The Saga of Volume 1, Issue 3

by James Norton

By the third issue, the Liberator was beginning to take off. The truly satirical and comical elements were beginning to emerge, and some of the incohate teenage rage was beginning to slough off. It would still take another two issues and a nice long summer – not to mention the addition of people like Nick Coleman and Jeremy Richards – before the paper would really jell. But issue 3 was a nice start.

Issue 3 features the first flat-out Alex McMahon satire piece on the front cover. It's good; but he gets much better. The cut-outs and disclaimers are solid, but things don't really kick ass until the back page, where the (weirdly) immortal Zimbabwe proved to be a big crowd-pleaser. Alex's little creative writing exercise called "A Survivor's Story" was a personal favorite of mine, although I don't know how well it connected with the masses.

But, regardless, this was a good one. It also featured the emergence of a long-running trend – ripping on the West High Chess Club. (A box at the bottom of page 6 reads: "Looking for buxom and willing babes? Beautious and wanton strumpets? Chicks galore? Chess Club. 'Nuff said.")

Chess Club bothered us, I think, because its members were as smart and as dorky we were – but they never felt like they had to hide it. The Liberator punished them for it, gently, but repeatedly. And not-so-gently.