fab was a Canadian gay magazine that published biweekly issues in Toronto, Ontario from 1994 to 2013. It published alternate weeks to the city's other biweekly gay publication, Xtra! The publication's official spelling uses a lower-case F: fab.

History

fab was established in June 1994 by No Fear Publishing, originally as a publication focusing primarily on the city's gay party and club scene. Its past web content and many of its contributors were expected to be integrated into DailyXtra.com, an expansion of Xtra!s online presence which debuted later in the year. Jack Layton and Olivia Chow appeared together flanked by a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer in dress leathers, and Julian Fantino posed in his police uniform with a row of otherwise anonymous models dressed as The Village People. Exclusive celebrity covers have also included musicians Lady Gaga, Blake McGrath, Joel Gibb, Neko Case and Hawksley Workman, actors Kate Moennig, Scott Thompson, Cheyenne Jackson and Adamo Ruggiero, and local activists George Hislop and Brent Hawkes.

Editors

The magazine had several editors prior to 1998, then John Kennedy took over. Over the next four years, he increased readership and advertising revenues. After 100 issues, Kennedy was replaced by Mitchel Raphael in 2002; Raphael left the magazine in January 2006 and was replaced by Steven Bereznai. In April 2007, Bereznai stepped down and was replaced by Paul Gallant.

With the purchase of fab by Pink Triangle Press in February 2008, Gallant was replaced by Matt Thomas and Drew Rowsome. The magazine's final editor, Phil Villeneuve, started in 2012.

Contributors

At different times during its run, fab<nowiki>'</nowiki>s regular columnists included Rolyn Chambers, Drasko Bogdanovic, Daniel Paquette, Paul Bellini, Max MacDonald, Heroine Marks, Todd Klinck, Nina Arsenault, Richard Burnett and Brad Fraser.

Distribution

The magazine was distributed as a free publication in Toronto, Hamilton, London and Ottawa, and was available in some other Canadian cities for a cover price of $4.50 per issue.

References

  • fab