This issue lands right in the sweet spot of late-2000s pop-surrealism, stacked with heavyweights and cult illustrators who defined an era of dark gloss, erotic edge, and graphic maximalism. It opens with a tight intro and a collector spotlight before diving into a deep portfolio run, each section giving room for the magazine’s signature mix of grime-meets-gallery energy. The In Memoriam moment adds a grounded pause before the issue kicks back into its usual pulse of reviews, insider notes, and perspectives from across the art underground.
The features lineup is a murderer’s row: Wes Benscoter’s apocalyptic metal-fuelled visions, Rockin’ Jelly Bean’s cult-poster sleaze, Takato Yamamoto’s neo-ukiyo-e darkness, and Mike Sutfin’s razor-sharp fantasy realism. Kostas Seremetis brings the fragmented pop-culture chaos, Kris Verwimp delivers frostbitten black-metal atmospherics, Eric So flexes toy-culture craftsmanship, and John Cebollero rounds it out with neon-noir character work. Taken together, it’s a snapshot of where Juxtapoz was strongest — bold, weird, hyper-stylised, and proudly living in the overlap of counter-culture, illustration, and lowbrow art. Perfect RB stock: loud, collectible, and unmistakably 2009.
