PiQ Premiere Issue Better Than Expected

March 17, 2008 in Impressions by Tom Langston (calaggie) | 1 comment

A few days ago I received the first of four expected issues of PiQ magazine (produced by PiQ, LLC) and after reading most of it, I have to say I am already beginning to prefer it to Newtype USA, its previous anime- and manga-focused iteration. Those two subjects are still covered but the focus of more on a greater variety of entertainment including comics, video games, sci-fi, and American cartoons. For instance, there are features on Appleseed Ex Machina; Avatar, which I still haven’t seen despite many recommendations; Invasion U.S.A., a Marvel comic beginning next month; Code Geass; and the currently on hiatus Sarah Connor Chronicles.

Playing along with the theme of covering many bases, a section called “The List” profiles ten new things the editors like the most and think would interest their readers. The recommendations in April’s issue range from “magicpunk” anime Tweeny Witches to Adult Swim show Frisky Dingo to comic-book history book The Ten-Cent Plague.

Finally, their “Monitor” section this month is anchored by five anime industry people weighing in on the future viability of anime and also contained are a couple music reviews, a short glance at Asian films, tips on assembling a mech kit, and a talk with the co-founder of Legend Entertainment, once-publisher of PC adventure games. In said anchor, Monica Rial tells fans that they have the power, Amos Wong thinks the moe phenomeon among the Akihabara crowd is partly to blame, Rob Bricken says anime is in a zombie-like state, Jonathan Clements reminds us “the end of the world” has happened before, and Bandai Visual BOSS Tatsunori Konno suggests the American side might be “catching its breath” after two decades of rapid growth.

Even though my interest has been “piqued” by this first issue, I’m going to hold off on subscribing until at least the fall, when I get a more stable address. [It has a cover price of US$6.99 (CAN$7.99) and the subscription card inside offered 12 issues for $40 ($3.33/issue).] I will certainly flip through it when I pass by the magazine stacks in the local Borders every couple weeks. I recommend anyone to pick up an issue and at least checking it out to see if its tone and layout works for you.

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nckl on March 17, 2008 at 11:46 am

I think it’s a great magazine to flip through at your local comic shop / bookstore / magazine store, but the only way I’d buy it is through a subscription. At $3.33, it’s a good deal, but at the $6.99 (or $7.99 + tax for me) cover price, it’s not worth my money.

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