It's never too soon for '90s nostalgia.
November 21, 2018 8:07 AM Subscribe
Debuting in July 1991, Wizard: The Guide To Comics quickly became the comic-related magazine of the nineties, often outselling the periodicals it covered. Disparaged then and derided now for fanboy puerility, critical irrelevance, and oh-so-important price guide, it nevertheless provided many readers with their first introduction to what came to be known as 'Alternative Comics' via Palmer's Picks, featuring interviews, profiles, and reviews of indy/alt/lit creators and comics. Now, Tom Palmer Jr. is posting his past columns online, along with commentary.
Bonus: Cartoonists Ed Piskor (Hip Hop Family Tree) and Jim Rugg (Street Angel) reread Wizard Magazine on YouTube.
Bonus-bonus: Yes, Tom Palmer Sr. is that Tom Palmer. (I always wondered!)
Bonus: Cartoonists Ed Piskor (Hip Hop Family Tree) and Jim Rugg (Street Angel) reread Wizard Magazine on YouTube.
Bonus-bonus: Yes, Tom Palmer Sr. is that Tom Palmer. (I always wondered!)
They also published ToyFare, which I obsessively read my brother's copies of as a kid. I'm sure I'd be mortified at the humor today, but I always loved the Twisted ToyFare Theater comics.
posted by codacorolla at 8:36 AM on November 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by codacorolla at 8:36 AM on November 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
There's a newsletter called SuckAgain that emails out the content of Suck.com from exactly 20 years ago on a daily basis, and that is ALL the '90s nostalgia I need/want/can stand. (Well, plus the past episodes of MST3K running on ShoutFactoryTV. but that is ALL)
posted by oneswellfoop at 8:39 AM on November 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by oneswellfoop at 8:39 AM on November 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
Suck? Again?!!!! Now I really have something to be thankful for! (If I ever earn Gates level money, I'm bringing Suck back.)
posted by oddman at 9:15 AM on November 21, 2018
posted by oddman at 9:15 AM on November 21, 2018
Wizard. Such an important part of my middle school years.
One thing I found interesting about Wizard is that it was both aimed at the fandom as consumers but also fandom as amateur creators. It had things like drawing instructionals that made it stand out from something like SLAM magazine which would cover the world of basketball culture but never offered articles on shooting form or zone defence.
posted by thecjm at 9:28 AM on November 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
One thing I found interesting about Wizard is that it was both aimed at the fandom as consumers but also fandom as amateur creators. It had things like drawing instructionals that made it stand out from something like SLAM magazine which would cover the world of basketball culture but never offered articles on shooting form or zone defence.
posted by thecjm at 9:28 AM on November 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
I loved mort of the month, last man (or team) standing, and the Ask Darksied advice column....
posted by vrakatar at 9:36 AM on November 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by vrakatar at 9:36 AM on November 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
Piskor and Rugg's YouTube podcast (it has a visual component but it's still mostly audio) is so much fun. They're both smart and knowledgeable so they do a good job of putting things into a more historical context. But they're also such delightful geeks about the whole thing. This was the era I started reading comics, so yeah, there's a bit of nostalgia involved for me, but it's great to realize what an exciting time it was for comics (however briefly). I really recommend it.
posted by darksong at 9:42 AM on November 21, 2018
posted by darksong at 9:42 AM on November 21, 2018
I've long wondered if there's a periodical that can show the rated values of various collectors mags. Just how much is a mint Wizard Issue 1 worth these days?
posted by FatherDagon at 9:58 AM on November 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by FatherDagon at 9:58 AM on November 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
Wizard was one of the best periodicals I got to read as a pre-internet kid. It introduced me to so much humor and so many great weird comics. It certainly floated on the wave of some of the worst comics ever made (They covered a LOT of Image speculator trash and I got caught right up in it) but the writers were happy to dump on the worst of the EXTREME trends and often derided their own price guide. Still have my Wizard #50.
Wizard and Zillions shaped my young mind.
