Jim Hodgson, founder and editor in chief of the Atlanta Banana, wanted to give Atlanta its own Onion, a comedy newspaperesque website to send up the city’s foibles. “I’m just a really silly person with the sense of humor of a twelve-year-old,” he admits. Launched in December 2011, it’s become the warped mirror that you can’t help but peruse when ATL drama turns from precious to precarious. Whether the site is lambasting overly aggressive parking enforcement (“PARKAtlanta Introduces PrePark Thought Crime Division”) or mocking local neighborhoods (“Virginia-Highland Area Torn by Brutal Coffee Shop Feud”), it can speak more truth than the Creative Loafing and AJC headlines that inspire its posts.
A native of Alabama, Hodgson moved to Atlanta to work with a start-up that went out of business. Hodgson stayed and got into comedy blogging, writing for such outposts as the Leaky Wiki and Zug. The Morningside resident eventually turned his satire on local targets like 420 Fest, Ted Turner, and Atlanta tourist destinations. While posts may get a tad random—ahem, “Carpet Begrudgingly Soaks up Dog Urine”—the Banana’s steady focus on Atlanta keeps us clicking. atlbanana.com
Some of Our Favorite Headlines
- “City Considers Transformation of Buckhead into Giant Abandoned Hole a Success”
- “Walmart to Construct BeltLine of Walmarts”
- “Jesus Returns, Tells Chick-fil-A to Open on Sundays Already”
- “Clint Eastwood Mobbed by Frisky Septuagenarians at Johnny’s Hideaway”
- “Fundamentalist Tourists Attend ‘Services’ at Sister Louisa’s”
Photograph by flickr user Public Domain Photos (Emilian Robert Vicol) via Getty Images
