Answer Me! (The First Three) by Jim Goad

Answer Me! #1-3

by Jim Goad

ANSWER Me! is a big black slab of trouble. Originally released as a series of magazines, then a collected edition which sold thousands before going out of print, ANSWER Me! has been blamed for a White House shooting and a triple suicide. It has been banned in several countries and put on trial for obscenity in the USA. Chock full of well-written rants, interviews, and articles on topics ranging from music and subcultures to sex, love, hate, murder, serial killers, and suicide, this fat, gorgeous anthology contains the legendary rant-zine’s first three issues in their entirety. It also contains sixty new pages of wistful ANSWER Me! memories and tasty new articles written by philanthropist and humanitarian Jim Goad. There’s a strong chance that this is the best book ever published. Only an idiot would refuse to buy it. ANSWER Me! was so wonderful because it reminded me of when my uncle Joey turned me on to National Lampoon when I was eight years old. After National Lampoon I was always looking for uglier forms of humor, and then comes along ANSWER Me! -- Shaun Partridge, Partridge Family Temple ANSWER Me! is a nasty little book ... more than worth its cover price for the jaw dropping serial killer and suicide guides. -- debased.com

Genres: Nonfiction, Essays, Politics, Cultural, Humor, Reference, Art

Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Goad started his writing career with the magazine "ANSWER Me!" Which got connected with a triple suicide by British gothics and of the white house shooting of Francisco Martin Duran.

In 1998 he was convicted of abusing his girlfriend and was released in 2000. In prison he wrote his autobiography "Shit Magnet."

Reviews

[Cwn_annwn_13 · Rating 5 out of 5]

A compilation of the first three issues of the underground zine Answer Me! put out by Jim Goad and his now deceased wife Debbie. Interviews with subjects as diverse as Iceberg Slim, David Duke, Anton Lavey and Timothy Leary. Articles like the 100 most spectacular suicides, (which is at times quite hilariously written) going undercover at AA and NA meetings, serial killer profiles, (also made me laugh out loud) among lots of other interesting and diverse topics. The highlight for me though was the misanthropic, hateful rants dished out by the Goads. Further proving my theory that righteous hatred is a beautiful thing.

[Daniel Levesque · Rating 2 out of 5]

You want to hate Jim Goad as much as he hates you, but it's hard to put this "Hate zine" compilation down. (Full disclosure: my original four issues, seperately, were used against my cousin in a court battle for his kids. He was borrowing them, and the cops came, and they looked at em, and...) I like Debbie's stories as much as Jims, if not more.

[Roland · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most uncomfortable reading experience in my life, but it's still fascinating.

[Sacha Colgate · Rating 1 out of 5]

More utterly worthless "transgressive" garbage that should have been thrown in the nearest landfill site at the draft stage. Who cares how "edgy" and "daring" mister Goad is? A "book" full of blundering idiocy, entirely tiresome and predictable "challenging views" pieces, and a worldview that seems to consist of "we're much better than you" (how old are these authors? Five?). You'd probably get more coherence and sense out of a packet of Doritos, all being told.

And oh yeah, by the way, what are we to make of Goad's positive views on Peter Sotos? "Time will vindicate Peter Sotos", eh Jim? Fat chance of that, my good man - Sotos has been widely and deservedly forgotten about, and hopefully he'll never put pen to paper again.

[Varmint · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imagine a violent drunk in a bar. He's wandering around, ranting about something, and brandishing a broken bottle at various customers.

Imagine that he's actually fascinating. His high volume hate filled threats sound like the best of Hunter Thompson, or Burroughs, or Bukowski with all the tired hippie niceness burnt away.

Really not for everyone. Goad will find a way to get under your skin and offend you, no matter how open minded you think you are.

[Kendall Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Raw, witty, with a shock value that wears thin. Yet overall, a good zine filled to the brim with disturbed artwork and writing.


Recommended for those of us whose minds have a taste for nihilism and acts of human detritus.


Best Parts:

Death in Bakersfield (article)

Shoot First, Live Free (article)

Swallowed by Jersey (short story)

Essays by Debbie Goad

Top 100 Suicides

24 Hours on the Sunset Strip

[Shadow Girl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't tell you, for sure, when I first got my hands on this.
I can remember getting one of the first three 'issues', mailing away for it to some unknown P.O. Box after a buddy sent me info about it. He said, "Hey, you like fucked up shit, check out this (forgive me...) 'zine!"
It was perfect - full of dirt, grime, and grainy pictures.
Jim & Debbie Goad were a pissed off couple who hated everything, except each-other, and I was obsessed.
I got a letter some time later. Something personal was happening, so they were putting ANSWER ME! The First Three together in one issue, with a glossy cover and a bit of supplemental material, to raise some dough. I sent for it the same day!
I've read this cover to cover HUNDREDS of times.
The pages still leave ink stains on my fingers, it's beat up and worn.
I still sometimes worry about the person who finds it after I die...
Serial killers, suicides, Dr. Kevorkian - (he was very much alive and in business when they called him. And since the good doctor was dealing death [practicality] right around the corner from me, it was that much cooler!). It still feels wrong, and dirty. I wouldn't sell it for anything!