Jim Mclughlin (who, among other things, answered the letters collumn) was one of the funniest people I've ever read. He's barely google-able now adays.
Other highlights:
* A monthly fan-casting column WAY before Super Hero movies were cool, which took time out to do indie comics.
* Absolutely hiesterical staff interviews.
* A weekly manga and anime review column that was way ahead of its time.
* Great howto articles, like the one that taught you how to copywrite characters and scripts.
posted by es_de_bah at 10:06 AM on November 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
Wizard and Zillions shaped my young mind.
Jim Mclughlin (who, among other things, answered the letters collumn) was one of the funniest people I've ever read. He's barely google-able now adays.
Other highlights:
* A monthly fan-casting column WAY before Super Hero movies were cool, which took time out to do indie comics.
* Absolutely hiesterical staff interviews.
* A weekly manga and anime review column that was way ahead of its time.
* Great howto articles, like the one that taught you how to copywrite characters and scripts.
posted by es_de_bah at 10:06 AM on November 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
I had the brass balls to think I was "above" Wizard in middle school. I had some of those ass-kickings coming.
posted by East14thTaco at 11:40 AM on November 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by East14thTaco at 11:40 AM on November 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
Wizard introduced me to Miracleman (Miracleman's battle against Kid Miracleman was in a Top 10 comic book fights list) so it can't be all bad.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 11:44 AM on November 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 11:44 AM on November 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
I'm so happy that the comic book movie boom following the casting trend they did because if Wizard's casting call had anything to say about every superhero would be played by a jacked pro wrestler with zero acting experience. Or Glen Danzig as Wolverine.
posted by thecjm at 3:33 PM on November 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by thecjm at 3:33 PM on November 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
I read Wizard a little bit, but the sister publication Inquest (later Inquest Gamer) was my jam. They had a list, rules, and ranking of every Magic: The Gathering card at the time, which I memorized. Same thing as Wizard though: puerile humor, fantasy castings of movies, theorizing of gaming cards, and some delving into some lesser known CCGs/TCGs. My younger brother even got a letter to the editor published! It was less "cool" than Wizard because somehow playing card games is less cool than comics, but I think pre-internet, it was the first time I saw a community of geeks as part of an industry and society.
It's such a weird thing looking back now: it could not have occurred before the 90s and obviously died off soon after.
posted by Lord Chancellor at 6:07 AM on November 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
It's such a weird thing looking back now: it could not have occurred before the 90s and obviously died off soon after.
posted by Lord Chancellor at 6:07 AM on November 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
I used to love Wizard - I picked it up because I liked a guy who liked comic books and somehow I stuck with it. It was witty and wise.
posted by Ms. Moonlight at 8:23 AM on November 22, 2018
posted by Ms. Moonlight at 8:23 AM on November 22, 2018
I really didn't like Wizard that much, but I read the magazine regularly (mostly stripped copies from the bookstore where I worked).
It's notable that Wizard also posted a yearly photo essay of their readers homemade Halloween costumes, long before cosplay was a semi-household word.
I certainly noticed the decline of the Wizard empire as their comic-con in Chicago withered over the course of a few years in the 2000's (the nadir was 2010, when Rod Blagojevich was announced as a special guest fresh from his felony conviction).
For a comic that captures the dark side of the Wizard World culture, I recommend Evan Dorkin's Eltingville Club.
posted by JDC8 at 4:57 PM on November 23, 2018
It's notable that Wizard also posted a yearly photo essay of their readers homemade Halloween costumes, long before cosplay was a semi-household word.
I certainly noticed the decline of the Wizard empire as their comic-con in Chicago withered over the course of a few years in the 2000's (the nadir was 2010, when Rod Blagojevich was announced as a special guest fresh from his felony conviction).
For a comic that captures the dark side of the Wizard World culture, I recommend Evan Dorkin's Eltingville Club.
posted by JDC8 at 4:57 PM on November 23, 2018
« Older Art Deco Patents | "POC Thanksgiving is lit ... mashed potatoes but... Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by greermahoney at 8:12 AM on November 21, 2018 [1 favorite]