Misplaced Pages

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32-462: CBG was founded in February 1971 by Alan Light under the title The Buyer's Guide for Comic Fandom ( TBG ) as a monthly newspaper in a tabloid format. TBG began primarily as an advertising venue – known in comics fandom as an "adzine", i.e. a fanzine devoted to ads. Ron Frantz, in his book Fandom: Confidential , traces the lineage of Light's endeavor to Stan's Weekly Express (aka WE ),

64-490: A check for a Comics Journal advertisement that he refused to print. Groth acquired a copy of the WSA mailing list, and without authorization, used it to solicit subscriptions; Groth later apologized for what he claimed was a misunderstanding, and soon after broke ties with WSA. In 1983, when Light sold The Buyer's Guide , a Groth editorial denounced Light, calling him "fandom's first real business predator. His career of hustling

96-753: A limited-edition 12-inch LP record that also featured an interview with Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel ." (Light was given an Inkpot Award at the 1975 San Diego Comic-Con.) Besides Bishoff and the Thompsons, other columnists and contributors to TBG included Martin L. Greim , Shel Dorf , Peter David , Tony Isabella , Catherine Yronwode , and Heidi MacDonald ; as well as cartoonists such as Marc Hansen , Dan Vebber , Fred Hembeck , Mark Martin , and Batton Lash . By 1976, Light had moved The Buyer's Guide headquarters to Rapids City, Illinois . Light sold The Buyer's Guide to Krause Publications in 1983, having published 481 issues. Kraus rechristened

128-485: A number of occasions. Light later retired to Iowa City, Iowa . For his work promoting comics fandom , Light was given an Inkpot Award at the 1975 San Diego Comic-Con . Antique Trader Antique Trader is a full-color American magazine about antiques and collectibles , including a classifieds section, published twice monthly, including six double issues. Headquartered in Stevens Point, Wis.,

160-511: A pioneering adzine published from 1969 to 1973, whose bare-bones approach was inspired by an "obscure journal of flower advertising known as Joe's Bulletin ". Frantz also provides background on Light's interaction with the WE Seal of approval program , with which he cooperated in order to help combat mail fraud. Frantz in addition describes the infamous long-running feud between Light and Comics Journal founder Gary Groth . TBG 's frequency

192-540: A separate periodical, Comics & Games Retailer (which ceased publication in 2007). Co-editor Don Thompson died on May 23, 1994. In 1998, Krause brought on John Jackson Miller as managing editor and Brent Frankenhoff as projects editor, with Maggie Thompson remaining as editor. CBG was named Best Comics Publication in the 1985 Kirby Awards , and was given the Eisner Award for Best Comics-Related Periodical/Publication in 1992 and 1993. In July 2002, Krause

224-672: A series of comic book fan awards like the Goethe Awards , which they had administered in the first half of the 1970s. (The Goethe Award — later known as the Comic Fan Art Award — originated with the Thompsons' fanzine Newfangles and then shared close ties with The Buyer's Guide to Comics Fandom . Perhaps not coincidentally, TBG was given the Goethe Award for Favorite Fanzine in 1972.) The format and balloting of

256-464: A website, AntiqueTrader.com. Founded in 1957 by Ed Babka and Babka Publishing Co. in Decatur, Ill., Antique Trader started as an all classified advertising newspaper connecting buyers and sellers of antique and collectible items. In 1972, under the editorial direction of antiques expert Kyle Husfloen, the publication added antique industry and collecting news. It later spun off a book line, including

288-542: Is A [ sic ] Ass!". The column dealt with how comics writers erred in their depiction of the law, and what Ingersoll thought they should have done. It also dealt with procedural errors. In the CBG era, the magazine has been noted for its letter column "Oh, So?", as well as columns by Peter David , Tony Isabella , Catherine Yronwode , Rick Norwood, Mark Evanier , John Jackson Miller , Bob Ingersoll , Heidi MacDonald , Rik Offenberger , Chuck Rozanski ("Tales from

320-475: Is a monument to selfish opportunism and spiritual squalor." As a result, Light filed a libel suit against Groth, claiming that he had damaged Light's reputation; the suit was eventually dropped. Light's sales of his publications to Kraus in 1983 enabled him to pursue his interest in photographing film and pop music celebrities. He attended the Grammy Awards , Emmy Awards , and Academy Awards on

352-455: Is editorial director of the magazine while Kristine Manty is online editor. Corinne Zielke is VP/General Manager. The magazine, which is created in both a print and digital format, is designed by creative director Edie Mann. Tim Baldwin manages advertising sales. This trade magazine–related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . See tips for writing articles about magazines . Further suggestions might be found on

