Ben Is Dead 30

For its final issue, Ben Is Dead takes on one of the strangest religions of the modern age: celebrity. Rather than celebrating fame, the magazine dissects it from every possible angle, exploring the bizarre machinery that turns ordinary people into cultural obsessions and transforms private lives into public entertainment. True to form, the issue approaches the subject with equal parts fascination, humour and outright skepticism.

The contents range from examinations of celebrity culture and media obsession to interviews, personal essays and satirical reflections on fame's absurd side effects. Featured subjects include Jodie Foster, Winona Ryder, Michael Hornitz, Denise Sullivan, Timothy Leary, Mark E. Smith, Crispin Glover, Douglas Copeland and numerous underground figures whose fame existed far outside mainstream Hollywood. Contributors explore everything from hero worship and tabloid culture to anti-celebrities, cult personalities and the strange social currency attached to public recognition.

As the final issue of the magazine, Celebrity feels like a fitting farewell. Throughout its run, Ben Is Dead championed outsiders, eccentrics, artists and subcultures while questioning mainstream culture at every turn. Here, it closes by examining the very concept of fame itself, mixing serious cultural criticism with the magazine's trademark wit and irreverence. The result is both a sharp commentary on celebrity culture and a fitting last statement from one of the most influential zines of the 1990s.