My Comrade

My Comrade, a feisty and fabled underground NYC magazine, made its debut in 1987, founded by drag-queen performer Linda Simpson. During the dark days of the AIDS crisis, its tongue-in-cheek gay "revolutionary" agenda served as a symbol of hope and frivolity to the East Village and beyond. Drag queens, sexy guys and fierce lesbians were glorified in a black-and-white mishmash of cut-and-paste articles and photo spreads, with the magazine's dimensions frequently changing size from issue to issue. A vast array of contributors produced a total of eleven issues until 1994. Ten years later, the magazine was revived for two more. In 2021, My Comrade's importance as a piece of gay history was made apparent when its archives were acquired by Harvard's Houghton Library, which specializes in literary and performing arts artifacts. In 2022, the magazine was the focus of an exhibit at NYC's Howl Gallery, "My Comrade: Happy 35th Gay Anniversary," which included a brand new issue. Other exhibits include “Copy Machine Manifestos: Artists Who Make Zines” in 2023 at the Brooklyn Museum.


For more info
Contact editor Linda Simpson


Link to My Comrade instagram page