Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Comic Buyer's Guide No More


After more than 40 years of publication, Comics Buyer's Guide is closing with its March 2013 dated issue, #1699.

The news was announced via a press release from the magazine's parent company, F+W Media, Inc. in the statement, the company cited "general poor market conditions and forces working against the title’s sustainability including the downturn in print advertising and the proliferation of free content available online for this highly specialized industry" as the reason for the shuttering.

CBG was founded in 1971 by Alan Light as "The Buyer's Guide to Comics Fandom," an "adzine" in a monthly tabloid newspaper format. The periodical eventually grew to weekly, and was acquired by Krause Publications in 1983 (itself acquired by F+W in 2002). In 2004, CBG switched to a monthly magazine format, its most recent iteration.

Contributors to CBG over the years include Peter David, Mark Evanier, Tony Isabella, Chuck Rozanski, Craig Shutt, Heidi MacDonald, Newsarama founder/senior editor Michael Doran, former Newsarama co-owner Matt Brady, myself, and Comichron's John Jackson Miller, who worked in several different full-time roles for the publication. Miller has posted a history of CBG on his site.

Both CBG senior editor Maggie Thompson and editor Brent Frankenhoff have indicated plans to stay active in the comics field. Since Comic Buyer's Guide #1699 went to press before the announcement of the cancellation, Miller writes, there will be no acknowledgment in the magazine.

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