Description
Collector's Note – Why This Issue Matters
The April 13, 1978 issue of Circus magazine featuring Peter Criss of Kiss on the cover is a primary document of the late-1970s rock scene at one of its most commercially saturated moments. By the spring of 1978, Kiss had achieved a level of mainstream penetration that was virtually unprecedented for a heavy rock band: Alive II was still generating strong sales following its October 1977 release, the band's licensing and merchandise operation had become a business phenomenon in its own right, and the four simultaneous solo albums — one from each member — were in planning for their September 1978 release. Peter Criss, the band's drummer and the human face behind the Cat persona, was the member whose solo work would prove most commercially successful, driven by the ballad "Beth" which had already become one of the band's most recognized songs. This Circus cover appearance in April 1978 documents Criss at the precise peak of his visibility within the Kiss framework — before the solo album era reshaped the band's internal dynamics and before the tensions that would lead to his 1980 departure became apparent. Collectors building a comprehensive record of Kiss in print across their career will find this issue a natural entry point alongside other coverage gathered in the Circus magazine archive.
Angel Band's pairing with Kiss in this issue reflects a commercial and label connection that made such editorial combinations natural in late-1970s rock media. Angel was signed to Casablanca Records — the same label as Kiss — and the two bands shared not only a record company but a visual sensibility rooted in theatrical presentation, elaborate costuming, and the kind of spectacle-driven hard rock that Circus covered as its core editorial territory. The poster included with this issue — described as featuring Kiss and Angel Band — is a meaningful collector's detail. Circus posters from the late 1970s circulated widely through the teenage bedroom culture of the era, frequently removed from their magazines and displayed or traded, which means that surviving copies of this issue with the poster intact represent a more complete artifact than the majority of surviving examples. The late-1970s rock scene documented in this April 1978 issue — the specific intersection of Kiss at commercial peak, Angel at label prominence, and Circus as the primary glossy vehicle for this corner of the rock market — is precisely the kind of moment the full range of 1978 publications helps place in its broader cultural context.
About the Publication
Circus magazine, founded in 1966, was one of the primary American rock music publications of the 1970s, competing with Creem and Rolling Stone for the attention of the decade's rock audience. Its editorial approach emphasized coverage of album-oriented rock, hard rock, and heavy metal, with extensive use of band photography, concert coverage, and the full-page and centerfold posters that were a defining feature of the magazine's format and a significant driver of its newsstand appeal. By the late 1970s Circus was closely associated with the theatrical hard rock and glam metal scenes that Kiss, Angel, and their Casablanca Records labelmates represented.
Key Highlights Inside
- Peter Criss cover feature — The Kiss drummer and Cat persona, spotlighted in April 1978 at the height of the band's commercial reach and months before the simultaneous solo album releases of September 1978.
- Angel Band coverage — The Casablanca Records hard rock act and Kiss label-mates, whose theatrical presentation and label connection made them natural editorial companions to Kiss in the pages of late-1970s rock media.
- Poster of Kiss and Angel Band — Confirmed as included with this issue, a significant collector's detail given that Circus posters from this era were routinely removed from magazines and are frequently absent from surviving copies.
- Newsstand edition without address label — preserving full cover integrity with the Peter Criss image unobscured, the preferred condition for display-grade collectors of this issue.
- Note: Specific article titles, interview details, and confirmed additional interior content beyond what is documented in the listing have not been independently verified. The above reflects what is verifiable from the listing description and well-documented knowledge of this issue's cover subjects and publication context.
Condition & Rarity
The April 13, 1978 issue of Circus with Peter Criss cover and intact Kiss and Angel Band poster is a more complete survival than most existing copies of this issue. Circus magazines from the late 1970s were widely read, shared, and — most significantly — stripped of their posters, which were removed for display and rarely reattached, leaving the majority of surviving copies incomplete. An example with the poster still present represents the preferred collector state for this issue. The newsstand origin and absence of a subscription address label preserves the full cover image, which matters for a cover built around a specific artist portrait. Good condition with minor wear throughout is the expected and accepted grade for a newsstand periodical now approaching fifty years old. The plastic protective sleeve limits ongoing paper oxidation and physical wear. When evaluating any surviving copy of this issue, poster completeness is the primary condition factor distinguishing higher-desirability examples from standard survivors.
Looking for More Issues Like This?
Late-1970s Circus issues featuring Kiss are among the most actively collected entries in the magazine's archive, and copies with intact posters are meaningfully harder to locate than those without. The Circus magazine collection at OriginalMagazines.com is the most focused resource for locating other issues from this important rock publication across its full publishing run. Collectors building around the extraordinary year of 1978 — when Kiss stood at the absolute peak of their commercial reach — will also want to explore the 1978 magazine collection, which documents one of rock history's most commercially and culturally saturated years in full.