1977 had plenty of news and arts coverage when the Bay Area Reporter was still biweekly with 26 issues a year. But the illustrated cover, an ad for The Balcony bar, took a macho cartoonish focus with art by Chuck Arnett, who was known more famously for his mural on the wall of the Tool Box bar, which had been photographed for the groundbreaking 1963 Life magazine feature, "Homosexuality in America." Intended as a warning, it served as a magnet for many gay men.
At 48 pages, this edition of the B.A.R. had expanded advance coverage of the upcoming Gay Freedom Day March and Fair (Grace Jones on a float! Sylvester performing at the after-party!), plus arts and porn coverage (The Runaways, Peter Frampton, a local production of A Chorus Line, and Big Roger at the Nob Hill Theatre).
As local businesses realized the strength of the B.A.R.s' readership, they supported it, and helped themselves by placing more ads.
Peruse all the retro-camp fun at https://archive.org/details/BAR_19770623
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