Wizard (magazine)

Wizard or Wizard: The Magazine of Comics, Entertainment and Pop Culture (originally titled Wizard: The Guide to Comics and Wizard: The Comics Magazine) is a magazine about comic books, published monthly in the United States by Wizard Entertainment. It includes a price guide to current and valuable comics, as well as comic book, movie, anime, and collector news, interviews, and previews. It is known for its "fanboy" sense of humour, geared toward adolescent boys.

History

Wizard was founded in 1991 by college student Gareb Shamus as a newsletter for his parents' comic book store, estimating the values of "hot" comic books, comics with high demand in the back-issue market. Shamus' interest in the comics market stems from his friendship with comic artist Todd McFarlane and from working in his parents' store.

In issue #7, Wizard became closer to the magazine it is today, with glossy paper and color printing. Unlike other comics publications such as Hero Illustrated or The Comics Journal, Wizard has historically focused on superheroes and the economic side of comic collecting. Wizard strongly supported new publishers Valiant Comics and Image Comics, heavily promoting their new releases.

The magazine has also spawned several ongoing magazines dedicated to similar interests such as Toyfare for toys and action figures, Inquest Gamer for collectible game cards, Anime Insider for anime and manga, and Toy Wishes for mainstream toy enthusiasts, particularly children and parents. In 2006, the magazine was revamped with a bigger look and more pages, switching from the "perfect bound" or staple free look, to that of a more traditional magazine.

In November 2006, Wizard Editor-in-Chief and co-founder Pat McCallum was fired, after more than a decade with the company. Wizard has declined to say why he was removed. On February 21, 2007, Scott Gramling was announced as the new Editor-in-Chief.

Regular features

The magazine has gone through an ever-changing line-up of regular and semi-regular features, including

• Book Shelf - Brief reviews of the monthly trade paperback and hardcover collection releases.
• Magic Words - the letters column, which often feature the Wizard Bunny, one of the magazines mascots.
• Top 10 Writers and Artists Lists charting the most popular creators of the month in each category.

Retired features include

• Casting Call - A feature proposing the "dream" cast for potential film adaptations of various comic books. It later appeared sporadically.
• Last Man Standing - A dream "faceoff" between two different characters or teams, always of different companies and/or universes. The feature would detail a brief showdown between the two, including the victor and would be accompanied by an exclusive illustration (usually by a high profile artist) depicting the battle.

Exclusive offers

In addition, both Wizard and Toyfare often feature mail-away offers for exclusive merchandise. Wizard began a practice of producing specially offered Wizard #1/2 issues. These were special issues of ongoing major comic book series which featured in-continuity stories that supplemented the regular series published issues. The issues were numbered #1/2 so as not to disrupt the series ongoing numbering system. Often Wizard would also include free pack-in issues with their magazines, usually numbered as Wizard #0's.

Controversy

Comic creator Frank Miller had a well-publicized feud with Wizard, initiated by his keynote speech at the 2001 Harvey Awards, during which he ripped a copy of the magazine apart and threw it in a trash can, calling it a "bible written by Satan", a "monthly vulgarity", and a "tree killer (which) regularly cheapens and poisons our field." The two parties have seemingly repaired their relationship (notably, after Miller's successful Sin City film), and Miller was a "Guest of Honor" at Wizard World Chicago 2005.

Wizard Online

Wizard magazine was an early presence online. In 1995, Wizard hired Buddy Scalera to launch Wizard World online on the then-fledgeling America Online. The site was a very early adopter of user generated content, as they fostered several online communities online. One of these early communities Writer's Bloc went on to publish several individual comics and helped launch the careers of some notable comic book creators including Kaare Andrews.

The AOL site featured live chatrooms with comic book creators and celebrities, including Mark Hamill, John Byrne, Will Eisner, Jim Lee, Mike Mignola, Jim Shooter, Jeph Loeb, Mark Waid, and Kevin Smith.

After a few years, the AOL community closed down and Wizard migrated all content and communities to their website Wizard World (formerly www.wizardworld.com, now www.wizarduniverse.com).

Due to a limited operating budget, Wizard World Online utilized volunteers who helped moderate message boards and manage media uploads.

Wizard also launched www.wizardschool.com, which was an early online-learning center for aspiring creators. Aspiring writers and artists would submit their work to Wizard School. If selected, their work would be reviewed by established professionals, who included Dan Fraga, Mark Waid, Chuck Dixon, and many more. Based on the popularity of the site (now defunct), Wizard moved the Wizard School to their conventions in Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Texas.

Wizard Online was spun off into a separate operating unit run by a manager from the defunct Auction Universe website, but shut down within a year.

Awards

The magazine received the Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Award for Favorite Publication About Comics for 1992. The magazine also gives out its own awards for the comic book industry: the Wizard Fan Awards.

Black Bull Comics

Wizard published a line of comics under the banner Black Bull Comics. They hired former Marvel editor Glenn Herdling and inker Jimmy Palmiotti to launch the line.

They published several titles by several well known creators including Mark Waid, Chris Eliopoulos, Nelson DeCastro, and Garth Ennis.

Titles included:

• Just a Pilgrim
• Shadowreavers
• Gatecrashers

Former Wizard Employees

Many Wizard employees have moved on to different careers but remain in the comic book industry:

• Ian Feller - CrossGen Comics
• Mike Marts - Acclaim Comics, Marvel Comics, DC Comics
• Nachie Castro - DC Comics
• Dan DiGiacomo - DC Comics
• Rus Wooton - Freelance, Marvel, Image Comics
• Buddy Scalera - Freelance, Marvel, After Hours Press
• Matthew Senreich - Robot Chicken
• Doug Goldstein - Robot Chicken
• Mike Fasolo - Robot Chicken
• Tom Root - Robot Chicken
• Lars Pearson - Mad Norwegian Press
• Brent Erwin - Ape Entertainment
• Ryan Dunlavey - Evil Twin Comics
• Ben Morse - Marvel Comics
• Rickey Purdin - DC Comics
• Mel Caylo - Top Cow Productions
• Brian Cunningham DC Comics

External links

• Official site
• Where Superheroes Go for Industry News - New York Times article on Wizard
• Wicked Wizard by Paul O'Brien - reflections on current opinions of Wizard in the comics world