TheInvader A Satirical News Journal Since 1995 |
About the Invader By Jeff Doolittle |
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The Story of The Invader
Print Edition, Early Years (1995-1997)
The Invader has undergone many interesting changes over the past nine years. Begun as a weekend hobby in the spring of 1995 while I was in 10th grade, The Invader drew early inspiration from supermarket tabloids such as the Weekly World News and The Sun, as well as the infamous media frenzy surrounding the OJ Simpson “Trial of the Century.” The first issue covered all the stereotypical material found in standard tabloid publications: religious miracles, killer animals, Elvis, conspiracy theories and psychic advertisements. I made fourteen copies of the first issue on my home copy machine, and much to my amazement, people seemed to enjoy the little cut and paste magazine. I made four more in the next five weeks until the school year was over.
The first year issues were purely sensational. There was little substance, and most of each issue revolved around the effectiveness of the pictures. Articles were little more than captions in most cases. But it was fun, and people began getting involved. At this point, Tim Hull, Chris Schadt, Matt Schadt, James Silva, Jesse Silver and Travis Heynen began sporadic contributors to the magazine. Over the years, Tim, Chris and Matt have had the most outside impact on the creative directions that the Invader has taken.
Through my last two years of high school, I published an average of about five Invaders per year. The publication steadily changed to include more substantial articles with a satirical perspective on school, local, national and international events. The Invader also backed a couple of bizarre schemes during these early years. In the 1996 Presidential Elections, the magazine drafted an imaginary alien leader named General Breebox to run for office on the Invader Party ticket. Posters and buttons were made to push his campaign, although very little public interest was generated. The Invader also became the voice of the Alternative Student Parliament, which I founded with Matt Schadt, Jesse Silver and Tim Hull to vie with the official Student Senate for control of the school. The Invader also greatly increased in visibility both among students and faculty. By the release of the Graduation 1997 issue (Terror in Edenville), circulation was up to around 200.
Print Edition, Later Years (1999-2002)
Immediately after high school, I declared that the Invader was dead. I had grown bored with the format, and each print edition demanded a great deal of work to put together. Besides a handful of articles from my friends, I wrote, designed and published every single issue up to that point almost completely by myself. Of course I had a great deal of fun, but I had to give it up for a while as I started college.
However, a mere two years later, I decided to resurrect my old publication. I was in a creative writing course, and I needed a large project idea. I settled on a new issue and for a complete semester, I worked on revamping the Invader, focusing on enhancing the satirical elements, improving picture quality and generally improving the layout. The result was one of the better Invader issues I have ever made, and it re-ignited an interest to create more. I printed close to 300 copies which I distributed at college and at my family’s delicatessen in Warwick, NY.
I printed a new issue at the very slow rate of about one per year. Each issue became more and more difficult to bring together, as I tried to maintain a very high standard in writing, picture quality and layout. However, the four issues printed between 1999-2002 were the finest, and the ones I am most proud of. Chris Schadt and Matt Schadt helped immensely with writing articles during this period and also lent tremendous aid in regards to properly laying out each issue. Tim Hull also became intimately involved during this period, supplying articles, creative advice and a new vision for the publication.
Building upon the success of Invader Party candidate General Breebox in the 1996 race, I decided to nominate a candidate for the 2000 election to square off against Democrat Al Gore and Republican George Bush. My search led me to Gary Dawson, later re-christened as Theodore Garrett Dawson, a resident of Edenville and patron of the Edenville Country Store. He agreed to serve as the Invader Party nominee, and also agreed to deliver speeches at a nominating convention. The Invader quickly organized the first Invader Party National Convention, held on the grounds of the Edenville Store, on August 30. The event was attended by about 30 people and featured keynote speeches by Matt Schadt, Chris Schadt, myself, and T.G. Dawson. It was an astounding success, although other plans for speeches and events never came to fruition.
ODFI Acquisition (2002)
The final print edition of the Invader (2002, Congress Calls it Quits), was published under the auspices of the Occidental Development Foundation International. ODFI was founded by Tim Hull and I earlier in the year as an international holding company designed to serve as an incubator for a handful of creative ideas that we shared. The Invader was one of several projects started by myself (others were the Edenville Council for the Humanities and the East Coast Protest Supply Company) that were to be included as subsidiary entities of ODFI. Under ODFI direction, The Invader print edition reached its highest circulation ever, distributing close to 400 copies.
The Invader Online (2003)
In the summer of 2003, ODFI President and Chairman Timothy Marvel Hull approached me at a Board Meeting, and discussed the possibility of an Invader website. The Invader had not been printed in a year, so I had been planning on putting out a new one soon after, but had neither the time nor money to print out a new issue. His idea was intriguing, and he offered to go into it with me, taking on half of the work to make the website a reality. I agreed, and we quickly set to work on constructing the site. Now he and I share all tasks to bring the Invader to a global audience, including writing, publishing, advertising, planning and promoting. With the Internet, the possibilities for expansion are limitless, and I truly feel that this is the best medium for the transmission of Invader-style humor. I hope to be able to print future issues out in paper form at some point, but this is no longer necessary to the success of the newspaper.
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What Some People are Saying About the Invader
“This is what I had in mind when I destroyed Europe.” Attila the Hun
“It’s like The Economist meets The Weekly World News. I can’t get enough.” The Venerable Bede
“I declare this the official alternative media source for the nation of Suriname.” Dr. Ralph Sorbitol, UN High Commissioner on Free Speech
“The Invader Online is the finest oasis of information this side of the Ganges.” Hugo Chavez, Venezuelan President
“If The Invader was only 2,800 years older, it would have found its way into the Iliad.” Homer, Blind Poet(s)
“You just can’t eat this stuff.” Brenda Minivan, Soccer Mom
“What I like to do is print out all the pages, then line the bottom of my birdcage with them. You can’t ask for a better website to do that with.” Dr. Spear Aggressively, Proctologist
“This will show terrorists that we mean business.” Dick Cheney, Vice President of USA
“Some of the things on that Invader website are just reprehensible. I wouldn’t want my kids to see that trash.” Marilyn Manson, Performer
“I didn’t just get this Rolls-Royce for nothing, you know.” Enrique Iglesias, Singer
“I find the Invader’s style of satire refreshing. It’s not like the rest of Pine Island’s black dirt produce.” John McCain, Senator
“My music is like saying, ‘hey look at me, I’m not a little girl anymore.’ I think people have to learn to respect that.” Britney Spears, Pop Star
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© 2004 The Invader Online A division of Occidental Development Foundation International |