Wizard #2 (October 1991)
With issue #2, the magazine now expands out an additional 24 pages, the Price Guide expands to 45 pages, and we get a more professionally looking glued binding instead of the two staples. Still rough (mostly black and white) paper inside.
Most of the staff introduced in the first issue seem to be gone this time around, with Patrick Daniel O'Neill (who had one small editorial last time) doing the bulk of the writing now. Surprisingly, Lawrence Watt-Evans does return for issue #2 and turns in a more mainstream-targeted synopsis of the history of Ghost Rider. Also surprisingly, Wizard maintains a small section towards the back written for more mature-oriented readers. Watt-Evans' write-up of the proto-Vertigo titles vs. EC last time around is succeeded by articles on The Ghosts of Dracula and Badlands.
Also interesting is that Wizard continues to incorporate some information from Diamond but not Capital City. Geez, can we hold Wizard responsible for the rise of Diamond too? Nah...
Hindsight glimpses into the comic industry:Not much this time, as the content leans almost entirely towards promotional fanboy accolades with little discussion of the business end of things or, for that matter, anything not Marvel.
Industry news:- In an awkward turn of events, right after Claremont did the feature interview for this issue, riding on the coattails of the launch of X-Men #1 (which broke all the records it was expected to break), Marvel announced that Claremont had quit. You'd think a serious comics magazine would scrap the initial interview and recognize Claremont's leaving as being the bigger story, but either due to ineptitude or to being in Marvel's pocket (focus on the positive; make the company look good), Claremont's departure is merely mentioned as an after-thought.
- The X-Men series 1 action figures had just been released by Toy Biz to coincide with the launch of X-Men #1.
Wizard shaping the comic book market?Pat McCallum's "Collecting Comics in the 90's" article spent its first issue celebrating special promotional covers and now spends this one celebrating the collectibility of second printings with different colors on the covers. Rush out and buy your Spider-Man #1 Gold Covers now, folks!
Wizard could not be generating more hype for the Platinum cover dealer-incentive variant of Spider-Man #1 with this issue, even running its first ever contest with it as the grand prize. I clearly recall never even having heard of the Platinum Cover variant until Wizard came along. Then, suddenly, everybody wanted it. Of course, it's entirely likely Wizard was playing on a demand that was already there, but they definitely exacerbated it. The world's first Dealer Incentive Variant -- and we can blame the hype surrounding that one on Wizard too
The Collectible Trading Card price guide now expands out to an entire section with a monthly article, regular columnist, and three page price guide.
The Toy Figures section similarly expands to feature a regular columnist and article, as well as a two page price guide.
In contrast, a video game section is added and focuses entirely on upcoming games, not attempting to discuss the collectability of vintage video games.
All ten books in this month's Top 10 are Marvel books.
Nearly all of the Picks from the Wizard's Hat are Marvel.
All three of the creators featured in this issue are interviewed about their work with Marvel. Javier Saltares attempts to discuss his work on Flash and love for DC heroes, but the interviewer, accompanying images, and even magazine cover are more interested in his work on Ghost Rider.
Three out of the four creators photographed on the first page of the price guide work for Marvel.
The price guide includes 40 images of Marvel covers and 20 images of DC covers. However, they also jump from including 1 independent cover to 10, so that, at least is a win for diversity.
Wizard Comic Watch:New Teen Titans #2: 1st Deathstroke
X-Men #266: 1st Gambit
Wizard's Top 10:
1. X-Men (1991) #1E
2. X-Force #1
3. Uncanny X-Men #281
4. New Mutants #87
5. Uncanny X-Men #248
6. Spider-Man #1 Platinum
7. X-Factor #63
8. Silver Surfer #34
9. New Warriors #1
10. X-Factor #71
Contents:Letter from the Publisher, by Gareb Shamus. Nothing of note beyond the jump to 24 pages.
"X Marks the Spot," interview with Chris Claremont by Patrick Daniel O'Neill: Claremont's leaving Marvel mentioned as an addendum at the end.
"More Than a GHOST of a Chance," interview with Javier Saltares by Patrick Daniel O'Neill: Saltares doesn't love McFarlane and wants to talk about DC. O'Neill wants him to talk about Ghost Rider. It gets a little awkward.
Collecting Comics in the '90s, by Pat McCallum: Collect second printings! What could be wrong with that advice?
"Ghost Rider," by Lawrence Watt-Evans: Overview of the character's history
"Win a Platinum Spider-Man #1": I used to love those contests, but they were definitely another way of generating hype for a book, property, or (in this case) industry gimmick.
"Wizard Book Review," by Henry T. Colonna. This feature seems entirely out of sync with the immature, pop hype sensationalism of the rest of the mag, especially as it reviews a book entitled "Comics Librarianship," focusing on how Universities can build comic book libraries. I don't recall this feature when I started buying Wizard a half a year after this, so I'm assuming it didn't survive.
Price Guide: Now 45 pages. Still no Golden Age stuff, but a lot more independent books.
"The Wizard of Cards," by Stephen Shamus. Another chicken and the egg situation. Shamus even acknowledges that the Marvel trading cards did not start off as good sellers, so did Wizard give the cards their own section (and, let's be clear, there are no other superhero cards in existence with which to feature there at this point) because they were turning into a collectible phenomenon, or did Wizard give the cards their own section in order to turn them into one?
"Wizquiz": What would be your favorite Marvel/DC match-up? And yes, they did mention the name Marvel first each and every time the two companies were mentioned.
"Toying Around," by Brian Cunningham. This section, at least, does not appear biased towards Marvel. Even with the big news of the X-Men series I figures getting the entire first page, Cunningham is quick to explain on the next why the DC Super Powers figures were superior to the Marvel Secret Wars ones, and Kenner's Swamp Thing and Dark Knight collections each get their own section of the price guide.
"Shall We Play a Game?" by The Gamesmaster (seriously). Discusses video game industry news with no particular focus on comic book properties beyond an image of the Wolverine Nintendo game.
"Top 10," tries to convince us only Marvel books published within the past three years are rising in price.
"Top 100" provides recent sales data from Diamond. Sure enough, some DC comics ARE selling well (not that you'd know it from this mag).
"picks from the Wizard's Hat" largely focuses on Spider-Man and the X-titles, but they do condescend to mention Armageddon 2001 and Omac #1.
"Number 1 Releases for the Month" lists every single #1 issue coming out this month, regardless of publisher. Speculation at its finest.
"Shipping for the Month of September": 13 Marvel covers featured, 4 DC covers, and 5 independent covers. Worth noting that Solar: Man of the Atom has had a cover included in both this and last issue -- the only mention of Valiant Comics anywhere in a Wizard magazine at this early point.
"StilL Thirsty After all These Years..." by Paul Robb, discussing The Ghosts of Dracula
"Conspiracy to Commit Comics," by Ralph Montano, discussing Badlands
Wizard Comics Watch: In an unexpected show of diplomacy, X-Men #266 shares the spotlight with a DC book: New Teen Titans #2 (1st Deathstroke)
"Future Stars" interviews Sam Keith
"Ask the Wizard": Three X-Men/X-Force questions, and one about Lobo
Upcoming Conventions
Final thoughts:Still all about Marvel, though there's some modest efforts to incorporate independent titles.
Impressive that two features are included towards the end about titles that cater to more mature audiences (Ghosts of Dracula and Badlands)
Very little actual info about the comic industry. Everything is either hype for what just happened or what's coming next month...and it's all Marvel.