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384-713: The CBG Fan Awards were in many ways derived from the Goethe Award/Comic Fan Art Award. The awards were initially voted on by CBG subscribers; the voting was later opened up to everyone. As many as 5,000 votes were cast per year during the 1990s. The awards were often presented at the annual Chicago Comicon until 1996 (when the Wizard Fan Awards moved in); from that point forward the CBG Award results were simply published in

416-651: The Database"), Craig Shutt, Beau Smith , Andrew Smith, and others. As part of the June 2004 switch to monthly publication, Maggie Thompson revived the "Beautiful Balloons" column. Cartoonists whose work appeared in CBG include Marc Hansen , Chuck Fiala, Jim Engel, Dan Vebber , Fred Hembeck , Mark Engblom, Brian Douglas Ahern, Chris Smigliano, Mark Martin , Batton Lash , Brian Hayes, and others. For some years CBG reprinted installments of The Spirit comic strip by Will Eisner . The panel cartoon "Last Kiss" by John Lustig

448-433: The accusations continued for a number of years afterward. Groth and Light, both teenage fanzine publishers at the time, had been friends before Light published the final issue of Groth's comics fanzine, Fantastic Fanzine . Ron Frantz's history of the WE Seal of approval program (WSA), Fandom: Confidential , outlines Groth's confrontations with Light at conventions and via late-night collect calls . Light in turn cashed

480-534: The annual Antique Trader Antiques & Collectibles Price Guide", last published in 2018. In 1992, Babka Publishing sold Antique Trader and its related entities to Landmark Communications , which, in turn, resold the titles to Krause Publications in 1999. The magazine took on the F+W Media Inc. label after that company acquired Krause in 2002. Active Interest Media, a Des Moines, Iowa-based media company, purchased "Antique Trader" in 2019. Paul Kennedy

512-412: The controversial CBG Customer Service Award, the display of which signifies an advertiser had a "clean bill of health". By the late 1980s, the publication had more than 20,000 subscribers. Writer Peter David 's column, "But I Digress...", joined the publication in 1990. The magazine added Mark Evanier 's column "P.O.V." in late 1994. In 1992, the magazine spun off its distributor and retailer news into

544-480: The fanzine The Comic Crusader , began to contribute an occasional column initially titled "M. L. G. on Comics", that later would be known as "Crusader Comments". With issue #162 in 1976 Shel Dorf began an occasional series "Shel Dorf and the Fantasy Makers" interviewing creators in comics, television and film. Another columnist in the 1970s was David Scroggy . Another column was Robert Ingersoll's "The Law

576-532: The highly designed and illustrated magazine features in-depth articles on antique and collecting trends, informative and entertaining stories and profiles of key industry players and personalities, antique show and auction previews and highlights, decor and market trends. Columnists write about the business of antiques, costume jewelry, furniture, bottle collecting and travel. The magazine features articles on antiques-related businesses such as shops, auction houses and corollary services. In addition, Antique Traders offers

608-648: The magazine. Alan Light (comics) Alan L. Light (b. September 15, 1953) is a publisher involved in comics and pop culture fandom . He is best known as the founder of The Buyer's Guide for Comic Fandom (later known as the Comics Buyer's Guide ), which was the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry. Light grew up in the Quad Cities region of Illinois and Iowa ; his first foray into publishing

640-457: The publication The Comics Buyer's Guide and continued it until 2013; altogether the journal published 1,699 issues. Concurrently with publishing TBG , Light founded DynaPubs Enterprises , whose main business was publishing black-and-white reprints of material from the Golden Age of Comic Books . Flashback featured reprints of Golden Age superhero comics; DynaPubs longest-running series

672-511: Was Vintage Funnies , which published 85 issues (it had been preceded by Golden Funnies ). Light operated DynaPubs from 1971 to 1976. In 1976, Light added another tabloid to his publishing roster: Film Collector's World ( FCW ), which was at first edited by Don and Maggie Thompson , and later by Rick Best. FCW featured, among other items, the Thompsons' regular column, "View from a Darkened Room." Krause Publications bought Film Collector's World along with The Buyer's Guide in 1983; FCW

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704-597: Was a tribute issue devoted to Comics Buyer's Guide , with features regarding what would have made the 1700th CBG issue if the magazine had continued. A complete collection of TBG / CBG is held by the Michigan State University Comic Art Collection . CBG hosted many columns over the years in addition to Don and Maggie Thompson's "Beautiful Balloons", Murray Bishoff's "What Now?", and Cat Yronwode's "Fit to Print". With issue #25 (Nov. 15, 1972) Martin L. Greim , publisher of

