In celebration of Gay Pride Month and in honor of this important anniversary, Mediaite contributor Robert Newman arranged a series of magazine covers – each “featuring an artist, personality, historical event, or publication of significance in gay history” – and released one per day throughout the month of June on his Newmanology facebook page. Here are some of the highlights from the collection:

The Furies, August 1972. “Lesbian/Feminist Monthly”

This cover from The Furies is today’s entry into the gallery. It only had nine issues, but the magazine was an important part of the lesbian feminist population growing in the early 1970s. In the first issue, the authors wrote that “lesbianism is not a matter of sexual preference, but rather one of political choice which every woman must make if she is to become woman-identified and thereby end male supremacy.”

Time, April 14, 1997. Ellen DeGeneres says, “Yep, I’m Gay.”

Probably the most widely recognized of all the self-outing magazine covers, Ellen‘s appearance on the cover of Time to announce she’s gay opened the door for numerous celebrities to follow in her footsteps. Newmanology put together a side gallery specifically dedicated to the “Yep, I’m Gay”-style cover, featuring celebrities from Lance Bass to Albus Dumbledore.

Interview, December 1972. Andy Warhol and model Naomi Simms.

Andy Warhol, one of the first openly gay American artists, started Interview in 1969, and the entertainment magazine has continued from its inception to feature gay and lesbian-themed content.

After Dark, February 1977. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

After Dark was not designated as a gay publication, but according to Newmanology, this 70s-era entertainment magazine “covered stories of interest to the gay community, carried ads for gay movies, bathhouses, clubs, books, etc., and had a liberal amount of beefcake and male nudity.” Behind this cover, muscleman-turned-actor-turned-governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was featured in a 22-page photo spread, complete with frontal nudity.

Blueboy, June 1977. “The National Magazine About Men.”

Speaking of beefcake, this cover of Blueboy shows how softcore pornographic magazines for gay men developed a mainstream following in the 70s, much like straight counterpart Playboy. And, like Playboy, the magazine included content other than just nudie pics, like essays and interviews. As evidenced by her song “She Bop,” Cyndi Lauper was a devoted fan.

The Advocate, March 5, 1996. Barbara Jordan.

Barbara Jordan, the first African American woman from the South to join Congress who was known for her passionate speeches, never came out publicly. It was only after her death in 1996 that her lesbianism and companionship with another woman, with whom she shared a home, was revealed in this issue of The Advocate.

Christopher Street, January 1978. “Interview with Gore Vidal.”

Newmanology writes that Christopher Street, which ran from 1976 until 1995, “was one the most important national gay publications in its early days, filled with discussions of issues of importance to the gay community, as well as fiction, essays, reviews, and art and photography.” It was also the first gay publication with high-level graphics and design.

One, August 1953. “Homosexual Marriage?”

Remembering the time before the 1969 Stonewall Riots (when gay and lesbian publications were hidden, low-budget journals) Newmanology also has a gallery of magazine covers dating back to the 1950s. Publications like One were the victims of harsh censorship, and their editors and contributors were forced to adopt pen names to avoid being harassed or slapped with criminal charges. This issue of One, which included an article on gay marriage, was seized by the Los Angeles post office for three weeks.

Stories about gay rights might be popping up all over the media these days, but Newmanology’s tribute to Gay Pride Month is a welcome reminder that gays and lesbians have maintained their presence in the media for decades, often forging new journalistic paths in the face of adversity. And that’s something to be proud of.

This is just but a brief sampling – there are many more on the original collection, which you can check out here: Newmanology on Facebook

“When Andy Warhol founded Interview four decades ago, he did so with an ethos that  embraced the new,” the magazine said in an announcement. “As with his art, Warhol re-wrote the rulebook with Interview, creating an innovative, intelligent, sophisticated, cutting-edge magazine that was culturally impactful, pushed the boundaries of the medium, and reinvented what a magazine could be. So it’s entirely fitting that Interview is once again at the forefront of reinventing the magazine experience for Apple’s iPad, combining the benefits of the digital age with the familiar advantages of Guttenberg’s printing press to deliver a groundbreaking, knock-out reader experience. One could call Interview magazine on the iPad ‘an affordable Warhol screenprint.’”

The preview has a few noises that I hope will be disabled on the real app, but overall, it looks like a success. The application beautifully integrates text, video, audio and images, provides easy browsing and zoom, rating and sharing capabilities. But perhaps best of all, the iPad lets Interview’s remarkable photography shine. Generally speaking, fashion and photo spreads in online magazines are about as impressive as finger paintings–not at the fault of the photographer but simply the current state of the medium. However, if Interview’s preview is any indication of what’s to come, then the iPad may restore digital magazines to a level that Warhol would be proud of.

By the time the iPad drops (yeah, I went there), the 40th anniversary issue, featuring Kristen Stewart, the December/January 2010 (Penelope Cruz), February 2010 (Jay-Z) and March 2010 (fashion) will be ready for your viewing pleasure. You can watch the full preview video here.

Once upon a time the December newsstand was filled with angels, Christmas trees and Santas of all shapes and sizes. And this wasn’t just Christian iconography; these were covers that were funny, creative, surprising, provocative, that made political statements, and most of all, that engaged their readers in a visual dialogue. Now, with the notable exception of the New Yorker, the only attempt at Christmas creativity comes on the occasional women’s service magazine, with sad little plates of cookies or fruitcakes. We’re going to get all George Lois here and say that what was once an opportunity for brilliant magazine-making has now become just another set of bland, focus-grouped, by-the-numbers covers, put together by folks who are scared stiff of offending or provoking anyone.

