As in years past, I will be live blogging the State of the Union address. See you at 9 PM EST.
So, here we go. Comments below the line.
Day: January 25, 2011
“But Wizard Says So”
Years ago, I was doing a signing at a convention, and a kid brought me a copy of an issue of X-Factor to sign. And I glanced at it and said, “I didn’t write it. I’m sorry, but I don’t sign comics I didn’t write.”
And he said, “The Wizard guide says you wrote it.”
I said, “I’m sorry,but I didn’t. It’s wrong.”
He stared at me , uncomprehending, unable to process it. “But…Wizard says you wrote it.”
I opened it for him and pointed to the credits. “See? Right there. I didn’t write it.”
“But…Wizard says you did.”
That is the hold that Wizard Magazine once had on young readers (no, I didn’t sign it, if that’s what you’re wondering.) It directed their every interaction with comics. But time has passed, and anyone with eyes could see how the publication was shrinking, to the point where there was no advertising–the lifeblood of magazines–to keep it going. And now it’s stopped going.
I, personally, am saddened by it. Anything that shutters an avenue of comic collection diminishes us all, even if we weren’t always thrilled with how they presented the hobby. Plus it means people are out of work; never a good thing in today’s economy. I know a lot of people will be pleased to see what they perceive as something that did the hobby no favors folding, but to me it’s just another tangible indicator of the funk the entire industry is in.
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