736-499: Was about 3,600 copies. TBG went weekly with issue #86 (July 18, 1975). In 1977, TBG 's circulation topped 10,000. Cat Yronwode succeeded Bishoff as news reporter with issue #329 (March 7, 1980), renaming the column "Fit to Print". In 1983, The Buyer's Guide was purchased by Krause Publications . Columnists Don and Maggie Thompson were hired as editors. Krause changed the name with their first issue #482 (February 11, 1983) to Comics Buyer's Guide . At that time Krause instituted

768-423: Was acquired by F+W Publications . With issue #1595 (June 2004), CBG changed its format from a weekly tabloid to a monthly perfect bound magazine. In addition, in hopes of enhancing newsstand sales, CBG added a price guide for contemporary comics as well as other new features intended to make the magazine more appealing to those with an avid interest in comic books as an investment. This marketing strategy

800-614: Was added with issue #26; the Thompsons' and Bishoff's columns provided the editorial content required by the United States Postal Service to qualify for second class mail (along with paid subscriptions being instituted). TBG went weekly in July 1975. According to the Los Angeles Times , Light "recorded all of the panels and speeches" at the 1975 San Diego Comic-Con "and put together highlights for

832-526: Was also among the longtime fixtures. Professional comic book artists such as Jack Kirby , C.C. Beck and Alex Toth , as well as otherwise-unknown fan artists, regularly contributed covers along with headers and spot illustrations to the "Beautiful Balloons" and "Fit to Print" columns. CBG administered the annual Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Awards from 1983 to circa 2010, with the first awards announced in issue #500 (June 17, 1983). Upon taking over as CBG editors, Don and Maggie Thompson aspired to bring back

864-486: Was also tied to the yearly publication of the Standard Catalog of Comic Books , produced in conjunction with Human Computing, the makers of the comic collectors’ software ComicBase . In July 2005, the magazine began archiving past features at its CBGXtra.com service. Brett Frankenhoff was promoted to CBG Editor in 2006, with Maggie Thompson assuming the title of Senior Editor. In late 2009, CBG 's page count

896-484: Was as a 16-year-old when he produced the comics fanzine All Dynamic Magazine . As a 17-year-old in February 1971, Light founded The Buyer's Guide for Comic Fandom ( TBG ) as a tabloid -format monthly newspaper. Run out of Light's parents' basement in East Moline, Illinois , TBG began primarily as an advertising venue – known in comics fandom as an "adzine", i.e. a fanzine devoted to ads. TBG 's frequency

928-545: Was changed to twice-monthly with issue #18 (August 1, 1972). Besides occasional letter columns , beginning with issue #19 (Aug. 15, 1972), prominent fans Don and Maggie Thompson began a monthly column, "Beautiful Balloons." A news column, "What Now?" by Murray Bishoff , was added with #26 (Dec. 1, 1972). These provided the editorial content required by the United States Postal Service to qualify for second class mail (along with paid subscriptions being instituted with issue #27, January 1, 1973). At this time, TBG 's circulation

960-621: Was rechristened Movie Collector's World . Much later, the magazine was acquired by, and absorbed into, Classic Images . Gary Groth , publisher of The Nostalgia Journal (later renamed The Comics Journal ), initiated a long-running feud with Light in 1976. (This came after Light allegedly offered to buy the competing Nostalgia Journal for $ 12,000 in 1975.) Groth's first editorial in The New Nostalgia Journal , in issue #27 (July 1976), called out Light for what Groth claimed were his "expedient" business practices, and

992-466: Was reduced, the perfect binding ended, and some of the features changed, including the removal of the price guide listings. On January 9, 2013, Krause Publications announced the cancellation of Comics Buyer’s Guide effective with issue #1699 (March 2013). The website CBGXtra and its Facebook page continued as archived resources for a time but are no longer online, replaced by the website of the new owner Antique Trader . Alter Ego #122 (Jan. 2014)

Comics Buyer's Guide - Misplaced Pages Continue

1024-407: Was soon changed to twice-monthly, and prominent fans Don and Maggie Thompson began a monthly column, "Beautiful Balloons." The Thompsons administered the Goethe Awards , which originated with their fanzine Newfangles and then shared close ties with TBG. (Perhaps not coincidentally, TBG was given the Goethe Award for Favorite Fanzine in 1972.) A news column, "What Now?" by Murray Bishoff ,

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