''New York Ace'' was an
underground newspaper
The terms underground press or clandestine press refer to periodicals and publications that are produced without official approval, illegally or against the wishes of a dominant (governmental, religious, or institutional) group.
In specific rece ...
founded in New York City in late 1971 by ex-''
East Village Other
''The East Village Other'' (often abbreviated as ''EVO'') was an American underground press, underground newspaper in New York City, issued biweekly during the 1960s. It was described by ''The New York Times'' as "a New York newspaper so counterc ...
'' staffers to fill the void created by the demise of the ''EVO''. ''Ace'' was published by 21-year-old
Rex Weiner and edited by 18-year-old Bob Singer. Published biweekly in tabloid format, the ''Ace'' had a print run of 6,000 copies and never succeeded in attracting advertisers.
Staffers included
P.J. O'Rourke
Patrick Jake O'Rourke (November 14, 1947 – February 15, 2022) was an American author, journalist, and political satirist who wrote twenty-two books on subjects as diverse as politics, cars, etiquette, and economics. '' Parliament of Whores'' ...
,
Tom Forcade
Tom or TOM may refer to:
* Tom (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name.
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''Tom'' (1973 film), or ''The Bad Bunch'', a blaxploitation film
* ''Tom'' (2002 film) ...
,
A.J. Weberman,
Jay Kinney
Jay Kinney (born 1950) is an American author, editor, and former underground cartoonist. Kinney has been noted for "adding new dimensions to the political comic" in the underground comix press of the 1970s and '80s.
Career
Kinney was a member, ...
, Yossarian, D.A. Latimer,
R. Meltzer, Coca Crystal, and
Jim Buckley.
Steve Heller, art director of ''
Screw
A screw is an externally helical threaded fastener capable of being tightened or released by a twisting force (torque) to the screw head, head. The most common uses of screws are to hold objects together and there are many forms for a variety ...
'' magazine, moonlighted as art director of ''Ace''.
Publication history
The first issue of ''Ace'', produced in Weiner's
Thompson Street apartment on a shoestring budget of a few hundred dollars, was dated Dec. 22, 1971.
Despite the infusion of $5,000 by a financial
angel
An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...
at
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
, which financed the acquisition of a ratty basement office on 17th Street with four battered desks and a single
IBM Executive typewriter, the paper soon fell into financial difficulties and could not pay its New Jersey printer, resulting in its suspension in the summer of 1972. The paper attempted to stagger on for a while but by 1973 Rex Weiner had given up, and with Deanne Stillman started a new enterprise, the
New York News Service, an
alternative news agency.
Jim Buckley characterized the ''New York Ace'' as "an amalgam of writers bent on one goal—to wipe out the ''
Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Ma ...
'';" but in the end it was the ''Voice'' and its imitators that survived. Coming on the heels of the successive failures of the ''
New York Avatar'', the ''
New York Free Press'', ''
Rat
Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include '' Neotoma'' (pack rats), '' Bandicota'' (bandicoo ...
'', and the ''EVO'', the demise of ''Ace'' marked the effective end of the underground newspaper era in New York City.
See also
*
List of underground newspapers of the 1960s counterculture
This is a partial list of the local underground newspapers launched during the Sixties era of the hippie/psychedelic/youth/counterculture/New Left/antiwar movements, approximately 1965–1973. This list includes periodically appearing papers of g ...
Notes
Defunct newspapers published in New York City
1971 establishments in New York City
Underground press
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