I got a notice in the mail yesterday that, after 25 years, Men Magazine is ceasing publication. I have had a subscription for the past 10 years, and am quite saddened by its passing. According to the publishers, Men and Freshmen magazines are merging into Unzipped, so they won't completely disappear--but that's like saying Vogue and Vanity Fair were merging into Lucky. I always thought Unzipped was the weakest magazine in that trio, but I guess it's the most profitable.
For years Men was the only reliable outlet for hairy, beefy guys in classy spreads with good photographers--a real magazine and not just a venue for sex workers to place ads. The other gay mags of the time like (also defunct) Torso, Honcho etc. had nice covers but were largely filled with twinky nobodies who were probably convinced to pose only with a steady supply of blow.
I did feel that lately Men was losing its vision a bit--maybe its been in its death throes for a while.
Hopefully the internet can soften the blow.
Here are a smattering of my favorite covers:
shame this folded but given the way print media is going not entirely surprising!
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