Vintage Magazine Cover #36:
The Stranger (Seattle), March 27-April 2, 1997.
Yes, it's technically a newspaper (an altweekly), but this cover stands as one of the greatest (in my mind) publication covers of all time. When the Seattle city council passed an anti-public postering ordinance (with stiff fines), The Stranger published a special Poster Ban Issue. Street/wall/telephone pole postering was a critical part of the development and maintenance of Seattle's arts, music, and politics scenes, a form of pre-social media social media, and the ban left many without a way to communicate with their respective communities. Art director supreme Art Chantry created an instant poster for the cover of the paper, with a not-so-subtle message that urged readers to cut and paste it all over the city (which they did). It was even printed on heavier and whiter paper stock, to make the posting more effective. The issue was art directed by Seattle visual legend Dale Yarger, with help from Lisa Orth. And additional kudos to editor Emily White and publisher Tim Keck. Genius!