Lucky Kim!
Subject / model: Kim Basinger
TMR-000539Magazine object
The Face Vol. 2 No. 11
August 1989 · Kim Basinger by Herb Ritts · Beastie Boys / Euro-Clubbing / Signal to Noise Part 3
August 1989★ Gold Star object
August 1989 issue of The Face with Kim Basinger photographed by Herb Ritts during the contemporary Batman moment. The issue also documents late-1980s club culture and popular media through features on Euro-clubbing, acid-house/'smiley' culture, the Beastie Boys, Simple Minds, computer cracking and the original magazine serialisation of Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean's Signal to Noise, Part 3.
Read the catalogue note →- Publication
- The Face
- Condition
- Very Good− appearance from supplied views.
- Completeness
- Main magazine appears intact from the supplied exterior and contents-page views, but has not been page-by-page collated. No separately issued free gift or supplement has been established from the evidence reviewed.
- Date
- August 1989
Object record
Catalogue note
August 1989 issue of The Face with Kim Basinger photographed by Herb Ritts during the contemporary Batman moment. The issue also documents late-1980s club culture and popular media through features on Euro-clubbing, acid-house/'smiley' culture, the Beastie Boys, Simple Minds, computer cracking and the original magazine serialisation of Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean's Signal to Noise, Part 3.
Why this object matters
The original Signal to Noise chapter and Euro-clubbing coverage give the Ritts/Basinger issue substantive comics and nightlife significance. Retain Gold at 9.1, with the contemporary Batman setting contextual rather than an automatic importance multiplier.
Evidence limits: Main magazine appears intact from the supplied exterior and contents-page views, but has not been page-by-page collated. No separately issued free gift or supplement has been established from the evidence reviewed.
Score and assessment method
Archive Importance: 9.1 / 10 · Gold Star.
This is a curatorial judgement, not a measurement accurate to one tenth or a market valuation. Read the explanation and its evidence limits together.
How Archive Importance is assessed →Inside this issue
10 selected entries checked against the photographed contents and credits. This is a partial index; page numbers are printed references, not a physical collation.
View the source photograph ↗ · Reviewed 2026-09-11
Smiley Rides Again
London acid-house and club culture.
Janet Street-Porter
Subject / model: Janet Street-Porter
Euro-Clubbing
Beastie Boys
Stormy Leather
Photography: Julian Broad · Styling: Christian Logan
Another Saturday Night
Photography: Paul Graham
The Metal Years
Writing: David Toop · Subject / model: Penelope Spheeris
Signal to Noise — Part 3
Creation: Neil Gaiman · Creation: Dave McKean
Cover photograph
Photography: Herb Ritts
Research around this object
- One issue, several photographic voices — What contents pages reveal when a cover credit is only the beginning.
- Finding Signal to Noise inside The Face — Four contents pages provide a route into a graphic narrative published among fashion, music and club culture.
- Signal to Noise: from Prelude to Conclusion — A seven-issue reading sequence through The Face, June–December 1989, with printed page references and evidence limits.
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Connections use the catalogue’s named people, organisations and themes.
Recorded contributions · 4
- Kim BasingerSubject / modelSource verified
Lucky Kim! (p. 30). Contents / masthead page — The Face Vol. 2 No. 11
Find other objects with this contribution → - Neil GaimanCreationSource verified
Signal to Noise — Part 3 (p. 94). Contents / masthead page — The Face Vol. 2 No. 11
Find other objects with this contribution → - Dave McKeanCreationSource verified
Signal to Noise — Part 3 (p. 94). Contents / masthead page — The Face Vol. 2 No. 11
Find other objects with this contribution → - Herb RittsPhotographySource verified
Cover photograph. Contents / masthead page — The Face Vol. 2 No. 11
Find other objects with this contribution →