I think the mook should be a once a year deal in addition the the magizine. It should be done at the beginning of the year with a best of the year past along with new articles and etc. I think that would be pretty cool. I agree LESS is not better in this situation.
I'm always impressed with Super7's choices for material in the magazine. I was kind of concerned that the magazine might be redundant given the quickness and fast circulation of information here on this board but I always find an unexpected surprise when the magazine comes out. Hopefully these surprises will be doubled in the mook format but, like everyone else, a long wait isn't exactly appealing.
I think the mook should be a once a year deal in addition the the magizine. It should be done at the beginning of the year with a best of the year past along with new articles and etc. I think that would be pretty cool. I agree LESS is not better in this situation. [/quote] i agree with lash.. i didnt pick up the super 7 mag yet.. but how often would mooks come out?twice a year? BIGGER IS BETTER
Mook Shnook Well.... As a supporter and a subscriber since #1, a contributor and avid reader.... The Mook concept is a let down. I did not subscribe to a mook, I subscribed to a quarterly with the hopes that it would become a bimonthly. In this particular case, less is not more. Mooks are indeed great, but are usually published infrequently and dont particularly have a set publishing schedule. Often mooks are "outside series" editions which augment the regular issue run of a publication. The announcement that S7 would go to a mook format has left me completely cold, a not often enough quarterly to an infrequent, uncertain, (both in content and circulation) schedule doesn't interest me in the least. The timeliness of the information within the pages of S7 will be lost, which is a strange paradox as most of the articles in recent issues have been advertisements thinly disguised as articles. S7 of late has been less about what interests me (vintage) and more about what someone thinks should be of interest (read buy this). We all know how quickly some of those products disappear off the shelves... So how will a mook format address this ? I just don't see it working out. Another negative impact, A mook format elevates S7 to an even more rarefied level of obscurity, a mook simply wont have the visibility of a quarterly. There goes the prospective audience. I could go on ( as I'm sure you all know) but I'm kind of over it. just my .02 cents.....
I guess my subscription was finished? I need to get a new one, the latest issue looks sweet! I was glancing at my co workers yesterday.
I agree with most of what akumaize noted a couple of posts above. I'd also like to add that even if your interests run to the more recent figures, a quarterly format always results in a lag time that tends to make the magazine itself seem late to the party, especially given the increasing frequency of toys being released. So even a rigidly adhered to twice a year format will seem nearly hopelessly out of date. Now that's if the content remains similar to what akumaizer described with some frustration about the recent issues. If instead the articles are indepth examinations of history and influences (great examples recently includes the article in #13 about Ken Kelly's Micronaut paintings and in the same issue about the historyand influence of the Fink-shit toy), then it'll work pretty well. The photo angle is less of an argument for me, because I think S7 the magazine already has great photos and has had perfectly fine photo checklists. What we don't need is a mook that is given over to page after page of unneccesarily "arty" photos. I can visit omnimonster for that. Ads are going to be another issue - I can't imagine that the mook wouldn't have any at all - but how much placement are they going to get? proportional to magazine would seem excessive in a $20+ item, and would advertisers still be interested if they only are get exposure twice a year?
In regards to the "News" being old in the quarterly format, and being useless in a bi-annual: the "News" in Juxtapoz - a monthly - is also old. Usually by the time you get Jux the toys that are featured are long sold out. So regardless of increasing or decreasing the publication rate, it'll always be old news. Besides, the "News" is being ditched according to Bryan's thread...so it's a moot point, or is that mook point? Whatever...
I think issue 15 is good, it is not my favorite for sure ! One thing I look forward to in S7 is the new toy release info, unfortunately everything in this issue was pretty much old news! I kinda thought the S7 exclusive figure this time around was kinda so so, I guess i've just gotten spoiled. Also, i'm not a real Star Wars fan so that did not do it for me. But that said, it's only my personal tastes, i'm sure it rocked for some of us. As far as the mook goes, it sounds good, but it does not sound like it will be a format that is very up to date. I kind of agree with whoever said once a year and keep the magazine going. I like some of the BIG Japan style mags with tons of photos, but most of those are still done on a monthly basis. I could see the mook as a YEAR END idea, but I don't see it replacing S7 magazine. How will it be possible to keep the publication TIMELY ? I hope it won't feel like picking up the Monday nespaper on Friday
I think the idea is to stop chasing TIMELY and focus on TIMELESS. With 50+ releases a month how could they keep up as a print magazine? We have this board for TIMELY, who needs a magazine. I'm surprised people are so resistant to change.
Timely? S7 deals with so much stuff that isn't new to the market that I don't think "timely" is an issue. The magazine, as is, has such a small portion of brand-spanking-new product. This info is now being moved to the website (so it'll actually be timely) and the mook sounds like it will focus on material that doesn't rely on a recent (or upcoming) release date. I'm not trying to be argumentative - I just don't see these things as being issues. Again, I appreciate the fact that we're all gonna be a little more strung out waiting 6 months rather than 3 - but the payoff just seems too huge to be bothered by the wait.
That's the point. Brian said it in one of the other threads. They're going to use the S7 website more for news and releases, since even at 4 times a year the news in the magazine still ends up being old. They can then focus the "magazine" on expanded articles and more photos.
After reading what the mook format will be, I think this will be a killer publication. I also agree that as far as new releases are concerned, formats like this board kill anything printed a month or two after the fact. Maybe after the crew gets into the mook groove, issues with a specific focus could come out (the vintage Japanese issue; the neo-kaiju issue & so on). All and all, it looks like the bar just got raised big time.
yeah, i think staying current on new releases for this sorta stuff is better suited for blogs and messageboards
I will miss the quarterly format, thats all ! It's been nice having a new issue of S7 to look forward to every few months. It will be interesting to see how it works out. Mooks away
Got mine today!! Great as always. If you don't have it yet, go get it Check out the killer prototype Skullman and Bat:
i'm just going to be glad that the mail man can't bend and mangle my copy of super7 anymore, since the mook is going to be hardcover.
