History
Gareb Shamus, the company’s CEO and Chairman, founded Wizard magazine in January 1991 shortly after he graduated from college. Originally based in Congers, New York, Wizard grew from one monthly magazine to a multi-title publishing company with diversified interests in branded products and related convention operations. Wizard’s publications reached more than 2 million consumers a month, in 40 countries with translations into 5 languages.
Wizard’s first magazine debuted in July 1991. Wizard: The Guide to Comics was launched (the magazine would later be re-titled as Wizard: The Comics Magazine and again as Wizard: The Magazine of Comics, Entertainment and Pop Culture). Wizard has won numerous awards including four Folio Gold Awards for Editorial Excellence and has been voted “Magazine of the Year” thirteen years in a row by hobby shop retailers. Wizard has been awarded “TOP 10” magazine launch of the 1990s by Samir Husni.
A second monthly magazine was launched in 1995: Inquest Gamer. InQuest Gamer was a source for information about collectible card games, role-playing games, and strategy gaming. InQuest Gamer was one of the first in the United States to report on some of the world’s hottest hits, including Magic: The Gathering, Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh. In 2007, publication of Inquest Gamer was canceled.
ToyFare: The Toy Magazine was launched in 1997. ToyFare covered new toys including Star Wars, Spider-Man and Batman, and won the Folio Gold Award. ToyFare has since ceased publication.
In December 2007, Darren Sanchez was named Vice President of Production at Wizard Entertainment.
FunFare Magazine was launched in 2009. It is published semi-annually and features consumer toy products for kids and the young at heart. It too ceased publication.
On January 24, 2011, it was announced that Wizard magazine would cease publication after 20 years, and would be changed to an all digital magazine called Wizard World launching in February 2011. Wizard Entertainment will also cease publication of its sister magazine, Toyfare.
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