Item #4272 Coolest Retard, No. 11, December 1980. ed Craig Schmidt.
Coolest Retard, No. 11, December 1980

Coolest Retard, No. 11, December 1980

Chicago: Self-published, 1980. Side-stapled in wraps. Item #4272

4to (8 ½ x 11 in.) Offset. 20 pp. Noticeable shelf wear to outer wrappers, internal pages clean and unmarked. Very good condition.

One of Chicago’s earliest punk and new wave fanzines, The Coolest Retard ran for 23 issues between 1979 and 1983. Issues featured stories, interviews, columns, record reviews, and live show reviews, with an emphasis on bands and artists from the Chicago area. Packing issues with features on some of the popular bands emerging from the era, The Coolest Retard provides a vivid portrayal of Chicago’s early punk. Its cut-and-paste collage style makes it definitive of the punk zine aesthetic that has lasted to this very day.

Contains interviews with The Slits and XTC. Also contains artist profiles on Bauhaus, DA!, and Tenpole Tudor.

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