April 30th, 2008 by Stinkhead
Several times a year, Wizard Entertainment publishes Toy Wishes a magazine for kids and their parents, outlining the toys that are coming out in the current season. This is the spring issue, so look forward to lots of toys based on the hot summer movie properties, such as Hulk, Indiana Jones, Speed Racer (biiig reviews from me very soon), Iron Man, and Kung Fu Panda..
If you have a hard time watching long stretches of Dora the Explorer, you are missing out on the advertisements your kids are seeing. This magazine tries to sum up the stuff that’s coming out, but since its from a third party publisher, you’re getting an unbiased view. There aren’t reviews necessarily, more of a buffet presentation of what’s coming soon, prices, and appropriate age ranges.
I particularly liked the articles that both myself and a young child would enjoy about professional toy designers, detailing how they got started, what they did in school, and what they enjoy most now. There was also a thorough article about throwing sensible birthday parties that aren’t way over the top, or putting you in debt.
The magazine is nicely divided up into genres, such as Television properties, outdoorsy toys, action figures, and active toys (such as bikes and sporting equipment).
Think back to when that inch thick Sears Wish Book arrived, and there was a two page spread of Star Wars figures layed out with the Emperial Shuttle, or the AT-AT. Instead of directly selling you anything, it’s giving you a compact run down of what to look for. I do like how it’s appropriate for young readers, and their parents. There are some sweet massive Sweepstakes inside as well.
The bottom line is that, yes, they’re promoting the “buy-me’s” you’re going to receive as a parent this summer, but it’s not a catalog from one company or another, so you’re getting a more balanced view of what is out there.
You can pick up this magazine just about anywhere, but here is their official web site ToyWishes.com
Just a side note, Wizard Entertainment also publishes ToyFare Magazine, a journal of happenings in the toy collector world, and Wizard Magazine, the definitive comic book collectors’ magazine. I have written some freelance articles for ToyFare.
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