By the ninth issue of SCREW, Goldstein and his unholy gang had found their groove. April 18th, 1969 — the world was still reeling from war, Woodstock was a few months off, and the sexual revolution was already picking up its panties and leaving the party. Enter: SCREW, drunk, loud, and carrying a rolled-up centerfold in its back pocket.
Goldstein opens with “Pussy Whipped,” a blistering confessional that punches through toxic masculinity by way of his own insecurities. It’s half sex column, half self-immolation. Then he doubles down with “Abolafia Throws His Pants into the Ring,” where nudist presidential candidate Louis Abolafia drops trou and throws shade — making it the only campaign in history where everyone’s junk was on the table.
“Sex Addict” by Richard Field holds nothing back, dragging sexual compulsion into the light — sweaty, shaking, and smelling like Aqua Velva. Great Ray’s “SCREW Goes to Market: In Search for Snatch” reads like Fear and Loathing in Times Square, except it’s real, and he’s not scared. He’s horny.
Goldstein comes back swinging with “Bare Tits and Bald Heads,” a treatise on feminine rebellion wrapped in tits and grit. Sharon Nicoly chimes in with “Fuckbooks: Medieval Smut”, taking us back to a time when monks made dirty doodles between scripture. Turns out the original sin came with illustrations.
Aristotle Agnew’s “Fuck the Revolution” is exactly what it sounds like — a big middle finger to phony radicals and their limp dicks. Meanwhile, Lige and Jack deliver “Homosexual Citizen: The Twilight Zone”, a raw and fearless look at life in the closet at a time when “coming out” meant jail, or worse. It’s not pretty, but it’s real — and SCREW never flinched.
The cherry on top? Comics from Bill Graham and Bill Griffith — the underground comix legends adding ink to the smut. Filthy. Funny. Fierce.
—P.
