Today in the mail I got the latest issue of Wizard, the comics maga.. uh.. the magazine of comics, entertainment and pop culture.
*sighs & rolls eyes*
I've been reading the magazine since Issue 90 (The issue I got today was #222) & have read pretty much every issue since that point. But today something I read might just have turned me off the magazine. I've noticed a change in the magazine over the years. The page count went down, regular segments were done away with or diluted to a point of being almost pointless, the lay out changed, they started to add more & more non comic related content. I read Wizard for Comic Book news so the "Secrets of last season of Lost revealed here!" don't interest me. If I wanted that I'd read Entertainment Weekly, People or a number of other entertainment magazines that are out there.
I read Wizard since they are the only one out there. They corner the market & should act like it! Others have tried to come & take some of their readership (Comic Foundry was a valiant effort!). But they have all failed. The only thing that has taken reading away from Wizard that then Wizard sucking has been the rise of the Internet & the ability of comic book readers to get their own news. But Wizard knows that! Every issues for the last few months has had a... uh... thing on it's cover asking you to check of geekchicdaily.com. Having this on the cover seems to me that Wizard it's self doesn't believe in it's self.
"Hey, you could buy this 6 dollar magazine to read some out of date news or just go online & for free read the most up to date news out there!"
I recently found a few old copies of Wizard (Issues # 23, 47 & 49). In looking through them I say so much promise & knowing where they were going I felt warm in side. Now nostalgia might be factored a bit in here but those issues were good, I might dare to say Awesome! It was a "Guide to Comics", as the cover to Issue #49 says, with news on what is upcoming, out there now (Now being the Mid 1990's) & what had gone on before. #23 has a really nicely done article on Captain Marvel (Shazam, not Kree). After looking over those my mind turned to thoughts of what Wizard was now. The warm feeling inside was no longer there. Almost everything that made the Wizard for me is no longer there.
So, what brought about this rant? What was so bad in Issue #222 that made be what to stop reading the magazine all together or at least not renew my subscription?
As many people know that after the latest Marvel event "Siege" that all the Avengers books (Dark Avengers, Mighty Avengers, New Avengers, Avengers: The Initiative) are being cancelled. At the writing of this "Article", it was not known what would replace these books so Wizard gives some suggestions from possible teams.
*sigh*
There are 5 proposed teams, all with stupid names. In reading the "thinking" behind each team line-up. It seems like the writer (who's name is not presented with the article) has only a passing knowledge of the present day Marvel Universe. Now I know it might be hard for someone to read every book a company puts out there. But these lists are presented in a magazine that claims to know about Comics & at least with me, the readers probably know what is going on in the Comics. So, when you present that Wasp (Janet Van Dyne) should be on a team, my left eyebrow goes up in puzzlement.
Why?
Well, for one thing: She's Dead! She has been for a year or two & died in a pretty major way, She being one of the causalities of "Secret Invasion"! Now I know that death in comics isn't permanent & Janet might come back to the land of the living post-Siege. But I doubt Wizard all what Marvel has planned post-Siege. So... I, for one, would think that knowing who's Alive or Dead would factor into my decisions of team line-ups.
2 other Team line-ups that makes we wondering how much thinking when into it are the "Avengers International" & "Astro-Avengers" branches.
*rolls eyes at the name "Astro-Avengeers"*
Now I don't really have problem who the team line-up from the Avengers International are (Iron man, Vision, Wonder Man, Hercules, Namor, Pete Wisdom, Black Widow, Black Panther, Sunfire, Radioactive Man & Ursa Major). But the thinking of "Hey, I liked The Justice League International so lets do that with the Avengers!" seems not so cool. Also, the fact that it seems like need to make sure they have pretty much every Avengers who isn't an US citizen on the team seems kind of cheap.Another thing: The team is too darn big, if you cut out half the team, I think it could work. Also, maybe not make the entire basis for the team be something the Distinguished Competition did & has success with.
The other team: Astro-Avengers seems to have no really thinking other then "The Avengers frequently in Space so why not have a team based in space?" Ok, but 1. Didn't they already do & have a much cooler name? &2. isn't that what the Guardians of the Galaxy already do pretty much the same thing? For the team line-up of Captain America (it doesn't say which one), Noh-Varr, Black Bolt, Adam Warlock, Beta Ray Bill, Nova, Silver Surfer & Skaar: to me it just seems like a mishmash cosmic characters with Cap thrown in to make it "THE AVENGERS... IN.... SPACE!" Now I don't know if the writer is actually reading comics that current feature these characters but I kind of doubt that this team would even form. Cap might show up & a few of the hose might join up just because Cap is there but there a few others that his presence doesn't hold that much sway with them (Skaar being one of them.)
Now on to to the one that really cheese me off. The one that set off this rant, This writers' choice for the main Avengers team. It's about half way down the text piece that I stop & my eyebrow raises. They say that the team needs a brainiac but they can't go with Hank Pym is "so unstable". Wha?
Now I know that in the past that Hank has been at time a few issues short of a complete run but has the writer of said article been reading Mighty Avengers (my favorite Avengers book out of the bunch): Hank has been kicking ass! Now I don't know if he's unstable but if he does he's got it under control & doing some great thing with it (Infinite Avengers Mansion anyone?) So, I further down the piece & they are still referring Noh-Varr as Captain Marvel.
*sigh*
I guess this writer had not read the Dark Avengers annual from a few months back wear He break away from the team, gets a new costume & codename (Protector). Now what I know of him is limited but given his past experience with "The Avengers" I doubt he'd be all that willing to join up with another one.
Oh.. For those wondering you else is on this team. They are: Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Beast, Hawkeye, Mockingbird, Vision, Spider-Woman & Hellstorm.
Now one might be wondering if I have a such an adverse reaction to this why not send a letter, an e-mail to Wizard, make a comment on their Messageboards, etc. I could do that. But at least with the Messageboard option I might start a flame war which I do want to do since almost every time they are pointless & go no where. So, I've made my option know here on my blog & I felt a bit better about it.
One last thing: In thinking about the lists, they don't seem like a thing I'd see in a magazine, any magazine. It seems more like something I'd see here. Not, my blog. But here as in The internet. The list seemed like a Fan wrote it & posted it to a Message board.
Will I continue to read Wizard: Yes. I've got a subscription. :)
Will I resubscribe? That's a different story. One for later on.
Until next time, I want you & everyone else out there to Stay Jazzy!
- Brian
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