About the Humor Times

Information about the Humor Times and subscribing, including a preview of the magazine

The Humor Times monthly magazine is the perfect cure for an unfunny world. Indulge yourself with laughter – widely known as the best medicine for anything that’s getting you down! In fact, SUBSCRIPTIONS are so cheap, it’s almost a joke in itself! (They start at just $24.95/year (12 issues) for the printed publication, mailed right to your mailbox; or just $9.95/year for the downloadable digital version. OR, get $2 OFF by subscribing online! You may also order a 3-issue Trial Subscription with a Special Discount here!)

(If you are a CURRENT SUBSCRIBER, you may login to your account here.)

Read on to learn more about the Humor Times, scroll down for our history, or see our FAQs page…

Humor Times, how to subscribe, current issue cover
The Humor Times magazine’s current issue cover — click to see covers gallery.

We feature the best political cartoons by the world’s finest editorial cartoonists, who give their  hilariously irreverent take on what’s happening on the world stage.

We bring you many different types of cartoons by other great artists as well, such as Dan Piraro‘s Bizarro, Mike Baldwin‘s Cornered, Ruben Bolling’s Tom the Dancing Bug (a full-page strip that approaches politics from many creative angles), and much more.

And we publish the best in humor columns, such as Will Durst’s hilarious political observations, Jim Hightower’s Hightower Lowdown and Argus Hamilton‘s take on the daily news. We feature some fine up and coming humor columnists like Roz Warren as well. We also feature an uproarious Faux News section! (If you like the Daily Show or The Onion newspaper, you’ll love our fake news!)

You can’t miss with this great way to lighten up your world! There’s nothing like having such a unique, entertaining publication in your hands to share with friends! (Also available as a downloadable online edition – at half the price!)

The Humor Times makes a wonderful gift – one that keeps your friends and relatives laughing all year long!!!

Click here to order a FREE sample copy of the Humor Times ($1 shipping & handling charge in the U.S., $3 anywhere else in the world) or here for information on how to SUBSCRIBE!

See this link for locations where you can buy single copies of the Humor Times.

Read a recent back issue in “Flip Page” format here.

If you’re interested in advertising opportunities in our print publication, on this site, or in our e-newsletter, fill out our form here: Advertising Information.

History of the Humor Times

The Humor Times began as the Comic Press News – which was distributed free, depending on local advertising in the Sacramento, California area – where it all began with the premiere issue in April, 1991.

James Israel launched the Comic Press News in 1991, with the first issue coming out, appropriately enough, on April Fools Day. However, the joke was not the paper itself, but the real-life politics that the publication lampoons, using the great work of talented political cartoonists from around the country. Mr. Israel had just left another small publication, and was inspired by the Santa Cruz Comic News, another editorial cartoon paper out of Santa Cruz, California, to start this one.

Humor Times, first issue
The cover of the first issue of the publication, then called the “Comic Press News.”

Sacramento was chosen as the base location, since it is the state capitol and a political town. The first issue, hitting the streets right on the heels of the first Gulf War, contained a “short history” of the war, using editorial cartoons, of course. It made a big splash, and was an immediate success with political satire lovers in Sacramento. Becoming a financial success was another matter, as competition among the many small local publications was fierce.

It became obvious after a few years that the readership was much stronger than the advertising support. This may have to do with the political content, as many businesses shy away from anything remotely “controversial.” This situation, along with the “great recession” of 2008, caused the switch to a subscription-based publication, rather than free distribution. This format also has the added benefit of making the paper available anywhere in the world.

The switch also inspired a change to the present title, the Humor Times.

Thank you for checking out our website!

We love our growing community of authors, contributors and readers, and hope that you’ll be back soon.

If you like what we’re doing here, please do one or more of the following:

Thank you so much, and see you next time!

 

Here’s a question we get asked often: Why is the Humor Times/Comic Press News no longer distributed free in Sacramento, California?

Answer: It came down to either switching to a subscription-based publication, or go out of business. We would have liked to remain an advertising-based free publication in Sacramento. But we started losing a lot of money due to declining ad revenues, as the economy began to slow. The small businesses we relied on started cutting their ad budgets sharply.

However, we are happy to report that the new version has much more great content, including some fun NEW additions, and an expanded page count. We believe you are getting a lot for the low subscription rates we ask. We hope you agree, and join in our ever-expanding readership from all over the world. With the Humor Times, you don’t have to cry about the news, you can laugh about it!

Questions? Suggestions? Please contact us.

See our Privacy Policy, Refund Policy or Terms of Service.

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