Esquire, Fortune, Playboy, Vanity Fair, New York: it’s time to put the X back into those December covers! End the War on Christmas Magazine Covers. Who knows, magazines might even increase those newsstand sell-through numbers that are all doing so terribly if they just get back into the holiday spirit.

We’ve collected the Top 20 Christmas Magazine Covers of All Time. In the interests of non-sectarianism, we avoided covers that were mere reproductions of classic Christmas religious art. We stuck with Santa Claus, Christmas trees and gifts, and we found a lot of great ones. Who could deny that our world would be a much better place with a return to this fun and soulful style of magazine covers?

Esquire, 1963: The classic George Lois-designed December 1963 Esquire cover, featuring world heavyweight champion Sonny Liston.

GQ, 1974: GQ, back in 1974, when it was known as Gentlemen’s Quarterly, featuring Barbara Streisand.

The New Yorker, 2005: We’ve got to give many props to The New Yorker, for maintaining a high quality of holiday covers. This one, by illustrator Anita Kunz in 2005 captured the middle-of-the-Iraq War malaise perfectly.

Jet, 1968: Jet magazine has a long history of putting celebrities in Santa outfits on their covers. Bill Cosby, Marvin Gaye, Sherman Hemsley (twice!) have all graced the cover, but none was better than the Godfather of Soul, James Brown, celebrating Black Christmas in the Ghetto in 1968.

Baltimore City Paper, 1999: Back in 1999, Shepard Fairey was still a scrappy street artist and poster-maker. He did this cover for alternative weekly newspaper Baltimore City Paper, who ran it just like this, without headlines or even a cover logo.

National Lampoon, 1970: This December 1970 cover of the National Lampoon is a classic, with fighter planes from an unidentified Asian Communist country (North Vietnam? North Korea?) shooting down poor Santa as they yell “Eat death, bloated lackey of the capitalist toy mongers!”

Fortune, 1938: For many years after its launch in 1930, Fortune ran beautiful, elegant, illustrated holiday covers. We could have filled a whole list of 20 with their brilliant selections, but this one, from 1938, by Antonio Petrucelli, struck us as singularly memorable.

>>>NEXT: Andy Warhol gets his 15 minutes, and more.

]]> http://www.mediaite.com/online/the-war-on-christmas-magazine-covers/feed/ 3 http://www.mediaite.com/print/cover-wars-the-all-time-greatest-cover-in-the-twilight-saga-so-far/ http://www.mediaite.com/print/cover-wars-the-all-time-greatest-cover-in-the-twilight-saga-so-far/#comments Sat, 21 Nov 2009 14:33:45 +0000 Joe Coscarelli http://www.mediaite.com/?p=35094 New Moon, it's safe to say a new publicity blitz is upon us. In this edition of Cover Wars, we remember the classics from the Twilight franchise, knowing full well that many more are now in print. We call it The Greatest Twilight Cover So Far.]]> With this weekend’s release of New Moon — and Bella, Jacob and Edward again invading the magazine racks — we invite you to look back on the Twilight magazine covers of months past. Now, the field is much more crowded. Feel free to recommend your new favorite Twilight covers in the comments.

You won’t believe this: it has only been one year since the live action stars of teen vampire sensation Twilight infiltrated popular culture. And part of the reason they seem like such fixtures of celebrity already — apart from their impossible good looks, effortless cool and high-powered marketing machine — is their presence in print and command of their image. Flattering pictures may not be hard to come by when you’re young and playing magical characters, but from this charming Vanity Fair spread to the endless tabloid fabrications, the kids always come out looking all right.

With this weekend’s release of the latest entry in “The Twilight Saga:” New Moon, it’s safe to say a new publicity blitz is upon us. Until now, stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson have been the face of the group, but upcoming covers have been confirmed including new heartthrob Taylor Lautner (who plays Jacob) on Rolling Stone and a cast photo for Entertainment Weekly, but as you’ll see below, newsstands are already bleeding Twilight blood. Does the cast work best as an ensemble or do they have the star power to go out solo? In this edition of Cover Wars, we remember the classic covers from the Twilight franchise, knowing full well that many more are now in print. We’ll call it The Greatest Twilight Cover So Far. Here are the contenders:

Their debut cover, a July 2008 issue of Entertainment Weekly, was initially met with derision by the Twilight faithful, weary of seeing their favorite book series come to life. “That’s Edward?” they thought. But it might have been the final note of dissent — that, or the haters were drowned out by the screaming droves who quickly fell in love. The photo is cheesy, to be sure, but something about it made certain that it was the first of many.

Mediaite Grade (B-): The pale skin is too white. His sandy blonde hair seems off. An apple insinuates an incorrect fairy tale. The pair looks uncomfortable together, not drawn together by irresistible passion. And yet… maybe only in retrospect, but the B-movie feel of the cover is an apt introduction to the campy film, all glittery torsos and vampire baseball. And for Kirsten and Rob, it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship…

Are they the hip young versions of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie? Probably — at least in the sense that their tabloid covers seem endless. Every time you step into the checkout line at a grocery store Stewart’s big bored eyes and Pattison’s glare are staring back at you, and in that sense, this OK! cover represents a much larger canon of tabloid Twilight. They’re as interchangeable as they are ubiquitous.

Mediaite Grade (C-): If you’re a fan of the celebrity romance, this is an easy one to buy into. It’s vague enough to be mysterious and picturesque enough to make for enjoyable covers. But that doesn’t mean it’s not dishonest. For instance, this issue of OK! uses a staged award show still with the headline “Yes! They’re in love.” And that’s to say nothing of “Obsessed With Each Other” or “Twilight Fight!” or… “Engaged!” Yikes.

>>>NEXT: Kristen and Rob Go Solo!