Nickelodeon Magazine

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Current Nickelodeon Magazine logo
Current Nickelodeon Magazine logo

Nickelodeon Magazine is a children's magazine published by the Nickelodeon cable TV channel. It was first published in 1990 at a cover price of $1.95 and was distributed for free at participating Pizza Hut restaurants, but production ceased after the second issue [1]. The magazine returned to production in Summer 1993. Originally published on a quarterly basis, it switched to bi-monthly with its February/March 1994 issue. It then went to 10 times per year starting March 1995. It is still published monthly except for the June/July and December/January (formerly January/February) issues.

As of March 2008, Nickelodeon Magazine has had 139 issues.

In spite of being related to the network it is named after, Nickelodeon Magazine covers all sorts of topics for kids, whether inside the network or outside. It contains informative non-fiction pieces, humor, interviews, comics, pranks, and recipes (such as green slime cake).

The magazine's mascot is Zelda Van Gutters, a Lakeland Terrier dog who appears throughout the magazine making smart alecky comments. On the table of contents, Zelda introduces herself as the magazine's "roving reporter". She is also the star of the magazine's regular photo comic strip "Ruffing It".

In May 2006, the magazine got a makeover in the form of a brand new logo, but the insides such as the comic book stayed the same.

Contents

[edit] The Comic Book

Every issue of Nickelodeon Magazine includes a section called "The Comic Book". Usually, this insert is made up of regular comic strips from underground artists. The original editor of the section was Anne D. Bernstein. Since 1997 it has been edited by Chris Duffy, who was joined by Dave Roman a few years later. Among the comics featured in Nickelodeon Magazine's comic book:

  • Scene But Not Heard by Sam Henderson- The going-ons of a pink man and a bear, who compulsively pull pranks on each other. As the strip's name suggests, the comic is made entirely of pictures, but has no dialogue or sound.
  • Southern Fried Fugitives by Simon and Kim Deitch - The continuing adventures of a quartet of fried chicken pieces brought to life by a thunderstorm. This strip ended in December 1999.
  • Sam Hill & Ray-9 by Mark Martin - A boy and his robot dog.
  • Underpants-On-His-Head Man by Michael Kupperman - Originally appeared as one of "the worst comic book superheroes ever". As his name suggests, he wears his underwear on his head. His archenemy is his coworker, Pants-On-His-Head Man.
  • Patty-Cake by Scott Roberts - A bossy little blonde with a flower in her hair.
  • Fiona of the Felines by Terry LaBan- A girl who is raised by cats.
  • Impy & Wormer by James Kochalka - These marginal mini-strips (featured at the bottom of the pages, under the regular strips) feature a stupid bug who constantly bothers a comparatively intellectual worm.
  • Cody by Bobby London - Drawn somewhat like The Katzenjammer Kids, this strip's title character is often misled by the fibs told by his grandfather, Poppy. It always ends with Cody's four cats saying something.
  • Grampa and Julie, Shark Hunters by Jef Czekaj - This strip's titular pair of a girl and her dim-witted grandfather started out searching for Stephen, the Largest Shark in the World. Their adventures from 1999 to 2003 have recently been reprinted in a graphic novel. An animated version of the comic is now in the pilot stages at Klasky Csupo. [2]
  • Teeny Weeny, the Tiniest Hot Dog in the World by Mark Martin - A miniature hot dog with lots of enthusiasm.
  • Karmopolis by Nick Bertozzi - Adventure strip in a world where everyone and everything is on wheels.
  • YAM by Corey Barba-A baby of somewhat indeterminate gender in hooded jammies wearing a jet backpack has pantomime fantasy adventures.
  • The Worst Superheroes That Never Existed by Michael Kupperman-One of a series of humorous takes on outrageous or useless superheroes. In subsequent issues, the feature was followed up with "Worst Supervillains", "Monsters" and "Detectives." (Though the "Worst" title was dropped by then and had become "Forgotten Detectives."
  • The Gag Station by various. Single-panel gags, often featuring cartoonists such as Johnny Ryan, Mark Newgarden, Ellen Forney, Steve Weissman, Feggo, Ian Baker, and Mark Martin.

In addition, Nickelodeon magazine's Comic Book also features comic strips based on of the cartoons exclusive to the network. These strips usually show up if something big is happening with the shows themselves, particularly when a special episode or a movie (theatrical or made-for-TV) premieres, but only one show is featured per issue. Among the Nicktoons that have been featured in the Comic Book:

[edit] Issue themes

Each issue of Nickelodeon Magazine is themed around a different topic and features various articles related to said topic. Often, some topics have become annual topics featured in a specific month's issue. Among them:

  • The October issues are often themed around Halloween, and as such, the issues are often labeled with the adjectives "scary" or "gross".
  • The June/July issues are often based around summer entertainment, such as theatrical movies. Since 1996, an annual feature titled "Hooray for Holly-Whoops!" is run in these issues, highlighting various continuity errors in films released over the past year.
  • Since 2000, issues dated for April have been themed around cartoons.
  • The month of the Kids Choice Awards they have a whole issue of the Kids Choice Awards.
  • Most December/January issues have been based on Christmas or Winter topics, such as Shopping.

[edit] Nickelodeon Magazine Presents

Nickelodeon Magazine Presents is a series of one-shot quarterly special issues put out by Nickelodeon Magazine. Most issues tie in with a Nickelodeon movie or TV special. Nickelodeon Magazine Presents mainly contains comics, mostly new ones, plus a few two-page comics reprinted from Nickelodeon Magazine, but also features articles, puzzles, and poster inserts.

[edit] Notable issues

[edit] External links