Upfront [Broken run of 6 issues]

Houston, Texas: Upfront Corporation/Gary J. Van Ooteghem, 1979. Very good. 15" x 11½", folded at center. Newsprint. Each issue with 16 to 36 pages. Publication sequence: Vol. 2, Nos. 2 (December 22, 1978), 5 (February 9, 1979), 11 (May 16, 1979), 12 (May 30, 1979), 18 (August 29, 1979), 24 (November 23, 1979). Generally very good with light toning and occasional soiling.

This is a run of six issues of a rare Houston LGBTQ+ newspaper, which was founded and run by an important activist, Gary J. Van Ooteghem. Per his obituary in the August 2000 issue of In & Out,

"on August 1, 1975, Gary chose to go before the Harris County Commissioners Court and speak out about gay rights, as well as come out publicly about his own homosexuality. He did this even though he held a prestigious job with the county-as county comptroller-and even though his boss had forbidden him to do it, so he knew he would lose his job. Nonetheless, preceded by much publicity, Gary went before a packed Commissioner's Court and proposed a civil rights resolution to protect gays and other minorities against discrimination . . . The Gay Political Caucus had been formed shortly before and the GPC founders quickly recruited the high-profile Van Ooteghem as the GPC's first president."

Each issue here has an editorial from Van Ooteghem such as this political summation from a year-end issue,

"local and state politics, such as Houston's and Texas', have become open game. Houston's Gay Political Caucus made quite a stir and an impressive impact in successfully programming the capture of everything from local precinct delegates up to the near 10% showing of political clout at the state convention of the Texas Democratic Party where gays openly identified themselves and worked within the system, side-by-side, with non-gays."

Considering the publisher, the paper was heavy on activist issues. The first issue here reported on murders of gay men in Montrose as well as Van Ooteghem's court-ordered return to his job as county comptroller and national news such as mobilizing for 1979's March on Washington. Other issues have much on local and Texas-wide politics impacting the gay community. Nearly all issues have book and movie reviews, calendars of meetings of local LGBTQ+ organizations, classified advertising, and photographically illustrated articles of LGBTQ+ events.

Other highlights include a clever full page Christmas advertisement for the bar Mary's, a centerfold poster supporting the March on Washington by a local business, and a full page photographically illustrated ad for Houston's 1979 Gay Pride Week. Later issues show the success and growth of the paper as it expanded from 16 to 24, and ultimately filled 36 pages.

While OCLC locates 11 entities with holdings, most have only one issue.