This week, a major comic institution fell. It had a great deal of influence on the medium, so of course we here at Thread Drift just had to comment (hey, there's no DC calendar entry today). No, I'm not talking about the Comics' Code (or even a member of the Fantastic Four). I'd like to say goodbye to Wizard Magazine.
Wizard came onto the stands in 1991. As a comic fanatic, the magazine and the decade, are forever entwined. Wizard's content was brash, smart-alecky, and entertaining. It set the stage for what was accepted as "cool" in fanboy circles (and yes, that is said with a heavy cloud of irony). The publication's top ten lists established which writers and artists were hot. Even as their price guides were used to measure your collection's worth. Whether you were a fan or professional, you were impacted. Reliable creators who didn't meet Wizard's definition of hip, found themselves passed over for assignments, in favor of the mag's flavor of the month. At the shop, a book that you can find dozens of copies of in any modern dollar bin, had its price artificially inflated to a ridiculous degree. Wizard not only rode the crest of excess (gimmick covers, speculation, gluts of new publishers, the launching of new universes almost weekly, the creator as faux superstar) that is so associated with the 90's, it helped set it all in motion. As such, it gained as much scorn, as success. While some owe their careers (and in some cases fortunes) to it, there are as many pros that will be happy to dance on Wizard's grave. John Byrne and Chuck Dixon, have already expressed their delight at its passing. But, no one I suspect, is smiling more than Frank Miller. Miller, famously, ripped a copy of the mag to shreds, and chucked it a trashcan during a keynote speech. The room, filled with industry insiders, roared with applause.
But, I come not to bury Wizard- its head honcho Gareb Shamus did a good enough job of that himself. From a purely fan perspective, Wizard was a must read for nearly a decade. While I never bought into their snarky views on the biz, I could not wait to get the latest issue each month. Throughout much of the 90's, my friends and I would put aside our comics and roleplaying, to read (as a group) nearly every page. We laughed at the letter columns, tested our trivia knowledge with their quiz, tried to guess who they would cast in comic movies, and found out what major comic events were coming next. You see, that was Wizard's primary advantage. Giving readers the "scoop". Working in conjunction with both a very complicit Marvel and DC, this magazine was "the" source of news. In a world devoid of Newsarama, Comic Book Resources, or the merest hint of a podcast, Wizard was an essential destination.
Evolution demands that one must change, or die. Wizard's reaction to the internet crashing their party, was depressingly defiant. As comic news became instantly dispensed, free of charge, to anyone with an electronic device- Wizard let their website decline into an afterthought. While, on the print side, Shamus retooled the magazine into a standard size, all-encompassing, entertainment rag. One could debate the points, and conclusions, reached by the author of a Wizard article in the past. But, what was once a controversial firebrand of a mag, now became increasingly tired and trite. Gone, was exclusive comic book coverage, in favor of stock photos of Megan Fox. Readership left in droves, as the material morphed into vapid nonsense.
Shamus says that the magazine will be relaunched on the web. But, I strongly suspect that their days as a trendsetter are as dead as the myriad of failed, fictional universes they left in their wake. Indeed, the very Wizard World conventions that Gareb touts so highly, are filled with nostalgic stars of the screen. A place to look back, not forward.
That said, I will leave a small soft spot for Wizard in my heart. I still remember the thrill of seeing Nightwing on a cover years ago, getting choked up at their 1/2 issue of Astro City (a beautiful story), and hell...I like going to conventions to meet old movie stars.
John!
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