Benji Knewman Volume 2

The second issue follows through with the vision of the first: the magazine is a ‘Life that you can read’ where Benji travels around Europe meeting new people, helping a woman move house, interviewing artists and image makers, listening to confessional stories, and taking photographs of things he spots along his way. People and their stories is the focus of the magazine. Like Danny’s observation about the growth of a magazine, the second issue of Benji Knewman hones in on the editorial vision: this time round we get even more of a sense of Benji’s (and therefore the mag’s) personality. The cover image suggests that he’s maybe an amateur musician with a love of eccentric junk shop finds and milky coffee.

Each chapter of the magazine has a storybook ring to it, beginning with the epic ‘…in which we . . .’ (above) so that it feels as if you and Benji are travelling together. In this way, the magazine thinks of itself as a kind of friend. The blue marble effect that runs throughout issue two is atmospheric and dreamy, the typefaces are friendly and well intentioned. On the journey through the mag, the people we/Benji meet radiate this same tone: a piece by Girts Gauja excitedly riffs on a passage from a Thomas Mann novel, and Benji talks philosophy with astronomer Steve whilst baking bread (below). Reading through, I start to think of Benji as a kind of backpacker traversing through Europe searching for meaningful encounters with inspiring people. As well as Wes Anderson, there is a bit of Richard Linklater thrown into the mix.