Wizard was founded in 1991 by college student Gareb Shamus as a newsletter for his parents' comic book store, estimating the values of "hot" comic books, comics with high demand in the back-issue market. Shamus' interest in the comics market stems from his friendship with comic artist Todd McFarlane and from working in his parents' store.
It was a pretty surprising move, and I'll admit that as much as I feel I eventually moved away from Wizard, there was a time when I was a devoted reader, and I've got a stack of back issues from 1996 to 2000 to prove it. With the news of the magazine's cancellation, I decided to go through them and enjoy a little nostalgia, and I've got to admit, there's a lot of really good stuff in there. They didn't just pioneer the irreverent, humorous style that would later be completely embraced by the Comics Internet, but the issues I went through featured original work from creators like Stan Sakai and Evan Dorkin, spotlights on offbeat comics like Rick Remender's Black Heart Billy, and recommendations on back issues that were well worth digging through quarter bins for.
It was a pretty surprising move, and I'll admit that as much as I feel I eventually moved away from Wizard, there was a time when I was a devoted reader, and I've got a stack of back issues from 1996 to 2000 to prove it. With the news of the magazine's cancellation, I decided to go through them and enjoy a little nostalgia, and I've got to admit, there's a lot of really good stuff in there. They didn't just pioneer the irreverent, humorous style that would later be completely embraced by the Comics Internet, but the issues I went through featured original work from creators like Stan Sakai and Evan Dorkin, spotlights on offbeat comics like Rick Remender's Black Heart Billy, and recommendations on back issues that were well worth digging through quarter bins for.
But Omegon betrays Tessa, who gets taken away. The Resistance seems ready to give up, until the pantyhose ninja brings up how, in the comics, destroying a crystal would send Omegon back to where he came. The information comes from Mighty Action Force Comic #367.
Tabletops & Tentacles is an amazing read. I miss the days of magazines! I had subscriptions to multiple magazines over the years: Nintendo Power, Game Informer, Gamepro, Wizard: The Guide to Comics, Inquest and Toyfare. I got into the gaming scene late, so I never had a subscription to either Dungeon or Dragon, but I snatch up any old issues I find at flea markets or yard sales. I read EVERYTHING in this issue, cover to cover. I wanted to see how the issue flowed and not skip anything, as I had been waiting to get my hands on this baby. While this is a magaizine, it's printed in a small, digest-size format with great think pages. I very much enjoyed not having to contend with the glare off slick magazine pages. The layouts are great and the content is plentiful and varied. If you like comics, gaming (tabletop, roleplaying, video) and geek topics (moveis, Star Wars, interviews) then this is the book for you. It's small size makes it portable and it's construction is solid. I plan on getting the next issue and possibly a subscription in the future.
Independent scholar Ian Dawe has been writing for Sequart since November 2013. Before that, he had a mixed background, initially in science (Molecular Biology and Biochemistry), where he earned an MSc from Simon Fraser University and then an MA in Film from the University of Exeter in the UK. He spent a decade teaching at the college level, delivering courses in Genetics, Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Biological Anthropology and Film History. His academic work includes peer-reviewed papers on the work of Alan Moore, Harvey Pekar for Studies in Comics and a dissertation on Terry Gilliam for the University of Exeter. He has presented papers at several major academic conferences including Slayage 2014, Magus: Transdisciplinary Approaches to the Work of Alan Moore in 2010 (in the wizard's hometown of Northampton), Comics Rock and the International Conference of the Humanities in 2012, and at the Southwest Popular Culture Association Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 2014 and 2015. He has contributed to several books, including a chapter about the TV show Archer in "James Bond and Popular Culture" and two chapters on Breaking Bad for "Breaking Bad and Masculinity", both now available from McFarland. At Sequart, he has authored a chapter for New Life and New Civiliations: Exploring Star Trek Comics, A Long Time Ago and two more upcoming books on Star Wars comics. He has also contributed to books on Alan Moore and 1970s Horror Comics. He is currently planning a full-length book on Better Call Saul. Ian currently lives in Vancouver, BC.
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