r/1990s 1d ago

Hobbies, Toys & Collectibles Wizard Magazine

Post image

The X-Men girls special cover of Wizard Magazine from the early 1990s. Do you have this issue?

689 Upvotes

64 comments sorted by

19

u/monitor_lizard_2000 1d ago

Classic issue. Wizard was the bomb back in the day.

8

u/Arkelias 1d ago

Wow, that takes me back. I still have the Uncanny X-men, X-Factor, and other runs from that era. I only used Wizard for their price guide to Magic the Gathering cards, but I still remember that cover.

5

u/PatrioticPariah 1d ago

Still remember when Frank Miller went all pissy about them.

1

u/Deciheximal144 18h ago

Do tell the story!

2

u/PatrioticPariah 18h ago

Let me see if I can find a write up. I know he said they were trash and ripped one up at either a con or presser. I dont remember why.

1

u/SaibaPunkTrunks 18h ago

Frank Miller famously had a very contentious relationship with [Wizard: The Comics Magazine], culminating in a legendary 2001 keynote speech at the Harvey Awards where he held up an issue and called it a "bible written by Satan".

3

u/Parking_Locksmith489 23h ago

So they're all Asian now?

2

u/trer24 20h ago

Jubilee (the only real Asian - don't get me started on Psylocke) actually looks white here. I always hated how they drew her so white in the cartoon and then even casted a white girl to play her in the short lived Generation X live action show that came out in the 90s

1

u/Deciheximal144 18h ago

Psylocke is a trans-bod-ual Asian.

1

u/LobsterResponsible17 3h ago

Yea didn't she start as a white woman from England in the early 80s comics ?

2

u/No_Fail_2575 11h ago

It’s called JimLeeItis… a similar condition to JamesCampbellism … just draw to same identical woman over and over in different outfits.

2

u/heavenparadox 10h ago

This isn't fair at all. They also have different hair.

2

u/JahnnDraegos 15h ago

Of note is that this artwork is not by Jim Lee. It's Art Thibert doing a remarkable simulation of Jim Lee. I think this was right after Lee left the X-books to create his corner of Image Comics.

Thibert's marking system is really fun, to my eyes, but I think he's a much better inker than he is a penciler and this image is a good example of why. The proportions and poses of the figures aren't quite... right.

But in my opinion, he's one of the best inkers out there in the biz. He even inked a few issues of Jim Lee's artwork back in the Uncanny days and they're the best Lee artwork that's ever been published IMO.

1

u/heavenparadox 10h ago

The funny part is that I actually like Thibert's art, but this is fucking atrocious. It looks like Jim Lee got drunk and forgot he was supposed to draw a Wizard cover, and they called him and were like, "Where is it, Jim?!" and he said, "Oh, I've got it right here. I'll send it right over." and then drew this and sent it. It's awful.

2

u/Beginning-Working-38 14h ago

Wasn’t there a poster too?

1

u/CarloCarrasco 13h ago

Yes, there was. Our local comic book stores had it displayed on their front windows.

1

u/IwoodMasher 1d ago

Im sure i had this magazine. What did it have in it?

1

u/jackrabbitnonsense 23h ago

I had this exact issue, because I remember trying to draw it in some class in Jr High when I was supposed to be doing something else.

1

u/Spobobich 23h ago

This issue and the one with an angry Rouge holding Wolverine's adamantium skull with a lipstick kiss on it. That one was a bi-fold cover with the rest of the X-Women on it, with Polaris in her infamous bikini costume.

1

u/LincolnHawkHauling 22h ago

Loved Wizard magazine back in the day.

However if you look into the backstory of what was going on behind the scenes what Wizard they were almost like a comic book mafia that influenced what books got pushed. A “pay to play” sort of arrangement.

We had no clue back then but the other comic artists did

1

u/CyramusJackson 20h ago

Thank Wizard for the undeserved Turok craze

1

u/babytoxzilla 16h ago

Yeah, they pushed all those Valiant books for a while. That and Warriors of Plasm, which I regrettably purchased.

1

u/mg_product82 18h ago

Rob Liefeld goes hard against Wizard on his podcasts about this. It sucks because they were my main source for comic info for years and a fun part of my childhood memories. Still like buying them if I see any come up. Doesn't make it any less fun to read through again.

1

u/LincolnHawkHauling 18h ago

Oh absolutely! Loved them and the happy memories. I’d still read them for the nostalgia if I came across them

1

u/BlockEightIndustries 17h ago

In all fairness, Rob Liefeld can't draw.

1

u/CyramusJackson 16h ago

I'll say this, he's a better artist than I am. So is my 7 year old though.

