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R.I.P. Realms of Fantasy

Realms of Fantasy is ceasing publication following its April 2009 issue.

Terrible news. I have the complete run.

I always really enjoyed the story mix. The art direction on the illustrations was hit and miss. Over the past year, the advertising became embarrassing as it filled with “erotic/romance fantasy” small print crap. The covers were notoriously bad. But they were clearly designed to grab attention at the news stand. I’m sure the theory was “pull them in with a Harry Potter headline, keep them with great short fiction”. Obviously, that didn’t work.

The biggest loss, IMHO, will be the “Folkroots” column and the artist profile that appeared in each issue. (The loss of Gahan Wilson’s book reviews over the past couple years was also a big loss.)

“Folkroots” took a scholarly look—with great, long bibliographies—at the roots of folk stories and fantasy tropes. The artist profile highlighted those known and unknown with an interview and a large selection of their portfolio.

I haven’t seen this combination of art, history, and fiction in any other magazine—though I haven’t been looking either.

A lot of the talk on the web now is about who will pick up the story submissions. I’m wondering where and if I’ll move my subscription. I can say that High Fructose has caught my eye with its past couple issues and will pick up the art slack. The column length dose of history every couple months was just right, I don’t want a whole magazine of it. There has never been a shortage of fantasy fiction, especially in this age. Tor is doing a good job, but suffers without RoF’s firm editorial hand. I will miss Shawna McCarthy’s editorial direction. Her taste was quirky, though tasteful. She set the bar very high.

R.I.P. Realms of Fantasy