The Saga of Volume 1, Issue 2

by James Norton

Was issue 2 any better than the infamous issue 1? Yes. Barely. But, yes. Our layout improved by leaps and bounds, thanks to the input and able assistance of Jon Yankovich, who would go on to be our master typesetter, designer and layout king. The banner rendered poorly (thus the weird, halftoned blurs) but it was a step toward the professional-looking top the paper would eventually sport.

The most critical event in the history of Volume 1, Issue 2 is the introduction of the Chaos Symbol:

The Chaos Symbol is the closest thing the Liberator ever got to a mascot. It's simple. It's severe. And it adorned all subsequent issues, all posters, our cigarette lighters, our T-shirts, and anything else vaguely Liberatoresque. I think there was some hope or speculation that it would be easy to draw on desks (it was) but the only people who ever did that were us. Or me, more accurately.

The Chaos Symbol was also the hallmark of the short-lived militant group known as the West High Anarchy Coalition. A band of sophomores and juniors loosely affiliated (and intermingled) with the Liberator staff, WHAC used smoke bombs, whistling witches and firecrackers to disrupt classes, cause smoke-induced fire drills and basically make mischief.

Basically, WHAC was stupid. It stopped after the Liberator's first year.

Otherwise, the content was slightly better. Angrier, though, if possible; ranting about school discipline, the infamous Libby Burmaster, toilet mold... the whole gamut. I even found time to write a column in favor of marijuana legalization, despite never having smoked the stuff. The enigmatic Corn-Nuts marks a "parody" first for us – this loose takeoff on Peanuts just cranks the strip's inherent violence and despair up half a notch. A full notch would've been better. Oh well.

The important thing: sketchy writing. Overheated polemics. Weak graphics. Still not there.