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Brutarian is a popular culture magazine first published in the USA in 1991 by Dominick J. Salemi, in collaboration with New York artist Jarrett Huddleston. It's name is a play on the philosophy of "art brut" (raw art) as defined by Jean Dubuffet, and hence it focuses very much on fringe and alternative sub-cultures. After publishing the first issue in 1991, Salemi purchased a mailing list and distributed 1,500 copies per issue free in an attempt to build a niche market for the magazine. It has since been picked up by such major distributors as Tower Records, Desert Moon, and Ubiquity.
In addition to articles and interviews, Brutarian regularly included short fiction stories by authors such as Dennis Etchiso, Graham Joyce, Ramsey Campbell, Stephen Dedman, Jack Ketchum, Bentley Little, and T.M. Wright. The themes have ranged across most fiction genres, including science fiction, horror and fantasy. Another feature of the magazine has been its liberal use of cartoons included single-panel cartoons, comic strips, and multi-page comics done in a comic book or graphic novel way, very often with very mature or adult themes.
Among the array of people interviewed for Brutarian were rock and punk music artists and bands from the virtually unknown to internationally famous acts like Iggy Pop, Kiss and The Cramps. Others included John Carpenter, John Waters, Michael Moorcock, Clive Barker, Al Adamson, and Elvira, Mistress of the Dark.
The Ubiquity Magazines website describes Brutarian in 2011 as "the last word in bad taste" and a "Mad magazine for adults." It goes on to note: "Brutarain is a sardonic guide to the seamy and unseemly underbelly of pop culture. Showcasing the work of some of the finest comic satirists in the country, it draws upon the talents of writers from publications ranging from Wrestling World (the ridiculous) to the Village Voice (the sublime), as well as on an array of renowned cartoonists. Brutarian is the magazine to read if you want to help yourself to what's wild, weird and wonderful in the world of art, literature, film and music" (ctd. "Brutarian").Notes
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Dominick Salemi, who exercised full editorial control of the magazine, is believed to have been Brutarian's sole publisher and financier despite Jarrett Huddleston's reported reference to it as a publication of Odium Entertainment (no legal business of that entity has yet been identified).
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On its now deleted website Brutarian's "Statement of Purpose" recorded in 2001:
"Brutarian" comes from Jean Dubuffet and his coined term "art brut" -- "raw art." Art made by the innocent, the naive, the hopelessly insane. Idiots, madmen, and geniuses compelled to unloose their visions on an unsuspecting and uncaring world. And we, in our humble little publication, intend to let our readers (if any) know about these visionaries, in all fields -- art, music, literature, etc. Plus throw in coverage of whatever strikes our fancy. Our goal is to entertain and to inform and to strive never to care WHAT YOU THINK! Or what our advertisers or subscribers think. Man is born free and everywhere in chains. We at Brutarian are chained to our caprice and therefore constitutionally incapable of becoming slaves to fashion. Read us. Don't read us. It's all one and the same."
The magazines fiction submission guidelines also stated:
"We publish short stories and poetry. The subject matter of the fiction or the poetry matters not a whit to us. We are looking for beautifully written material. Or crudely penned submissions that overwhelm us with their primitive sensibilities. We tend to prefer dark fantasy and horror, but any speculative fiction which keeps us turning the pages, has a few felicitous turns of phrases, and has an interesting theme or subtext intertwined within the narrative will do nicely. Impress us! Amaze us! Astound us! Offend us! Any of these reactions are what we like to see."
(ctd. "Brutarian" Deletionpedia)
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Although conceived as a quarterly, the magazine's publication over the first decade or so was somewhat erratic, with only two or three issues published in some years. The 2001 tenth anniversary issue, for example, which should have been No 40, was instead only the 34th issue. By the mid-2000s the magazine had become a biannual.
The Brutarian website was launched in 2001, but by 2005 the domain name registration had lapsed and it therefore no longer exists.
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A vinyl record that could be detached from the pages and played on a record player was inclueded in an early issue. Salemi later established Brutarian Records, which went on to release four CD albums (including a compilation).
