LLJS – or Literary Journalism Studies – has a brand-new issue out, a special issue on Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, celebrating the 40th anniversary. Hunter’s face stares out from the cover, cropped to look you right in the eye. It’s the original self-portrait shot from which the cover of Keep This Quiet! was made. I lent it out, and it really fits this issue, guest edited by William McKeen.

The gold image above is a manuscript page from Hell’s Angels.

Read William McKeen’s announcement about the issue here.

Essays in the anniversary issue of Literary Journalism Studies can be read online free and include “The Two Sides of Hunter S. Thompson,” “The Right Kind of Eyes,” “A Savage Place! Hunter S. Thompson and His Pleasure Dome.” And more. I started reading “The Road to Gonzo” – which looks at pre-Gonzo – and was glad to see that Hell’s Angels was favorably treated. Also, though there were only 6 articles pulbished by Hunter between Hell’s Angels in 1967 and “The Temptations of Jean-Claude Killy” in 1970, the author of the critique, Bill Reynolds, has an interesting take on their pre-Gonzo features.

Take a look.  The staff of the Journal is international, a nice cross-section. With a light touch, the issue looks at Hunter’s style and mannerisms as an author, his characteristic features, and it’s a quite interesting read.