Positive Cynicism – Die, Wizard Entertainment, Die

Aaron Davis

Aaron R. Davis

Wizard Entertainment just released some poorly-worded and incoherent press releases announcing two things. First, that they were canceling the print editions of Wizard and ToyFare, thus shutting down the two most prominent publications dealing with the business of the comic book and toy industries. And second, that the company would now be publicly traded and would be starting a digital publication called Wizard World.

Now, why does this matter? Of course, this depends on how immersed into comic book fandom you really are. But it matters because Wizard and ToyFare were, once upon a time, great magazines for the fans who wanted to be more than casual readers, but less than crazy fanboys gathering in a huddle to leerily discuss the ramifications of Green Lantern’s creepy attraction to the underage Supergirl.

More than that, both magazines showed that you could approach the subjects with humor. And the humor in Wizard was always self-deprecating. Or it could laugh about some of the sillier aspects of comics without making it seem like they were trashing the entire pastime. It’s something that too many science fiction magazines were never able to figure out.

I remember a time, during the superstar comics artist hoopla of the early 90s, when Wizard was basically considered the industry bible for fans. They would do in-depth articles about the making of the animated Batman series, or keep up with all of the latest information about comic book movies being made, or even break important announcements. When they were the ones to announce the creation of Image Comics, an independent company formed by seemingly Marvel’s entire roster of young talent, Wizard really became the authority on what was happening in the world of comics.

ToyFare, by the way, especially needs to be lauded for its comic strip Twisted ToyFare Theatre, which is not only one of the most hilarious comic strips ever, but at one point featured writers like Rob Bricken (now the brains behind the great website Topless Robot) and Matthew Senreich (co-creator of Robot Chicken, along with future RC head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root).

So in that sense, it’s sad to see Wizard and ToyFare pass.

However…

I’m going to be honest; I haven’t made it a point to keep up with Wizard over the years. At some point, it just became the People of the comic book world. I’m not sure I can even tell you exactly when it happened or what it was that did it for me, but after a while I just came to be extremely irritated with Wizard. You know, there’s a reason why people I know refer to People as “Kneepads Magazine.” The same thing took a hold over Wizard, which tended to become a magazine about kissing the ass of people in the comic book industry. It happened pretty gradually. And I guess I understand why it happened. By that point, Wizard Entertainment had become a dominant force in what can only be referred to as the fandom industry.

There’s lots of money in the fandom industry. There has to be. You know how I know? Because I’m a fan. I collected Muppet Show action figures when they were available. I buy geeky t-shirts and have autographed pictures lining my walls and an entire display of Star Wars merchandise. And my wife has the same affliction: you should see the kitchen, which she’s decorated, and which has Farscape toys and a gigantic cardboard Wonder Woman display on the walls. We’ve actually said that we want our home to look like the inside of a comic book store. It was in our wedding vows. (Well, not really, but we were both wearing Superman shirts during the ceremony, so that should count for something.)

I go to a giant comic book convention every year. Well, I shouldn’t call it that. It’s more like a media convention. We used to have a great convention in Chicago called the Chicago Comi-Con. Wizard Entertainment took it over a decade or more ago and Wizard World was born. They had a lot more money to put into the show, but the tone became decidedly less about comic books. And hey, I don’t mind the proliferation of media guests related to science fiction — my wife met Gil Gerard a few years ago and still talks about it — but wrestlers? Reality TV stars? Yes, there are still comic book pros, but they don’t seem to be as prominently placed anymore as they once were. It’s a tertiary concern to the wrestlers and reality TV stars and video game companies, and the vast amounts of retail chains trying to sell off the merchandise that no one wants anymore. It feels less communal and more like a giant business. Which is what it is.

So I understand why Wizard Entertainment would want to keep a good relationship with the comic book industry. They’ve got the fandom industry to think about, and a big hook with the fandom industry is access to comic book creators. But when I read a particularly ass-kissing interview with Joe Madureira, who was too busy sitting around playing video games to put out more than two or three issues of his comic book Battle Chasers in a year, as if he were some kind of genius … yeah, my devotion to Wizard was over.

I hate to sound like some kind of indie guy, but when comic books exploded in popularity in the nineties, things never were the same. They were “cool,” and they’ve tried too hard ever since to maintain that “cool” at the expense of charm, characterization and satisfying stories.

So, in that sense, I’m not sorry to see Wizard and ToyFare go. In fact, I’m not even surprised, given the shape publishing is in right now. And I’m not surprised Wizard Entertainment is trying to branch out online, even though they’ve never seemed to be able to figure out how to make a web page that’s usable or appealing.

The one thing that does surprise me, though, is Wizard Entertainment going public and trying to entice investors on the same day they’ve quashed their two flagship properties. How enticed would you be to invest in a company rooted in publishing that went public and immediately canceled their publications?

Maybe it shouldn’t surprise me. It pissed me off a few years ago at Wizard World when, suddenly and without warning, Wizard Entertainment pulled out of the show. When they did that, they took the biggest publishing companies with them, and the artists who came to sell their pictures and get their work professionally evaluated — my wife included — were left twisting in the wind by this company. And a lot of fans were, too. That seems about as professional as the timing of the announcements.

Or maybe classless is the word I want here. Because Wizard is handling this without class. Because the announcement about the public trading doesn’t even mention the cancellation of the magazines. Not anymore than it mentions the amount of staff and employees they must have laid off in doing so.

So, really, I don’t have much sympathy for Wizard Entertainment at all. My sympathy is reserved for the fans and the workers who are getting screwed by this.

Aaron R. Davis lives in a cave at the bottom of the ocean with his eyes shut tight and his fingers in his ears. You can contact him at samuraifrog@yahoo.com.

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