I am planing to get a subscription to a magic magazine, and I was wondering which people considered to be the best at this time

Sorry if this is in the wrong area of the Café, I did not know where to post it

If you are considering which Magazine is the best, well it si a toss up between the Genii and Magic Magazine.

I love the colorful pictures, and lots of them which Magic magazine is noted for.

The Genii, has Osborne Illusions every other month. If they were going I might consider dropping that subscription and Keeping Magic Magazine, but since I do love magic I get them both along with MUM (SAM Magazine), and The Linking Ring (IBM Magazine).

Now since I do lots of Children shows, the most pratical and useful to me is Samuel Smith Funny Paper Magazine. It is a must have if one does children shows. Unfortunately, it is an every other month magazine.

Also I sunscribe to Haunted Attraction which is focused on Halloween attractions and I find there are some cool artlies in that I could use for stage effects, and a Halloween Spooktacular Show. (Every other month too!)

This might belong under Tricky Business because Magic Magazines are deductable on income tax as self-improvement educational expense.

In terms of skill level and ability, MAGIC tends to be for people of all abilities, while Genii has a tendency to focus on the more advanced magician.

In terms of content, MAGIC is the magic world's version of People magazine, while Genii would be more akin to TIME.

For whatever it's worth, this year I am dropping Magic Magazine and trying out Genii. I find I tend to let M.U.M. & the Linking Ring and Magic Magazine accumulate, so adding another would be inappropriate. I think the comparison to People Magazine and Magic Magazine is a good one. I haven't subscribed to Genii since Richard Kaufman has taken over, but I do buy one at a Magic shop occasionally.

The "problem" with Genii is that there's always so much good material it's NEVER a fast read!

My favorite magazines are The Linking Ring, M.U.M., Genii, Magic and The Funny Paper (www.thefunnypaper.com...tell Sammy I sent ya!)...not necessarily in that order. I can't imagine anyone seriously into magic not subscribing to the first four and anyone serious about peforming for kids and families not subscribing to the last. And now with the new British magazine on the stands...I look forward to every issue and consider the cost the price of staying current & informed in the field. Of course, my wife cuts out all of the dealers' ads before she hands me my copy of Genii and Magic. I get even by making her shop at Victoria's Secret wearing a blindfold.

:o) Skip

I like both Magic and Genii, but I would give the nod to Magic Magazine if I could only choose one.

This is for TheFish727
Since you are just starting to learn the art of magic, I think the best magic magazine for you would be Genii. I have a lot of beginner freinds and they all say it has has helped them a lot.

Wow thank you all for your help I think I am leaning toward Genii.Then I will subsribe to others. and sorry munch, but I am nowhere near a beginner in the world of magic, I have been doing magic for 10 years and I am a member of the magic castle but thanks any

Well, it might have been a toss up a couple of months ago between MAGIC and Genii but not that Michael Close isn't reviewing for MAGIC and DAvid Acer is writing Magicanna for Genii the scales have tipped in the favor of Genii.

But I'd still check out MAGIC every month... this months issue has two killer effects by Paul Cummins. His "Punken Droker" (drunken poker...) is easy to do and kicks SERIOUS butt. He posted this to a private BBS I belong to some months back and boy were we sad to see it get out.

I would say that the main difference (for me) between Genii and MAGIC, is the depth of the reviews, plus the skill level of the routines taught.

Genii's reviewers generally go into more depth than MAGIC - Jamy Ian Swiss has been known to devote up to six pages of commentary on a single book. Even though the reviews section of MAGIC now has more than one reviewer (for 10 years all the reviews were done by Mike Close, in what is surely one of the greatest feats of processing information), I still find that Genii's reviewers will go into a lot more depth than MAGIC.

With regards to the tricks that are taught in each issue, I have found that Genii's tricks are a lot more difficult than most of the stuff that is taught in MAGIC. Genii's tricks are the real stuff - e.g. the tricks taught use the best methods to create the most magical illusion, and the skill level required is often at a very high level. MAGIC's tricks are often at a lower skill level, but the tricks taught are still very effective and commercial.

Personally, I prefer Genii because of the review section. I am not able to use as many of the Genii tricks as the tricks that are published in MAGIC, but that is a statement of my current skill level. The tricks I ultimately want to be able to perform show up more often in Genii than in MAGIC, and I am perfectly happy to practice a lot in order to perform the miracles that appear in the Magicana section of Genii.

You will not go wrong with any of the major magazines. Genii, though, does occasionally throw in a free bonus DVD. A little extra icing...