Comics Buyer's Guide
Comics Buyer's Guide (ISSN 0745-4570) (CBG) is the longest-running periodical reporting on the comic book industry. It was founded in 1971 primarily as an advertising venue by Alan Light under the title Buyer's Guide to Comics Fandom. In 1983 it was purchased by Krause Publications who hired the late Don Thompson and his wife Maggie, long-time fixtures in comics fandom, as editors. In July 2002 Krause was acquired by F+W Publications.
From inception a weekly in a tabloid format, with 1595 (June 2004) it converted to a monthly squarebound magazine, with a price guide for contemporrtary comics among the new features intended to make the magazine more appealing to those with an avid interest in comic books as an investment in hopes this would enhance sales on news stands. This marketing strategy is 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.
CBG has at times been noted for its lively letter column "Oh, So?", as well as columns by Peter David, Tony Isabella, catherine yronwode, Mark Evanier, John Jackson Miller, Bob Ingersoll, Heidi McDonald, Chuck Rozanski, Craig Shutt, Beau Smith, Andrew Smith and others. Cartoonists who have graced its pages over the years include Chuck Fiala, Jim Engel, Dan Vebber, Fred Hembeck, Mark Engblom, Brian Douglas Ahern, Chris Smigliano, Mark Martin (cartoonist), Batton Lash, Brian Hayes and others. For some years they reprinted installments of The Spirit comic strip by Will Eisner. The panel cartoon Last Kiss by John Lustig is among the longtime fixtures.
In 1992, the magazine spun off its distributor and retailer news into a separate periodical, Comics & Games Retailer. It has also awarded their annual Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Awards since 1982.
External links
- Comics Buyer’s Guide
- Index to The Buyer's Guide For Comic Fandom
- ComicBase
- Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Awards 1982-2005
- Chris Smigliano/For Art's Sake
- Peter David
- Brian Douglas Ahern
- John Jackson Miller
- Fred Hembeck
- Mark Engblom's CBG cartoons
- Batton Lash
- Last Kiss
- Nostalgia Journal #27 interview with Alan Light and Murray Bishoff