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Wizard Magazine To Close Immediately

Started by PeasOfCrap,

127 posts in this topic

500Club

500Club

Posted
Posted
I find it somewhat ironic that this news was posted by PeasOfCrap.

lol

 

On a serious note, it's another small signpost along the road to the end of the hobby. To me it's a bad sign that we can no longer support a monthly comics magazine.

 

CBG? Similar story. It's no more substantial than Wizard had been the last couple of years, its page count having diminished dramatically.

 

I don't think its a bad sign of our hobby. The content Wizard was publishing was already old news by the time it it the stands. There are soo many on-line websites dedicated to breaking comic news.

Only the news part of the magazine. Certainly not the fan mail, title reviews, artist profiles, interviews, market reports, price guide...etc, etc. CBG doesn't dupe any news or online material, and that publication has seen a similar decline in content.

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TSwift25

TSwift25

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Wow. I had stopped reading Wizard monthly several years ago, but I just picked up the last issue with DCU Online since I thought they might have an interesting take on it from the comics angle and not just the game. The issue was really unbelievably short. Too bad, I remember the square bound early issues that were super thick. With the substantial content dropoff I guess it's not all that surprising; still, I figured that Wizard would stay around.

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Spyderfan

Spyderfan

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I guess it's just another sign of the times. You can find pretty much everything you want or need to know right online. Printed materials are going away more and more every day. Better not stop printing comics though! (tsk)

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500Club

500Club

Posted
Posted
I guess it's just another sign of the times. You can find pretty much everything you want or need to know right online. Printed materials are going away more and more every day. Better not stop printing comics though! (tsk)
That's my big worry. I don't know the exact financials, but we may be close to the point that the comics themselves are in loss-leader territory.

 

It's the job of a print magazine to publish entertaining articles that aren't readily available online. Wizard failed, despite some reasonable attempts, such as the Wally Wood retrospective.

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DiceX

DiceX

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I hate to see any publication go out of business because that's what pays my bills.

 

The problem with a magazine such as Wizard is that by the time they create the stories, have it printed, and get their mag on the shelves, the news is at least a month old.

In a world where everyone can sit in their home and get these stories instantly for free, unfortunately nobody wants to pay $5+ to read that story again a month from now.

 

 

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JazzMan

JazzMan

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I don't think I want to live in a world that doesn't include print books. :(

 

Ditto.

 

Paper alone will be a collectible.

 

I was watching The Road Warrior last night...I wonder if it could be remade into a world where paper is king? hm

 

I can see it now...

 

Far into the future, where people have been reduced to tribal anarchy and where people have nothing to wipe themselves with. Here comes a loner who only looks out for number 1 and dreads number 2. He's The Roll Warrior!

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Baron

Baron

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So the new digital Wizard is still a subscription based fee though right? If they could set it up as ad-supported and make the content free (ie. IGN, NYT Digital) then I'd follow them again.

 

I used to subscribe to them for many years through the 90s. When I did see it on the magazine racks (very rare the last few years), the page count was very thing compared to the thick ad-laden version from my youth, but the price was still the same.

 

I was thinking of subscribing to them late last year when I saw they offered a free Wizard World admission ticket during 2010. But when I asked their subscription department if they were offering the same deal for 2011 with the free ticket they let me know they didn't know if they'd offer the promo again.

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Designer Toast

Designer Toast

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I don't think text books are going anywhere soon. Far too much money to be made in that arena.

 

As for Wizard, I would never pay for an online version. The suggestion that Wizard go to ad revenue instead of subscription is a good one. How many people are really going to sub to that when they can get the same (and better) news elsewhere for free?

 

I enjoyed Wizard in the very early nineties, and Toy Fare was a hoot. But that was twenty years ago... :preach:

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joe_collector

joe_collector

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It looks like today they also announced the new digital magazine:

 

http://www.conventionscene.com/2011/01/24/wizard-world-now-a-company-a-tour-and-an-online-magazine/

 

lol, right after they canned everyone and shut down the freelance department - I can hardly wait to read it. :roflmao:

 

BTW, when Shamus announced that Wizard was losing the Price Guide portion of the magazine, I knew it was toast - fanboys *love* to read about how their latest edition of "Modern Crepe #1" is going up every month.

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joe_collector

joe_collector

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They are refunding my sub. Are you sure that they are done and no more magazines are to be printed?

 

From CBR:

 

Wizard World has since confirmed the closings of Wizard and ToyFare: “Wizard Entertainment is ceasing publication of the print magazines Wizard and ToyFare. Wizard World, Inc. will begin production of the online publication ‘Wizard World’ beginning in February. We feel this will allow us to reach an even wider audience in a format that is increasingly popular and more readily accessible.”

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