 9
| align="center" | | John Denver and Dynamite: Farrrr-out
| align="center" | 10
| align="center" | | "Now that's what I call DY-NO-MITE!"
| align="center" | 11
| align="center" | | Little House on the Prairie: A Big Story!
| align="center" | 12
| align="center" | | Welcome to the Dynamite Monster Bash!
| align="center" | 13
| align="center" | | Dynamite Visits TV's Land of the Lost!
| align="center" | 14
| align="center" | | Inside Disney World! What it's really like!
| align="center" | 15
| align="center" | | The Monster Hall of Fame: Enter If You Dare!
| align="center" | 16
| align="center" | | TV '76: A Dawn Good Season!
| align="center" | 17
| align="center" | | Bruce Lee Lives!
| align="center" | 18
| align="center" | | Invisible Man: TV's Most Outtasite Character!
| align="center" | 19
| align="center" | | Attention! Attention! New Men on M*A*S*H
| align="center" | 20
| align="center" | | Cher!
| align="center" | 21
| align="center" | | J. J. In a Movie! Dyn-o-mite!
| align="center" | 22
| align="center" | | Face to Face with Fonzie!
| align="center" | 23
| align="center" | | Meet the Sweat Hogs
| align="center" | 24
| align="center" | | Let's Go to The Hop! Special Dynamite Fifties Party Issue!
| align="center" | 25
| align="center" | | Space: 1999 Takes Off!
| align="center" | 26
| align="center" | | Welcome to the San Diego Zoo
| align="center" | 27
| align="center" | | Catching Up with The Bionic Woman!
| align="center" | 28
| align="center" | | A Dynamite Double Feature! Laverne and Shirley And King Kong!
| align="center" | 29
| align="center" | | The Six Million Dollar Man vs. The Bionic Woman!
| align="center" | 30
| align="center" | | Dynamite Meets Donny and Marie!
| align="center" | 31
| align="center" | | The Bay City Rollers: An Exclusive Interview!
| align="center" | 32
| align="center" | | Fonzie and Pinky Face the Future!
| align="center" | 33
| align="center" | | A Dynamite Duo – The Captain and Tennille!
| align="center" | 34
| align="center" | | John Travolta: Barbarino and Beyond!
| align="center" | 35
| align="center" | | Charlie Brown, Superstar!
| align="center" | 36
| align="center" | | What's Happening is What's Happening!!
| align="center" | 37
| align="center" | July 1977 | Bob Hegyes Is a Real Person! | align="center" | Issue #37 and Issue #38 were both dated "July 1977". |- | align="center" | 38 | align="center" | 1 | align="center" | 1 | align="center" | July 1977 | Mark Fidrych: Big Bird of Baseball | align="center" | Effective with Issue #38, Dynamite began a secondary numbering system by labeling each issue with a "Volume" and a "Number". Since this change was not retroactive, Issue #38 was labeled "Volume 1, Number 1". |- | align="center" | 39 | align="center" | 1 | align="center" | 2 | align="center" | August 1977 | The Return of The Brady Bunch!
| align="center" | 40 | align="center" | 1 | align="center" | 3 | align="center" | September 1977 | Farrah!
| align="center" | 41 | align="center" | 1 | align="center" | 4 | align="center" | October 1977 | The Hardy Boys: A Dynamite Detective Story!
| align="center" | 42 | align="center" | 1 | align="center" | 5 | align="center" | November 1977 | Sylvester Stallone: What's next for the star of Rocky?
| align="center" | 43 | align="center" | 1 | align="center" | 6 | align="center" | December 1977 | Catching Up With Logan's Run!
| align="center" | 44 | align="center" | 1 | align="center" | 7 | align="center" | January 1978 | Star Wars And Shaun - Top Stars of the Year!
| align="center" | 45 | align="center" | 1 | align="center" | 8 | align="center" | February 1978 | Meet Kristy McNichol!
| align="center" | 46 | align="center" | 1 | align="center" | 9 | align="center" | March 1978 | Kate Jackson
| align="center" | 47 | align="center" | 1 | align="center" | 10 | align="center" | April 1978 | Happy Birthday, MAD!
| align="center" | 48 | align="center" | 1 | align="center" | 11 | align="center" | May 1978 | Shields and Yarnell: Wind 'Em Up and Laugh
| align="center" | 49 | align="center" | 1 | align="center" | 12 | align="center" | June 1978 | Cheryl Ladd
| align="center" | 50 | align="center" | 2 | align="center" | 1 | align="center" |July 1978 | The Best of Dynamite!
| align="center" | 51 | align="center" | 2 | align="center" | 2 | align="center" | August 1978 | Special Hollywood Issue!
| align="center" | 52 | align="center" | 2 | align="center" | 3 | align="center" | September 1978 | Lou Ferrigno: More than just a Hulk of muscle!
| align="center" | 53 | align="center" | 2 | align="center" | 4 | align="center" | October 1978 | The Bee Gees vs. The Beatles! Who's the Greatest?
| align="center" | 54 | align="center" | 2 | align="center" | 5 | align="center" | November 1978 | The Secrets of Battlestar Galactica!
| align="center" | 55 | align="center" | 2 | align="center" | 6 | align="center" | December 1978 | Cruising With The Love Boat Crew!
| align="center" | 56 | align="center" | 2 | align="center" | 7 | align="center" | January 1979 | Mork and Mindy: TV's Out-of-this-World Comedy!
| align="center" | 57 | align="center" | 2 | align="center" | 8 | align="center" | February 1979 | Meet the guys from CHiPs!
| align="center" | 58 | align="center" | 2 | align="center" | 9 | align="center" | March 1979 | Kristy McNichol & Leif Garrett
| align="center" | 59 | align="center" | 2 | align="center" | 10 | align="center" | April 1979 | Dynamite Discoveries of the Year! Christopher Reeve And Lynn-Holly Johnson
| align="center" | 60 | align="center" | 2 | align="center" | 11 | align="center" | May 1979 | Kermit and Miss Piggy: A Muppet love story?
| align="center" | 61 | align="center" | 2 | align="center" | 12 | align="center" | June 1979 | Robin Williams: More than Mork!
| align="center" | 62 | align="center" | 3 | align="center" | 1 | align="center" | July 1979 | All In The Family - Monster Style!
| align="center" | 63 | align="center" | 3 | align="center" | 2 | align="center" | August 1979 | Special Science Fiction Issue! First Preview of Star Wars II!
| align="center" | 64 | align="center" | 3 | align="center" | 3 | align="center" | September 1979 | Face to Face With Erik Estrada
| align="center" | 65 | align="center" | 3 | align="center" | 4 | align="center" | October 1979 | Gary Coleman: TV's Little Big Man
| align="center" | 66 | align="center" | 3 | align="center" | 5 | align="center" | November 1979 | The Dukes of Hazzard
| align="center" | 67 | align="center" | 3 | align="center" | 6 | align="center" | December 1979 | Steve Martin: A Wild and Crazy Guy!
| align="center" | 68 | align="center" | 3 | align="center" | 7 | align="center" | January 1980 | Mork and His New Pals!
| align="center" | 69 | align="center" | 3 | align="center" | 8 | align="center" | February 1980 | Buck Rogers: Then and Now!
| align="center" | 70 | align="center" | 3 | align="center" | 9 | align="center" | March 1980 | Live From New York: It's Gilda Radner!
| align="center" | 71 | align="center" | 3 | align="center" | 10