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Papercutz debuted the first issue of their rebranded Nickelodeon Magazine this past weekend at Book Con 2015.   First announced back in February, the magazine takes its name from the children’s publication that ceased production in 2009.  While that version of the periodical focused on celebrity interviews and other textual content,  Papercutz’s version of Nickelodeon Magazine will bring original comics based upon Nickelodeon titles to a mass market audience.  According to company publisher Terry Nantier, circulation numbers will begin at 125,000.

The publication of Nickelodeon Magazine as a monthly periodical marks the arrival of an expansive new era for Papercutz, which has focused on graphic novels in the past.  The magazine will not only be featured in local bookstores, but in big box chain stores such as Wal-Mart and Target.  The first issue debuts content based upon the popular Nickelodeon properties Sanjay and Craig and Breadwinners, with Harvey Beaks and Pig Goat Banana Cricket comics to follow in subsequent issues.

Papercutz plans to collect and release the comics featured in Nickelodeon Magazine in trade editions on a triannual basis.  The first trade edition of Sanjay and Craig will arrive in September, followed by a trade version of Breadwinners in November and Harvey Beaks in January 2016.

I’m very excited to see Papercutz putting out a magazine.  Throughout the majority of my childhood years, I had a subscription to Disney Adventures magazine.  It was filled with all sorts of content, but I would always skip to the comics section in order to read about my favorite animated characters like Buzz Lightyear and Lilo and Stitch.  It was my favorite time of each month, and the new Nickelodeon Magazine seems poised to fill the void left by Disney Adventures when it ended production in 2007.

The all-ages market often feels neglected by major comic book publishers, which is unfortunate given how important that market is to the development of the comics industry in general.  Having a monthly comic magazine that is kid friendly and readily available at prolific department stores seems like a great way to attract and create a new generation of comics readers.

Disclaimer: Alex worked as an editorial intern at Papercutz in 2014.  His words and opinions are his own.

Nickelodeon has rolled out a new set of promos for their upcoming slate of animated shows in a series of behind-the-scenes clips embedded in their Nick Studio 10 pre-teen programming block. Here, viewers are introduced to new series like Breadwinners and Rabbids Invasion, and reacquainted with returning players like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Monsters Vs. Aliens, Sanjay and Craig and The Legend of Korra.

In the Nick Studio 10 spots, a pair of hyperactive tweens scramble from one studio cubicle to another to chew the scenery with unidentified mononymous animation “experts” with names like “Bret”, “Ciro” and “Claudia”. The entire experience results in a headache-inducing panderfest that is desperately trying to connect to its youthful demographic.

The direction of this presentation style is the polar opposite of Cartoon Network’s recent profiling of their upcoming slate of auteur-driven, character-based properties from smart, hipster-ish millenials. While CN is at least making an attempt to shine a light on nurturing bright ideas from the next generation of talent, Nick hopes to distract from rebooted ideas and threadbare concepts with quick cuts, dubstepping ducks and rectally-focused gags that take the form of toilet plungers, cow farts and “butt kicks.”

Ultimately, Nickelodeon would be hard pressed to sell this collection of spinoffs, adaptations and desperate grabs in a sincere, straightforward way. When placed alongside CN shows like Steven Universe or Uncle Grandpa, something like Rabbids Invasion, which began as a manic, unintelligible video game, has trouble competing.

Nick management continues to wallow in its inability to find a clear creative path that distinguishes itself from its competitors. These dips in quality are cyclical in TV animation—just a few years Cartoon Network was in the same position—but Nick’s stumbles have been a ongoing concern for over a decade. These promos serve as an outward reflection of the network’s inability to come up with shows that connect with their audience, and explains better than anything why the entire network subsists on the back of a single decade-and-a-half old, as seen in the network’s recent ratings: