Comics Buyer's Guide

• 1. A Teenager's Adzine

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  Alan Light was seventeen years old when he launched The Buyer's Guide for Comic Fandom in February 1971. He operated the publication from his home in the Quad Cities region of Iowa and Illinois. This early version functioned as an adzine, a fanzine dedicated primarily to advertising space rather than editorial content. Ron Frantz documented this lineage in his book Fandom: Confidential, tracing it back to Stan's Weekly Express published between 1969 and 1973. That earlier project drew inspiration from an obscure flower advertising journal called Joe's Bulletin. Light cooperated with the WE Seal of approval program to help combat mail fraud within the hobby. By the 1st of August 1972, the publication shifted its frequency to twice-monthly with issue number eighteen. Don and Maggie Thompson began their monthly column Beautiful Balloons starting with issue nineteen on the 15th of August 1972. Murray Bishoff added a news column titled What Now? with issue twenty-six on the 1st of December 1972. These additions provided the necessary editorial content to qualify for second class mail status from the United States Postal Service. Paid subscriptions were instituted with issue twenty-seven on the 1st of January 1973. At that time, circulation reached approximately 3,600 copies.

• 2. Krause Takes The Helm

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  The year 1983 marked a significant turning point when Krause Publications purchased the magazine. Operations moved to Iola, Wisconsin under new ownership. Issue number four hundred eighty-two dated the 11th of February 1983 officially changed the name to Comics Buyer's Guide. Don and Maggie Thompson were hired as editors following the acquisition. Krause introduced the Comics Buyer's Guide Customer Service Award to recognize advertisers with a clean bill of health. This initiative sparked controversy among some industry figures regarding advertising criteria. By the late 1980s, the publication had grown to more than 20,000 subscribers. Writer Peter David joined the staff in 1990 with his column But I Digress.... Mark Evanier contributed his P.O.V. column starting in late 1994. Co-editor Don Thompson died on the 23rd of May 1994 at the age of fifty-eight. John Jackson Miller became managing editor in 1998 while Brent Frankenhoff took on projects editor duties. Maggie Thompson remained as editor during this transition period. The magazine received the Eisner Award for Best Comics-Related Periodical/Publication in both 1992 and 1993.

• 3. From Tabloid To Magazine

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  Issue number one thousand five hundred ninety-five published in June 2004 signaled a major format shift. The weekly tabloid structure was replaced by a monthly perfect bound magazine design. This change aimed to enhance newsstand sales and appeal to investors interested in comic books. A price guide for contemporary comics was added alongside other new features intended to attract avid collectors. The marketing strategy involved yearly publication of the Standard Catalog of Comic Books produced with Human Computing. Human Computing created the comic collectors software known as ComicBase. In July 2005, the magazine began archiving past features through its CBGXtra.com service. Brett Frankenhoff was promoted to Editor in 2006 while Maggie Thompson assumed the title of Senior Editor. Late 2009 saw page count reductions and the end of perfect binding. Some features changed including the removal of price guide listings from the regular schedule.

• 4. Voices Of The Hobby

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  Martin L. Greim contributed an occasional column starting with issue twenty-five on the 15th of November 1972. His work initially bore the title M. L. G. on Comics before evolving into Crusader Comments. Shel Dorf launched his series Shel Dorf and the Fantasy Makers with issue number one hundred sixty-two in 1976. This interview series covered creators across comics, television, and film fields. David Scroggy served as another columnist during the 1970s era. Robert Ingersoll wrote The Law is A Ass! which examined how writers erred in legal depictions within stories. The magazine maintained a letter column titled Oh, So? throughout its run. Tony Isabella, Catherine Yronwode, Rick Norwood, Heidi MacDonald, Rik Offenberger, Chuck Rozanski, Craig Shutt, Beau Smith, and Andrew Smith all contributed columns over four decades. Professional artists like Jack Kirby, C.C. Beck, and Alex Toth regularly provided covers and illustrations for Beautiful Balloons and Fit to Print columns. Marc Hansen, Chuck Fiala, Jim Engel, Dan Vebber, Fred Hembeck, Mark Engblom, Brian Douglas Ahern, Chris Smigliano, Mark Martin, Batton Lash, and Brian Hayes created cartoons appearing in the publication.

• 5. The People's Choice

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  Don and Maggie Thompson aimed to revive comic book fan awards similar to the Goethe Awards they had administered earlier. The first Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Awards were announced with issue number five hundred on the 17th of June 1983. Voting initially occurred only among CBG subscribers before opening up to the general public. As many as 5,000 votes were cast annually during the 1990s. These awards were often presented at the annual Chicago Comicon until 1996 when the Wizard Fan Awards took that slot. After 1996, results simply appeared within the magazine pages without a live ceremony. The format derived heavily from the Goethe Award system which originated with the Thompsons' fanzine Newfangles. TBG itself received the Goethe Award for Favorite Fanzine in 1972. The awards continued running until circa 2010 when they ceased operations.

• 6. Censorship And Controversy

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  Krause Publications instituted controversial advertising criteria shortly after acquiring the magazine in 1983. The Comics Journal published an article titled Comics Buyer's Guide Advertisement Criteria Draw Fire from Advertisers in July 1984. Another incident involved CBG censors addressing Glenwood Distributors accounts appearing in April 1987. The publication rejected a Trident advertisement in September 1989 according to The Comics Journal issue one hundred thirty-one. These decisions sparked debate about editorial control over industry advertising practices. Gary Groth maintained a long-running feud with Alan Light regarding these policies and other matters. The Comics Journal founder criticized various aspects of the publication's direction during the 1970s and 1980s. Despite controversy, the magazine maintained its position as a leading voice in comic book journalism.