the
misfortune to happen upon my site. Keeping with the IH tradition of critiquing
publications, I will update this as magazines hit the racks. No need to
buy them now, just read on......
THE NEW IRON HORSE
(what's left of it)
or............"Dr
Sucher says..."
Issue 155 of the new Horse hit the stands a
few weeks ago under the guiding hand of Chris Pfouts. If this maiden issue
is an example of what we can expect from the new editor, then the New Iron
Horse is a mockery of what the old Horse use to be. Issue 155 is like a
watered down version of Outlaw Biker. And folks, that's like watering down
distilled water. Issue 155 is plagued with hearsay, shallow references,
self indulgence and a total disregard for the rules of grammar and punctuation.
Chris seems to be very confused as to the difference between a chopper
and a custom. Another disturbing trend seems to be his unquestionable loyalty
to Dr Harry Sucher.
It reminded me of Jones Town and Jimmy Jones.
Chris starts out with the editor's page and tries to steal credit where credit is due. He grabs credit for the current readership by insisting that he was the one to redirect the Horse back in the late 80's. Chris implies that he shaped the Horse into a "magazine that everyone involved could be proud of," but provides no proof of his absurd comment. Fact is, it wasn't until David Snow became editor that Iron Horse began to take shape and direction.
Apparently, the issue of porn ads and fold outs appeal to the new editor more than literary content, because he makes an issue out of Snow's attempt to clean up the magazine by removing these ads. Chris draws an unusual connection between his desire to support porn ads and Chopperman, a humorous look at chopperdome under the old Horse. This obvious diversion is a weak attempt to justify the return of porn ads to the magazine. Buyer beware.
Chris seizes the moment to take credit for the first project bike featured in the Horse, as though it would add credibility to an already unstable start to his reign. "I built the first IH project bike..." Fact or fiction? I don't know; with Chris, it's always a toss-up. But who cares?
Biker Lit Crit is now a thing of the past. And no wonder. Talk about creating your own fodder! Best to zap the forum than to fall victim to it.
Now we get to the mission statement. What can we expect from the Pfouts camp? Apparently, anything that Dr Sucher says. It's a mindless effort in futility. It appears as though Pfouts is proud of his little tribute to Sucher and probably thinks he's making a very articulate point. He sounds more like a Jehovah Witness preaching the virtues of Dr Sucher than the editor of a biker magazine. He even has the requisite literature plugged: "Or better yet, buy Inside American Motorcycling from Infosport Publications and read it for yourself. Believe Sucher." Yeah folks, support the Sucher Ministries through his number one advocate, Chris Pfouts. "End of history lesson. I'm back at the Horse, and I'm proud to be here. As I did before, I'll try to follow the tradition set down by Dr. Sucher: Tell the truth." Chris Pfouts.
He closes his page with this ominous warning: "This is the (sic) first issue of the old/new Horse is a glimpse of things to come." How about it folks, I give the new magazine less than a year before it folds. It shows no signs of life; it's DOA. The letters to the editor were written when Iron Horse was alive. Chris tries to feed off of this residual input while, "snapping his fingers and diddy-boppin like a doowop group and smiling with gold teeth." Yeah, I know it's lame, but get use to this "new and improved" vernacular. It's a glimpse of things to come.
As I read the features, I find myself dozing off before getting to the crux of the articles. At least Outlaw Biker has the decency to limit their drivel to a paragraph or two. The new Iron Horse waxes on aimlessly as though it were a virtue, punctuating lack of thought with photos to give the illusion of content. There's more meaningful verbiage in a "Where's Waldo" book.
David Snow and the rest of the piss peas wrote
with passion and inspired; Pfouts and team write as though estranged from
the very subject they promote, "choppers." No emotional content, no informative
features, only patchwork by scab workers.