In an attempt to lose her "Who's the Boss" tag, Alyssa Milano assumes the ultimate role as queen of the grunge. With mud caked over her naked body, she pouts at the camera and tries to look seductive. It's all packaged between illegible blurbs of an interview in the premier issue of Bikini magazine.
"Alyssa wanted to change her image from a girl on TV to an adult," said Marvin Jarrett, the laid-back publisher of Bikini.
It's not something you would see in Reader's Digest. The latest rumbling beneath the surface of the magazine realm is a combination of style, sex and untraditional sports -- the publishing world's view of what young men, especially those age 18 to 24, really want.
Local newsstand racks are stocked with familiar favorites, conjuring up images that have permanently found their way into pop culture. Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, Sports Illustrated, Rolling Stone . . .
But right between Esquire and the BMX section, some unfamiliar names are dotting the covers of disposable literature. A new breed of magazine has arisen, born in the wake of the baby boomer sellout and trends from the Pacific Northwest.
Details, Inside Edge, Bikini, Dirt, Mouth to Mouth and Men's Journal are among the many recent additions to the periodical puzzle trading in three-piece suits for flannel, denim and animal skins.
But is it all just a capitalistic ploy or is there an actual phenomenon taking place, legitimate beneath its trendy exterior?
"The traditional men's magazines have grown up with their audience and there's nothing addressing guys in their 20s," Jarrett said. "So let's do everything that young men are into."
Jarrett has brought the eye-popping visuals he used in RayGun magazine to Bikini, transforming both style and substance in his marketing efforts. Neat columns have been upended by skewed layouts, illegible typeface and protruding art.
The distorted text and splashy graphics hold pop culture appeal. Jock Lauterer, assistant professor of journalism, said many magazines are jumping on the bandwagon.
"These magazines graphically are a print counterpart of MTV," Lauterer said. "A lot of times you'll see that Seattle/grunge/graphics type of font. The more unreadable, the better."
But Lauterer said expansion into this new area is good.
"It represents a new set of expression," Lauterer said. "I like to see our industry pushing the envelope."
This recent publication blitzkrieg is merely retooling an old formula, tailoring it for young men. Briefcase shopping guides have been replaced with snowboarding exposs.
Jarrett said Bikini writers try to stray from the conventional interview, like taking celebrities out to test drive cars instead of just asking them questions. Bikini took former Jane's Addiction member Eric Avery to a boxing match and Henry Rollins weight lifting to break the celebrity ice.
A successful mag has to be on the same level as its audience. The key to reaching young men is in the writing, said Mark Lewman, editor in chief of Dirt.
Inside Edge takes this idea a step further, inviting readers to send in story ideas, once a journalistic faux pas.
A glossy magazine with an attitude, Inside Edge focuses on the nitty gritty of guys' base desires: beer and sex. Stories like "Great Sex Scenes" and "How To Succeed In School Without Really Trying" appeal to the slackers of the generation.
Dirt, aimed at an audience closer to high school than college, also tries to write about subjects pertaining to the average Joe. Instead of lavish fashion spreads, managing editor Greg Kennerson said the fairly thin magazine, which is distributed as a supplement to Marvel Comics and its female-counterpart Sassy, writes stories on "What's Something You Can Get Your Girlfriend For Christmas For Under 30 Bucks."
"Just try to stay true to your readership, just live what you write about," Lewman said. "We write about the way we feel about it . . . as real as we can without contriving it."
GQ was once the traditional standby for young men, determining what was hip, hot and happening. But Jarrett said GQ, with ads for Athlete's Foot remedies instead of Doc Martens, has lost its appeal to the 18-to-24-year-old age group.
"Young guys don't like to be reading the same magazine as your dad," Jarrett said.
Kennerson agreed, saying, "I'm not sure they speak to them. There's almost two generations . . . who haven't really had magazines aimed at them, written for them, written by them in a long time."
John Kearns, marketing director for Newborn Enterprises, which supplies magazines to stores in State College, said many magazines are doing the same.
"They're taking a GQ magazine and narrowing it down even more to college-age men," Kearns said. "All the magazines are becoming more focused."
But the question of overkill hasn't escaped one student.
"I don't think it's good to publish a lot of junk," said Bryan Lehner (sophomore-finance). "They're kind of just blowing it out of proportion."
Interviews with Fortune 500 businessmen aren't relevant to young men. Jarrett said Details, one of the first magazines launched at younger men, falls into the trap frequently.
"It feels a little corporate and some people are turned off by that," Jarrett said. "We're more maverick than that."
One student had a different take on the whole trend. Eric Fedok (senior-film) put it simply: "I think it's basically someone just trying to make money."
