New Issues of the PHYSIQUE PICTORIAL Magazine, Starting in August, 2017

Physique Pictorial, Volume 42

As if I needed something new and exciting to throw more fuel on my obsession for vintage beefcake (If you don't know what I'm talking about, you don't know me at all and you need right now to jump to my vintage beefcake blog.), the Bob Mizer Foundation has announced it is relaunching Bob Mizer's groundbreaking magazine, Physique Pictorial, which Mizer published for nearly forty years up to 1990.

"Now, nearly 30 years later, we want to expose a new generation to Physique Pictorial," said Dennis Bell in a press release. "We have volunteers from across the country who are assisting in this endeavor, from design work to writing."

Volume 42 of Physique Pictorial will be published in August, 2017, and includes features both new and familiar to fans of the Athletic Model Guild. Each quarterly issue will feature a spread of a popular Mizer model, with accompanying biographical information. Bell also said the magazine will display profiles and portfolios from up-and-coming, modern-day photographers who have a focus on the male physique. Physique Pictorial will also run regular feature stories that explore other elements of the male physique photography genre. Volume 42 includes the first installment in a series on the history of the building at 920 Larkin Street in downtown San Francisco, California. That building currently houses a magazine and ephemera store called The Magazine, and will be the new home to the Foundation in the coming months.

920 Larkin Street, where I volunteer.

Seattle art director Frederick Woodruff has been tapped to create the magazine’s look. A former creative director for CBS TV, Woodruff created in the late 1990's two popular websites for gay men, Nightcharm and Lurid Digs. "When Den approached me, I was ready to step back into print,” Woodruff said in the press release. “Creating something tangible that people could hold in their hands, put on their coffee table or take to bed with them–that excited me!"

Each issue of Physique Pictorial costs $20. The Foundation’s site will take pre-orders in the coming weeks. Back issues of Physique Pictorial are also available on the Foundation’s site. Everything you purchase there directly benefits the Foundation.

Sorting Denny Denfield's negatives.

I currently volunteer at the Foundation sorting and archiving Denny Denfield's negatives. I've definitely found more than a few interesting images. In August, you'll have the chance to see one of them.