Periodical cover date refers to the date displayed on the covers of magazines. However, this is not necessarily the true date of publication. A collection of magazines A magazine is a periodical publication containing a variety of articles, generally financed by advertising and/or purchase by readers. ...

In the USA the standard practice is to display on magazine covers a date which is some weeks or months in the future from the actual publishing/release date. The reason for this apparent discrepancy is to inform newsstands when an unsold magazine can be removed from the stands and returned to the publisher or be destroyed. Weeklies (such as Time (magazine) and Newsweek) are generally dated a week ahead. Monthlies (such as National Geographic Magazine) are generally dated a month ahead, and quarterlies are generally dated three months ahead. A publisher is a person or entity which engages in the act of publishing. ... (Clockwise from upper left) Notable Time magazine covers from the dates May 7, 1945; July 25, 1969; December 31, 1999; September 14, 2001; and April 21, 2003. ... The Newsweek logo Newsweek is a weekly news magazine published in New York City and distributed throughout the United States and internationally. ... The National Geographic Society was founded in the USA on January 27, 1888, by 33 men interested in organizing a society for the increase and diffusion of geographical knowledge. ...

In the UK, the cover date usually matches more closely the date of publication, and may indeed be identical where weekly magazines are concerned.

In both markets, it is rare for monthly magazines to indicate a particular day of the month: thus issues are dated May 2005, and so on, whereas weekly magazines may be dated 17 May 2005.

Comic books

The general practice of most mainstream comic book companies since the creation of the comic book in the 1930s was to date individual issues putting the name of a month (and much later the year as well) on the cover which was generally two months after the actual release date. For example, a 1951 issue of Superman which had the cover date of July would have been published two months earlier from that date in the month of May, generally speaking. In 1973 the discrepancy between the cover date and the publishing date went from two months to three months. In 1989 the cover date and publishing date discrepancy was changed back to two months, though generally each comic book company now uses its own system. A comic book is a magazine or book containing the art form of comics. ... // Events and trends A public speech by Benito Mussolini, founder of the Fascist movement The 1930s were described as an abrupt shift to more radical lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the global depression. ... 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... Superman, aka the Man of Steel, is a fictional character and superhero who first appeared in Action Comics #1 in 1938, and has for several decades been one of the most popular and well-known comic book icons. ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... -1...