I always wanted ANSWER ME! Issue 4, the RAPE issue, and everything else advertised in the back of my copy. I never sent for anything after finding out that the 'something personal' that was going on came to a sad end. I didn't know if address were changed, if people moved around, then it would slip my mind until the next time I picked it up again.
I'm going to stop writing this now, so I can read up on what Jim Goad & Goad To Hell have posted on... Goodreads!? Really?! I'm smirking at this, but... hey - freaks of the world, UNITE! Why not here?

[Thomas Zimmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book isn't really True Crime (though it has a lot in it), but I'm too lazy to create a new category for Jim and Debbie Goad. I always liked this totally mean spirited, nihilistic book. I know after I got it, I immediately read it straight through in one sitting. To me, that warrants at least 3 stars. Jim Goad goes on about himself too much, bragging that he's creating the ultimate zine. It reminds me of Howard Stern talking too much about his ratings-- BORING! But Debbie Goad (I think they are divorced now, so I'm not sure what last name she is going by now) Anyway-- Debbie Goad's rants are some of the most poisonous writing I've ever read-- In Answer Me!, I think her pieces are the real monsters.

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was interesting, but a bit of a burden to read. One can only wallow in the mire for so long before it becomes oppressive.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Due for a re-read. I suspect much of this has aged terribly but I care not. Read first at a point when my patience and compassion for other human beings was beginning to wane and hasten it's decline as a result. Repulsive yet compelling writing. Occasionally contrived, occasionally quite brilliant. Recommended.

[Cynthia Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goad is a talented and incisive writer, and I respect talent and incisiveness. I also tend to like writing that pushes the boundaries of what most are comfortable with exploring. But some of the boundary-pushing here seems juvenile, like it was done merely for attention and not as unbounded intellectual exploration.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book holds the contents of the infinitely interesting suicide issue and serial killer issue of the magazine. One of the harshest things to ever be published. But yeah, it's pretty funny at times as well. Not for the PC-minded. Is PC even a relevant term anymore?

[Noran Miss Pumkin · Rating 3 out of 5]

read the orginial issues--again harsh topics dealt with harshly. in the light of day. the writer has quite the following. a friend had me read them--took me out of my cloistered life forever into reality of the big bad world.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jim Goad really shows how vulgar and putrid this world can be. I love it. In particular, I like the interviews with Al Goldstein (creator of Screw magazine) and Hank Williams III. Plus, the 100 serial killers and 100 suicides are truly inspirational.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

ben had the original separate zines. i think this is the 3 i read... did i?

[Hater Shepard]

sure I read this.
and I think Tesco Vee writes great lyrics, too!

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

This stuff is wrong and bad. This stuff is also passionate and witty. Not for the feint of heart.

[Rstarin74 · Rating 4 out of 5]

The most misanthropic, chilling, scary book you may ever read. It's actually a collection of zines authored by Jim Goad, and the content is not for the faint of heart. One of my favorites.

[Crckt · Rating 3 out of 5]

misanthropy is soooo 90's.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

My bible! Nothing more to say!

[Emilyhex27 · Rating 4 out of 5]

RAPE! MURDER! So good.

[Amar Pai · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was too chicken to take this book with me on my flight to D.C. cos I pictured myself getting interrogated by the authorities due to certain pages...

[Nate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Juvenile, jaundiced, cynical, focused, forceful, well-executed. Pretty much spoke for every young male I knew in the early 1990s.

[Ramey Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Life is intense; death, sex, murder, suicide, and human beings are endlessly fascinating as well as disgusting.

[Shanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, please.

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

some of it is just absolutely sickening, but this shit can't be put down.

[SB Stokes · Rating 2 out of 5]

While biting and cutting edge when it came out, the prose of the in-your-face, angry young man of the 1980s simply hasn't aged well.

[Aaron the Pink Donut · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just a salty cynical purely hateful book. great stuff.

[Recynd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Groundbreaking and shocking when it first came out, I think I have these in their original zine form (I wrote for Pills-a-Go-Go back in the day).

[Stefan B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly transgressive, balls-out fearless, and brilliantly written at the same time. This magazine oozes healthy anti-PC and tackles serious topics such as rape and murder with such verbal virtuosity and flat-out honesty that it seems out of this world. A glorious relic from the 90's that is relevant even today - if you can get your hands on it, do not hesitate. But be warned, it does not pull any punches and spares nothing in getting its point across.