Founded in Detroit’s Cass Corridor in 1969, Creem quickly became one of the top rock ’n’ roll magazines in the country thanks to its on-the-ground coverage of youth culture — and also its irreverent, no-holds-barred voice.
Looking back, however, much of that stuff could be, as the kids say these days, “cringe” — such as jokes that were misogynistic or homophobic. But the magazine, which relaunched last year and published its first issue in more than three decades, has updated its formula for our modern era — and is poking fun of itself along the way.
For the third issue of its new run, out March 15, the magazine enlisted a Los Angeles-based designer who decided to spank Creem for its past sins with a BDSM-themed cover.
The image depicts a man with a tattoo of the magazine’s mascot Boy Howdy! being walked on a dog leash by a dominatrix. It includes the caption “Uh oh! We’ve been NAUGHTY ... & we need to be PUNISHED.”
According to Creem:
The art of LA-based designer and musician Iphigenia (aka Foie Graphics, aka Foie Gras) drips with nihilism, subversion, and loads of dark humor.
So, when CREEM asked her to illustrate our Spring 2023 cover, she naturally took aim at portions of our “yikes did we really say that shit?!?” seventies-era. So, here’s to (consensual) domination, humiliation, and owning your history. By the way, do we get to keep the dog collar?
Our Spring 2023 issue arrives on March 15. Be on your best behavior.
The new Creem is helmed by former Vice magazine publisher John Martin as CEO, alongside JJ Kramer, son of original Creem co-founder and publisher Barry Kramer, as chairman. When Metro Times spoke to Kramer last year about the relaunch, he told us that Creem was turning over a new leaf, though it would present its archival issues as-is.
“There were very clearly things that were written in Creem in the ’70s that weren’t OK then, and it’s certainly not OK now,” he said. “We had some discussions internally about how we wanted to present the archives. Certain brands take different perspectives on their past. Some brands scrub that kind of stuff, but we made a determination that we’re presenting it, warts and all, because I think that’s important.”
He added, “I’m confident that we have a team in place that’s able to still strike a level of irreverence and fun and snarkiness.”
On its latest run, the magazine has tapped illustrators to design its covers, harking back to the suggestive R. Crumb-designed “Mr. Dream Whip” cartoon featured on its No. 2 issue cover in 1969. The new Creem’s first cover featured artwork by Raymond Pettibon (known for his illustration on the cover of Sonic Youth’s Goo LP) and its second cover featured Jeremy Dean, known for his zine-inspired style and for mashing up iconography from bands like Black Flag and the Grateful Dead.
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