National Lampoon Magazine #33

"Chess Piece" is a delightfully absurd and visually inventive short story from National Lampoon Magazine #33, a 75-cent comic from 1972 that pulses with the era’s irreverent humor. Written and illustrated entirely by Arnold Roth—handling every aspect from pencils to color—this surreal tale follows a rampaging gorilla who menaces Santa with a sack of bricks, only to be momentarily calmed by a saxophonist’s music. The cover, by Rick Meyerowitz, captures the madness with sharp, satirical flair, perfectly setting the tone for a story that’s as much about visual wit as it is about chaos.