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  • Now don't get me wrong, I don't hate Wizard or nothing, it was a really nice-looking magazine. I actually interviewed for a job there in the 1990s, and it looked like it would have been a blast to work there.

    I wonder if Toyfare and its other publications (if it has any) are going away too.

  • I haven't read Wizard in a few years. In the past I have been known to pick up an issue here or there. It was a good magazine.
  • Short story shorter for those who haven't followed the link, they're ceasing the physical Wizard magazine to launch the online Wizard World "magazine." The article doesn't say but I presume that digital issues will have to be purchased.

     

    I don't read Wizard myself but I do approve of their going all-digital. The only magazine I read regularly is Doctor Who Magazine and I sure wish it was available digitally instead of just in print.

  • Wizard had gotten much smaller in past years, like every other magazine. They even stopped listing page numbers and just put the issue number at the bottom of every page, to hide how small it had gotten. I thought that was pretty screwy.

    It had focused most of its attention on comics made into movies and TV shows recently, apparently hoping to broaden its appeal. There's lots of that info on the Web, but then there's lots of everything on the Web.

    I think to be a fan magazine today, you have to reach an audience that doesn't like reading longer material on their screen, which means an older audience, or provide something people can't get on the Web for free, which isn't easy. I would not be surprised to see more fan magazines go out of business, and that's too bad, as I think there's something about them that the Web can't match. But I suppose I would, since I'm pretty old.

    -- MSA

  • I hadn't read Wizard in a few years. When I first began to patronize my current comics shop, they gave it free to subscribers, along with Previews and Marvel Previews. After a couple of years, they stopped giving away Wizard, but still give out Previews and Marvel Previews.

     

    One thing that kept me from getting it on its own was that it almost always was shrink wrapped, usually because of some promotional item packaged with it. It's fine to add freebies, but it meant one could never thumb through it on the newsstand. I can't buy a magazine that way.

  • I'm going to miss Wizard, despite its recent changes. Hopefully we'll still have Comic Buyer's Guide, Alter Ego and Back Issue.
  • Sorry to see Wizard go, but as a print magazine, it wasn’t really maintaining relevance. As an online magazine, I’m sure they’ll be on the cutting edge once again.
  • This makes me sad.  Wizard gave my first professional writing credits in a national publication, and I'll always be appreciative of that.
  • Since Wizard will be published online, I wonder how many jobs are actually being lost. They'll still need writers. While people who produce the physical copy are out they are surely replaced by people who do website design.
  • I would bet there will be a significant net loss in jobs, maybe 10-15. That might seem like nothing, but I bet the entire non-freelance staff was no larger than 30 (and honestly I wonder if that's a bit high).

    Then you add in the printing company losing a contract and the subscription department (which is most assuredly a subcontractor) for a few more job losses.

     

     

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