Todd Karr in connection with the Conjuring Arts Research Center is releasing the complete run of Abbott's legendary New Tops! This is one of the most important magazines in Magic. Period.

Todd tells me that the size is over 20,000 pages and to quote him "there is layer upon layer of great material." This is not just a sales pitch. How many of us have seen The New Tops referenced all through the literature.

It is done on two DVDs and is completely searchable. As many know, Todd Karr's products are uniformly excellent. Owners of the The Secret Ways of Al Baker, Benson by Starlight, Rusduck's Cardiste, and others already are aware of Todd Karr's committment to quality.

Last year I ordered the original TOPS from Todd. This is obviously the predecessor to the New Tops - clever no? - and it is also a great resource.

But, back to the New Tops. How many of us want M.I.N.T.? Well, it's obviously in there! Missed John Luka's L.I.N.T.? It's all there as well. Plus you get U.F. Grant, Nick Trost, Stewart James, and many, many, other greats in this resource!

I for one have always believed that some of the best effects in the Art are buried in the pages of the great periodicals. Whether in hardcover compilations or digital format, we have access to resources that magicians only a generation ago would have killed for!

Take for example two of the "smaller" compilations: The Jinx at 880 pages and Stephen Tucker's Spellbinder at just over 700 pages. Just these two provide an embarrassment of riches. Step it up to the larger ones like Apocalypse, Pabular, and Bascom Jones Magick, Hugard's Magic Monthly, and obviously your resources expand exponentially.

Then we come to the mammoth compilations of The Tops, The New Tops, The Gen, The Sphinx, The Magic Wand, and others and you may spend three lifetimes! Stewart Judah was once quoted that in all his years in Magic he only scratched the surface, but how fun the scratching was!

My review will be forthcoming, but it will take a little while to give this compilation the review it deserves. In the meantime, check out The Miracle Factory's website and read about The New Tops for yourself!

Kudos to Todd Karr's Miracle Factory for bring this very important resource to us!

I grew up with The New Tops. Vlad is completely correct, what a resource. Ed Marlo and Sid Lorraine, too! There are several lifetimes of reading in all these compilations. It is simply amazing that technology is making available that which many of us thought we would never see again, and at such reasonable prices. Todd Karr does a splendid job, indeed. Hats off to him.

Best,

Abe Carnow

I have volume 2 of M.I.N.T, which was very expensive for me, and I didn't care for it at the beginning. Now its one of my favorite books to go back into with a nice cup of tea, or glass of Pepsi !

~ Feras

Feras,

If you decide to get The New Tops, stock up on LOTS of tea and Pepsi!

Best,
Vlad

Well, I JUST received The New Tops yesterday and had a chance to check it out. A full review will come later, but, in the meantime, if you are serious about magic, GET THIS!

Marlo, Trost, Lorraine, Racherbaumer, Foster, Grant, James, Luka, Nelson, and a slew of others have contributed to this mammoth collection. Whether you are a novice or a grizzled veteran or somewhere in between, The New Tops is simply a must have; one of the GREAT periodicals in the literature.

My forthcoming reviews will take a bit of time as this is a HUGE resource exceeding 20,000 pages. The first review will focus on the quality of the scans themselves and will be easier to do. The second review will talk about some of the great features you will find in The New Tops.

I received an e-mail from Todd stating that Lloyd Jones' The Bat is now available. Thanks to Todd Karr and also The Conjuring Arts Research Center we are getting access to complete runs of the important periodicals for mere pennies.

Of course others are doing the same like Chris Wasshuber and Martin Breese among others.

While I DO prefer hard copy, I am also realistic in that even finding a complete run of any of these periodicals is quite a task. Also, since I am interested in building and maintaining a WORKING library as opposed to being a collector, I am far more interested in having these in a state where they will last for a LONG time. When I see a routine or article I want to read in more depth, it is an easy matter to print it. I found a GREAT series of articles on the Three Shell Game as written by Eddie Joseph in The Magic Wand. I printed it and need not worry about being extremely careful with a 50 year old piece of literature. I can make notes, carry it with me, etc.

Sadly, The New Tops isn't going to interest many of the Ellusionist crowd. But, fry them with something from The New Tops, or Apocalypse, or the Jinx or (name your periodical) and perhaps they will want to dive in on the deep end.

I think however I will be proven wrong about this as the number of posts thus far in this thread attests. We'll see.

Best,
Vlad

Is there a link for this?

Hi, everyone. The New Tops is available at http://www.miraclefactory.net

I'll head off some of the critiques on the consistency of the scans. Some of the scanned pages lack clarity in the illustrations. The text is fine and the most important element you need, but you wouldn't want to print the images out for your magic den. We've been refining our scanning technique and our next productions will be a lot cleaner!

I grew up with The New Tops and it's a pleasure to release these. So many great memories of Abbott's Get-Together and Colon!

Just a quick note before my reviews: the scans are uniformly very good. I have taken into account the possible condition of the source material. Obviously it would take YEARS to look at every page, but a healthy random sampling thus far has shown that The Miracle Factory has released yet another quality product.

I also must hasten to add that for those of you who do not have the M.I.N.T. volumes, you WILL have them in The New Tops obviously - albeit not in one bound volume

I am a fanatic for Magic journals - hardbound and digital. As they become available, I snatch them up. Take a moment and peruse your own library and take note of the huge number of references to various journals. It really is quite staggering! Frankly there are untold treasures in all of these journals just aching to be performed again. What's more, what seems "new" on the market in MANY cases had its genesis in these great resources. Browsing the hardbound Hugard's Magic Monthly one evening some years ago I came across a stunning effect that just two years later was reworked a bit and marketed as Stigmata.

Even the "old" journals like Stanyon's MAGIC have astound stuff waiting for someone to USE them. Yes, these compilations ARE mammoth and can be quite intimidating at first. But, the joy of jumping in and losing one's trepidation is so very richly rewarding.

Just browsing The New Tops, I found a GREAT, CLEAN two decks in case transpo from the legend Tony Kardyro. Those of you who do not have the massive Stewart James books will find a healthy portion of this Master's creations.

One last bit: Todd Karr has done a very classy thing by putting the url for The Conjuring Arts Research Center on the DVD case and on the pages themselves. This partnership with CARC and The Miracle Factory is a boon to all of us and I for one give them a deep bow and a thank you for providing us with these very important resources.

Reviews coming soon.

Best,
Vlad