BUGLE AMERICAN No. 35 (Vol. 2 No. 22) June 17-30, 1971.

Cover story: "Action in Milwaukee's UnAmerican League," with a quartet of hippie softball photos in ill-advised yellow ink.

Comics section: Two "Twerp and Geek" strips by Don Glassford; "Fenster Sitzen" by Wendel Pugh.

Other #35 Contents: "What Happens When You're Arrested: Milwaukee 'Justice' Wins the Match" by Mike Neville; "Bomb Scare! [Colleen Heany's] Term Project Leads to Lawsuit" by Mike Buchta; "Mayor [Hentry W. Maier] Hit by Civic Groups for 'Boss Rule'" by William Scheller; "'Old Friends' at the Brady Street Festival, article and photos by Paul H. Henning; "Birch Society Leader Robert Welch: A Monologue of Anti-Communist Rhetoric" by Mark Goff; "Milwaukee Assembylman Dennis Conta: A Highwayman in Liberal Clothing?" by anonymous; Interview with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band by Mike Buchta; a pre-Star Warsreview calling George Lucas' "THX 1138 a science fiction masterpiece"; plus an announcement for Harvey Kurtzman's first public speaking engagement at UWM); Mike Jacobi's "Toads in the Outhouse" column; "The Eddie Haskell Fan Club" music column by Mike Baron; "The Music Cricket" column by Gerry Grzyb, poems by Steven Lewis; and column logos and ad illustrations/designs by Kitchen and Glassford. 

Format: Two sections totaling 20 pages, 11.5 x 17 inch tabloid style newspaper, folded to 9 x 11.5 inch cover size. Original cover price: 25 cents.

Condition: Near Mint uncirculated copy, carefully stored in cool environment for nearly four decades, with only faint aging typical of old newsprint. 

PRICE: $7.50

Brief History: The Bugle-American was an underground/alternative "hybrid" newspaper founded in 1970 by four young UWM journalism grads (Dave Schreiner, Denis Kitchen, Mike & Judy Jacobi) and, briefly, Mike Hughes during the . The paper was seriously undercapitalized, had no business plan, fluctuated between being free and charging, between tabloid, folded tabloid and a newsprint magazine formats, and even the name (The Madison-Milwaukee Bugle-American eventually became just The Bugle).

Nonetheless it lasted seven years (1970-1977) and outlasted all competition (primarily Kaleidoscope) by providing aggressive local political and cultural coverage, attracting a strong line-up of contributors and loyal readers, hawkers and retailers. A distinctive Bugle feature for the first two years or so was a full page or more of homegrown comic strips in the early years (and guest cartoonist covers all seven years), unprecedented in America's underground press. Co-founder Denis Kitchen's separate publishing company, Krupp Comic Works/Kitchen Sink Press, made The Bugle the flagship paper for weekly strips created by five or six of its local cartoonists, later syndicated to as many as fifty other alternative or college papers. Thus back issues of The Bugle tend to be sought either by comics collectors or nostalgic hippies and history-minded Wisconsinites.

Kitchen and Mike Jacobi, who relocated to rural Princeton WI in the early '70s, co-founded a new bi-weekly newspaper, the Fox River Patriot, in 1976. Select back issues of both The Patriot and The Bugle are available in this web store. Just type Patriot or Bugle or other key words in our search bar. We have other issues not listed in the web store, so inquire if what you seek is not offered here.

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