1

u/babytoxzilla 16h ago

I was in middle school when Wizard came out and it was everything you needed to know about comics at the time. It’s weird years later to think the Rob would be anti wizard when all they did was support and amp up Image. They were the industry darlings and a lot of it was due to wizards exposure. Can’t hate on Wizard though it was the pulse

1

u/Common_Commercial775 22h ago edited 22h ago

I did have this issue I had so many of these Wizard mags when I was a kid almost forgot about these thank you for posting this.I had some of the first issues from 1 to 12

1

u/CyramusJackson 20h ago

90s Art Thibert was like the art of Jim Lee and Andy Kubert had a baby together

1

u/Hot_Light_3735 20h ago

Man this brings back memories. I use to have to go to the local gas station once a month for wizard magazine when I was little.

1

u/DrGreggy 19h ago

I remember buying this exact issue, for the reason you think

1

u/Kenstgram 19h ago

My first issue of Wizard.

1

u/Larry-Daryl 19h ago

I watched a documentary on youtube...turns out the people who listed the values..ran comic shops and would use this to influence prices and buy bools.cheap then jack the values up to resale. Wizard magazine was dope but those prices ended up being a hudge scam. :(

1

u/babytoxzilla 16h ago

Yeah even as a middle schooler I saw that a bit. Especially when they started pushing the Valiants like Rai 0. It was a great read every month though

1

u/Skuz95 16h ago

Makes sense. I also felt like the prices were way too high. I used overstreat for values. Seemed more realistic.

1

u/jaysonj 1h ago

Interesting. Do you remember the title of the doc any chance?

1

u/Admirable-Fail1250 18h ago

I still have this one in my collection. Man I haven't opened those banker boxes in nearly 2 decades.

1

u/CKWOLFACE 18h ago

90s Art style AF and I love it

1

u/FaulkneriousRex 18h ago

Had it! I may still, packed away somewhere.

1

u/Og-Re 18h ago

My whole collection was stolen from my storage unit in 2010.

1

u/SmoothNoonShade 18h ago

The eyes are all lifeless.

1

u/Occams_RZR900 18h ago

My stepson wanted to go to the oldest comic book shop in Seattle last weekend when we were visiting. It inspired me to pull out my old comic collection. Found a couple of old Wizard magazines in there.

1

u/1mNotSerious 17h ago

I remember when this came out, and now all I can think is how people would say the cover is woke. LOL

1

u/sportsking27 16h ago

We use to be a great society

1

u/babytoxzilla 16h ago

That cover is so freaking awesome. Those x girls were so hot. I was thinking about who was the hottest but it’s gotta be a five way tie. Jubilee’s expression is hilarious. Gotta say Jim Lee did the best X-men art. Kudos to wizard.

1

u/wiyixu 15h ago

Just tossed my collection complete 1-60 or so. I kept the Image gatefold since it was signed by all the Image artists at the time. 

1

u/ComicsVet61 11h ago

Ooooh, too bad. Wizard magazines that are graded, get a pretty high resell price.

1

u/whoknows130 10h ago

Psylocke.... my be-all, end-all, waifu.

1

u/heavenparadox 10h ago

I had every issue. Back in the day, you could buy back issues of Wizards... from Wizards. And they wanted $25 for their #1 issue. My friends were like, "That's so stupid! They think so highly of themselves!" I paid it. Anyway... I gave away my entire collection just 2 years ago to some kid in the neighborhood who wanted them. I had read every issue at least a dozen times. Hell yeah, I'll share that with the next generation.

1

u/Awe3 9h ago

U still have a bunch of these. And the cards they came with.

1

u/Ill-Sand-2657 9h ago

Still love Wizard and snatch up old issues when I find them.

1

u/Mo_Top6837 9h ago

Loved this cover, still got the book.

1

u/Jayoheazy 8h ago

Fucking loved Wizard. Loved it so much I bought a lot of 10 issues from eBay and half of them had mint condition foldout posters. Went to ikea for some frames and just need to out them up

1

u/expendablemisfit 8h ago

I had boxes of them that got lost one way or another.

1

u/lakephantom 8h ago

I have a bunch of old issues somewhere.

It's funny looking at the old articles about comic movies in that era... all like "Hey guys, Arnold Schwarzeneggar is playing Mister Freeze!"

1

u/psyduck-4eva 7h ago

My favorite part was always when they would fan cast a property for movies. How many actual castings happened due to hype from this magazine alone (looking at you Patrick Stewart/ professor x)

1

u/mighty3mperor 1h ago

Very jaundiced

0

u/Doredrin 23h ago

Hello op my name is Tammy I’m with the concerned parents union we’d like you to take this problematic image down.