New York Magazine — The Shaman as Superstar

New York Magazine, published by the New York Magazine Company, Volume 1, Issue 18, dated August 5, 1968. This is the original US newsstand issue, a standard weekly format publication from the magazine's first full year of independent operation under Clay Felker. The specific draw for Doors collectors is Richard Goldstein's feature article, The Shaman as Superstar, a piece that landed at a pivotal moment in Jim Morrison's public reputation and the broader critical conversation around rock as a serious cultural form.

New York Magazine in 1968 was still finding its visual identity after spinning off from the New York Herald Tribune supplement the previous year. This issue follows the clean, editorial-forward design sensibility that Felker and art director Milton Glaser were establishing, with strong typography and a layout that treated pop culture criticism as legitimate journalism rather than fan-service. The cover of this issue is not Morrison-specific, as was typical for the publication; Goldstein's piece runs as an interior feature. The magazine itself is a standard saddle-stitched weekly, printed on the coated newsstock common to the period. Pages show the characteristic slight yellowing and brittleness you expect from 56-year-old newsprint that was never designed for archival longevity. Copies in truly fine condition, with no spine roll, no address labels from subscription copies, and no ink transfer on the cover, are increasingly hard to locate. The interior pages where Goldstein's article runs are dense with text in a double or triple column format typical of the magazine's editorial style. There are no full-page photo spreads to speak of; this is a writer's magazine, and the presentation reflects that. For collectors, the physical condition grades should be evaluated carefully. Subscription copies, which were mailed folded or flat, often show crease lines or label adhesive residue on the cover. Newsstand copies, while rarer to find in circulation at this point, can present cleaner but are often found with rolled spines from rack display. Any copy in VG or better is a solid find at this age.

Goldstein was one of the sharpest rock critics working in 1968, and The Shaman as Superstar is among his most discussed pieces from that period. Writing for New York Magazine gave him a mainstream, educated, non-specialist readership, which shaped the article's tone: it engages Morrison as a cultural and quasi-mythological figure rather than simply a pop star or even a rock musician. The piece arrived the same year The Doors released Waiting For The Sun and were navigating enormous commercial success alongside serious critical scrutiny. Goldstein's framing of Morrison through the lens of shamanic ritual and theatrical performance contributed meaningfully to the critical vocabulary that surrounded the band for years afterward. That framework, whether you find it persuasive or overwrought, became part of how journalists and academics approached Morrison's stage persona through the 1970s and beyond. For collectors interested in how the band was written about during their active years, this article is a primary document. It sits alongside contemporaneous coverage like the pieces cataloged in the Village Voice from March 1967, the Village Voice from June 1967, and the Village Voice from December 1967 as part of the documented critical record from the band's peak years. Goldstein's piece is distinct from those in reaching a New York City readership that might not have been regular consumers of underground or alternative press. The article also connects thematically with how Morrison's public image was being constructed and contested at exactly the moment it mattered most. Collectors interested in the broader written record of Morrison's mystique will find this a useful companion to The Poetry of Rock, which addresses similar critical territory in book form. This issue does not appear frequently in specialist dealer catalogs and turns up only occasionally through general vintage magazine dealers. There was no special or limited print run; this is a standard weekly issue from a commercially distributed publication. Rarity here is simply a function of age, the fragility of the format, and the relatively small percentage of copies that have survived in collectible condition.

This is a standard weekly newsstand issue, not a limited or special printing, so the ceiling on what it commands is set by condition and by how actively collectors are pursuing original 1968 Doors-related press at any given moment. That said, finding a clean copy is genuinely difficult at this point, and for anyone building a serious archive of contemporaneous Jim Morrison criticism, The Shaman as Superstar in its original context is worth acquiring. Reproductions and digital scans of Goldstein's text circulate, but they are not the same object as the original August 5, 1968 issue on a shelf.