A Bad Summer for Periodicals and Paulie Walnuts

This weekend, I made my monthly trip to Vegas to pick up all the expensive magazines that I can't find within 50 miles of where I live. (It was also the first such mag run I've been able to make since last May, when I got my last paycheck from spring semester.) It was a good run, too. I finally found a copy of Justice Society #3, so now I can read the subsequent issues that have been gathering dust in my read pile. (One of the rewards of reading comics is its continual reinforcement of delayed gratification.)

The comic book shop where I go to pick up back issues had relocated into a brighter, cleaner, and longer facility, although the owner chose to arrange the merchandise in almost the exact same way as the old shop. I guess that makes it easier for the loyal customers (and what comic shop today doesn't rely on at least 75% of its business coming from loyal customers?), but it seems kind of a waste of a move to not change things around a bit.

Also found a nice Italian place that wasn't outrageously priced and made me feel like Paulie Walnuts. And who doesn't want to feel like Paulie Walnuts?

The downside to the whole trip was picking up the lastest issue of Punk Planet and reading this on the cover:

There's no easy way to put this, so it's best to simply say it straight: This is the last issue of Punk Planet.

I've read PP for several years, and often incorporate its articles into my classes. Its espousal of the indie ethic extended to music, politics, books, comix, zines, sex, fiction, and cooking. I'm heartbroken that it's folding. (If you missed out on this vital publication, pre-2007 back issues are available on the website for a buck apiece.)

I learned this morning that another of my favorite periodicals (although completely different from PP in its philosophy, distribution, and content) will be folding within the next few weeks: The Weekly World News. Another mainstay of my classes (particularly when discussing how to assess a source's credibility), I never miss an opportunity to page through it in the checkout lines. And any fan of Men in Black will tell you that it contains the best damn investigative reporting on the planet.

There's no lack of other stuff to read out there, but it's particularly disappointing to see an important political magazine disappear in these challenging times, and yet another influential contributor to popular culture slink away into the dark, smelly basement of Americana.