SuperMag: John Travolta!

From Alexandra, our researcher in the field, who has a strange and mystic ability to find strange, old John Travolta material--not your run-of-the-mill picture from the VHS cover of Grease, mind you, but the arcane and the goofy--comes the latest, the greatest, number-one publication of 1978: SuperMag. Yes, this slim 8 by 5 mag takes us back to a different time, when cute articles about kids who show their poodles in dog shows run next to pieces about The Incredible Hulk and "the fabulous one-horned rhinos." All for only a dollar! And in volume 2, issue 12 SuperMag proudly ran its second article about John Travolta. Take a guided tour of this 1970s period-piece, won't you?

We begin with a look at the stunning cover, John Travolta in all his Saturday Night Fever splendor, sporting an oil slick in his hair and wearing a strange, puckered expression on his face, as if he had just eaten a pickle and found the flavor bit sour.

Now we venture inside SuperMag for a look at, as SuperMag puts it, "a spectacular dance scene--1970's style" from Saturday Night Fever.

And we continue with a contrasting dance scene from Grease, which, SuperMag notes, may remind viewers of the TV show Happy Days because they're both from the fifties--"but Grease, as you know, stars John Travolta, not The Fonz."

SuperMag also takes a healthy interest in the evolution of John Travolta's "look," as evinced by the next two pictures, which the magazine presented side-by-side for optimal comparison. On the left, John Travolta gazes out at us from his Welcome Back, Kotter days, and on the right he is Disco Travolta.

In 1978, this Disco Travolta was the "new" shot SuperMag gave its audience. Certainly Saturday Night Fever-style John Travolta is cool as he hangs onto his lapels. SuperMag remarks, "Some change, isn't it?" And well they should mention this, for as the article says, "Two years ago John Travolta was a rising TV star. Everybody was talking about the young guy who played the role of Barbarino on Welcome Back, Kotter. SuperMag's editors also thought that John had a big future. His pictrure was chosen for the very first issue of the magazine." Obviously, SuperMag knew how to pick 'em.

And finally SuperMag turns to John Travolta in "a slicked-back 1950's-style haircut in his role as Danny Zuko." Doubtless everyone will agree that, as we can see, "the dry look in hair wasn't big in those days."

"But enough John Travolta!" says SuperMag, and it's on to the next page and...carnivorous plants!