So, does anybody still read The Comics Journal? I used to back in the day when all I did was collect comics and neglect my homework in high school, but probably haven't read an issue in, oh, ten years. I haven't read a lot of comics lately, barely any in five years or so, and actually had thought the Journal was no longer even produced.

However, I was surfin' around last night and for some reason it popped in my head to see if there were any back issues on eBay. There were some recent issues, which prompted me to do a search, and sure enough, the dang thing is still kickin'.

So, my question is - for anyone who is currently reading it, and more importantly, for anyone who read it in the '80's and continues to read it today - how is the writing and the reporting? Is it up to par with the quality of the '80's issues? I'm thinking about just signing up for a subscription, but then maybe I should pick up a recent copy or two first.

So what up Book Talkers? Any thoughts on TCJ?

Pick up a copy or two first.

I'm not really familiar with TCJ from the 80s, but the writing and news reporting is still pretty sharp.

Content-wise, I find it a mixed bag. They're definitely fixed at the "alternative" end of the commercial spectrum, and a good portion of the stuff they cover are things that I've never heard of, and would probably never be able to track down, anyway. Still a good read. They'll occasionally review a Marvel or DC book, but creators like Charles Burns and Dan Clowes are about as commercial as their coverage goes. Which is cool with me, because as I've grown older, that's where my taste in comics currently resides.

Great interviews.

Snobby as hell, too. (But, hey, I sort of enjoy that )

In the issue before the current one, they had reviews of the "9/11" benefit books that was hoot to read.

Thanks Josh! Yeah, they always were heavy on the independants and obcure stuff, which I actually liked, even as a kid. I can follow the super hero crap from Marvel and DC easy enough, it's the obscure stuff that one hardly knows is out there that TCJ really keeps you up to snuff on, or at least used to. Their subsciptions are danged expensive, and I'm not sure just how deep my recent itch to "get back into comics" is, so I will try a few issues first.

Oh, and yeah, it was always a mixed bag for me too in the '80s. It seems that every issue had both awesome articles and stuff as well as articles and stuff that just left me kind of confused, ha ha.

The only "trade" comics magzine I read is the monthly "Comics International".

It is published in the UK but available in North America.

Still a mixed bag. I get maybe 2 issues a year when there's someone I like. Some of the coverage is just too obnoxious for my blood, and that Kenneth Smith (I think that's his name) they waste newsprint on is one of the most jaw-droppingly pretentious and unreadable writers I've ever seen.

I only pick it up if someone I know has an article in it, or if someone I'm friendly with is the subject of a piece.

It's too pretentious for me; whereas Wizard is too juvenile, TCJ is too damn snobby. If you could blend them together, I'd be happy.

Amazing Heroes, then.

(A now defunct magazine published by TCJ's parent company Fantagraphics that covered mainstream/superhero comics.)

Ah, I remember Amazing Heroes... that was pretty well done. I may still have the Neil Gaiman issue... I hope so anyway.