Peace Out Wizard Magazine!

W is for the wonder you created in me.

I is for the information you gave.

Z is for being so darn zazzy (at least for a while).

A is for anticipation I had each month waiting for you.

R is for continually renewing my interest in comics when I struggled with being a teenaged girl who loved comics but felt like I was a freak for doing so.

D is for being done

As you all know by now, Wizard Magazine announced this past week that it was ceasing publication immediately. It was also shutting down ToyFare Magazine as well. Fans and industry professionals have reacted to this with mixed emotions. Some feel this was a long time coming and are glad it’s done, others are sad to see it gone. I find myself conflicted on how I feel about it.

I didn’t get into comics until I was in high school. My dad used to collect, so they were around me, but he never let me read them. I don’t even know how it happened but a girlfriend got me interested, and then my addiction took off. I collected everything I could; I was a back issue queen, but when I couldn’t afford to get them or I wanted to know more about an event I wasn’t collecting, I turned to Wizard.

Back then, Wizard was exciting because there weren’t any other publications that dealt with comics. Wizard was fricking awesome! I know there are a lot of people who disliked it for a variety of reasons, but for someone who was just discovering this world, Wizard was great because I got to learn more about different artists and writers and different comics. I learned about character histories and in a weird way, it made me feel less alone, because I really struggled with being a female geek. Other than my one friend, I didn’t have anyone to geek out with, not even guy friends, though they thought it was pretty cool. Wizard kept me in touch with the community.

As I got older, money became a big factor, and I had to stop collecting everything, including Wizard, because the prices were too high and my interest started waning as plots got more convoluted and weird and ridiculous, but it always made me smile to see a new issue of Wizard in the bookstores.

I don’t like what I have heard about how Wizard handled shutting down everything, and I really don’t know if they are going to make it as an online publication, but I’m going to mourn the loss of one of the few magazines that were out there for comic lovers and think of them fondly as I remember their almost perfect movie castings, the fan decorated envelopes, and my particular favorite, the Halloween Costume Contest. Man, I always planned on entering. I guess some things are not meant to be.

Thanks for the memories!

See what the industry is saying here and see what other online outlets are saying here and here, and go here to see the official statement of plans to come.