Remember that not every comic reader is as hardcore and "up to the minute" like you guys. For years I kinda kept my foot in the comic world through Wizard. I wouldn't buy it every month, but I would pick it up a few times a year just to see what was happening. Believe or not I would even keep up with what was happening in the Marvel Universe to some degree through Wizard. It was Wizard that alerted me to DCU's "IDENTITY CRISIS" and the "Crisis" that would follow.

This got me back into buying comics...


I guess what I'm saying is even with the addition of the "spank it pics" for the fanboys, Wizard still serves a purpose.

It's not about hardcore comic fans or being up to the minute. Wizard is just a poorly done magazine. The only comics they cover are the shitty event comics from the big two, things like crisis and civil war, and the lastest movie celebrity coverage-comic related or not. It's poorly written fluff. Even things like sin city and hellboy will only get mentioned once it becomes a movie.

And their is no journalism or skill in the writing. They interviewed alan moore and asked him what they thought of the west wing. They did a 10 page story on "pimp'n" spiderman's car. Its the bizarro version of a good magazine. It's almost like they're trying to be shit. I picked it up when I was younger and then one day it hit me, there isn't a single comic in this magazine that I actually read.


here's a clip of frank miller's critique of wizard at a comic convention.
http://www.timespell.com/ROAD_SPX_PREVIEW.RM
transcript:
http://www.groundzerocomics.com/HarveyAwards2001.htm

I never said it was LIFE, National Geographic, or even Tiger Beat. Like i said, it serves a role. You want to keep up with Indie stuff and non DC/Marvel then do what you're doing and keep up online or whatever you do. I'm not saying you should only read Wizard. I was just putting out another opinion.....

It's not that I don't like looking at women in skimpy clothing, I do, but I hate the maximication of all magazines aimed at men. Sometimes, just sometimes, content should be enough to drive a magazine. I don't hate Wizard (when I still bought it it was good toilet reading) but it does look like it's designed for people with ADD.

If you want to try a more substantial comics publication, try something frow two morrows :http://www.twomorrows.com/.

Yeah, their "masters of art" books are great.