PiQ Magazine Folds
- Posted by Johanna on June 13, 2008 at 3:31 pm
- Category: Books About Comics
I should have known it was too good to be true — I was enjoying writing for them too much.
I was informed today that the current issue of PiQ magazine will be the last. Apparently, the parent company is going out of business.
I blame myself. Comicology only made it to four issues, too. I’ve been told that I’ll be paid for my unpublished work, but we’ll see. I am going to try and reprint much of what I did here, because it’s too good to lose.
More seriously, I think it’s another sign of just how bad the economy is. There’s not a lot of money any more for luxuries like entertainment magazines.
June 13, 2008 at 3:50 pm
My condolences. I wish the magazine could have stuck around to find a good core audience. Thankfully, you have a day job to pay the bills.
June 13, 2008 at 4:14 pm
[...] that the current issue of PiQ will be the last, and that the magazine is closing shop. Click here for details. This publication only lasted the blink of an eye, and I didn’t even get a chance to [...]
June 13, 2008 at 4:16 pm
Oh no! You are the Christopher Priest of comic magazins Johanna!:) Comicology, don’t forget that The Comic Journal stopped having newstand distribution when you started writing for them, and now PIQ!!:)
LOL just kidding, that’s a shame as I liked your work, and the coverage of the Japanese live action movies like Nana was interesting.
The price and my lack of interest in anime or video games made it hard for me to pick up though.
June 14, 2008 at 11:18 am
[...] here’s the story. Yes, I put up a post Friday afternoon about PiQ magazine closing. I was asked to take it down by a staffer because they weren’t ready for the news to be [...]
June 14, 2008 at 11:19 am
Ed, very true. I could approach writing for them as a lark (which is part of what made it so fun). I’m very sorry to hear about staffers out of work. My editor, Scott Howard, was great to work with.
June 14, 2008 at 12:12 pm
A sign of how bad the economy is? Not enough money to spend on luxuries? Please. This just wasn’t a luxury that people felt they wanted to buy. Most people rely on the internet for their news now, and PiQ seemed to be taking on far too many interests that were already covered by other established magazines. I’m not surprised that ultimately it couldn’t sustain itself.
That said, hopefully you’ll get paid for the work you’ve submitted. Best of luck in future endeavors.
June 14, 2008 at 12:26 pm
Oh yeah, while I am joking with Johanna because we’re friends and I know she’s fine financially despite this.
I do send my condolences to the others who worked there. I too am currently having to look for new work. As the price of gas has risen so much that my commute to work was costing me more than I could afford out of my check.
June 14, 2008 at 12:32 pm
PiQ was a great magazine to work for. I have to agree that all the eds – especially Scott whom I was lucky to work with – were excellent.
June 14, 2008 at 12:38 pm
[...] turns out that the reason for those PiQ shutdown rumors is that some freelancers have reported getting notice that the magazine’s final issue will hit stands in July. Over at CWR Johanna [...]
June 14, 2008 at 1:50 pm
[...] the more alarming news is that the person who made this public also notes that “apparently the parent company is going out of [...]
June 14, 2008 at 2:17 pm
The entire staff should of realized they where on the Titanic when they got shuffled out of the NTUSA banner. Five years published is nothing to lament about, but Five years and the sudden boot is. Every magazine is proud about reaching the coveted fifth year and it’s a damn shame NTUSA couldn’t.
June 14, 2008 at 5:02 pm
Forlourned sais: “The entire staff should of realized…”
Should have is abbreviated as should’ve, not should of.
And it’s a darn shame that magazines that try something new can’t make it, yet some magazines keep going for over 200 issues.
June 18, 2008 at 3:28 am
[...] new Entertainment magazine “PiQ” that replaced NewType USA, is ending next month. The July 2008 issue will be it’s last. The discontinuation of the publication is due to the [...]
July 1, 2008 at 1:19 am
First off i would like to say that i truly feel sorry for the staff to hear about this news. With that said, i felt stronger about the ceased publication of Newtype USA. Its not that this magazine failed at something new, its that they took away what fans liked and never delivered it back again. Newtype USA was primarily a Japanese culture/Anime magazine, something that PiQ lacked greatly. Perhaps if PiQ focused on what made Newtype successful here in the states, they would not be in this position. That is why i stopped purchasing PiQ because it did not cover what i was interested in most… JAPANESE CULTURE and ANIME! PiQ could hardly be called a replacement to Newtype USA. To replace one thing, the other must be greater. Harsh words aside, sorry to hear the bad news and good luck in the future.
July 8, 2008 at 8:00 pm
So where is our refund when it’s going out of business?? They take the money and then never inform those who cancelled their subscriptions. I contact them lots of time and now response a rep told me they got the message and would get the refund back. But as of July since I emailed them in May nothing. They took $80 and left the fan base high and dry.
July 13, 2008 at 3:51 pm
They didn’t give me my refund from my NewType USA subscription either.
I think we need to start a class action suit against the parent company.
July 14, 2008 at 5:43 pm
@Nate: Scooby Doo says, “Rotsa Ruck.” I’m sorry for anyone who voluntarily paid money for this rag. Those of us who had it forced upon us by virtue of the parent company being too unethical to refund our NewType subscriptions aren’t really surprised though. 4 issues….a shorter run than even I anticipated. Congrats, guys!
July 15, 2008 at 1:04 pm
Who can we even contact about refunds? I couldn’t find a number listed.
July 16, 2008 at 6:04 pm
Magazines that go out of business generally don’t have funds left to give refunds, but you can try subscriptions@advfilms.com.
July 18, 2008 at 10:37 am
Look that is what you get for taking a magazine away people like. Replaceing it with something not as good and not to mention taking people money who suscribed to Newtype USA not PIQ what ever that is. Oh by the way I am one of those people who got screwed out of there money. So I feel little pity for those who made that move. I honestly don’t like that fact that people lost there jobs but, come on. I suscribed to Newtype in January of this year and never got one copy. I got Piq and a half ass apology.I never even tried to get my money back, what was the point. But, honestly I don’t feel bad I am not getting all the issues of this magazine. I never cared about it. I get Newtype Japan now and I’m happy with that. In this world you have to watch the way you treat people because it will come back to bite you.
July 18, 2008 at 10:50 am
I don’t find it very compelling to hear “you get what you deserve” from people eager to dance on the grave of something other people enjoyed. I liked PiQ (or I wouldn’t have written for it), and I didn’t care for Newtype (no interest). You felt the opposite. I’m sorry you lost something, but I would think that would make you sympathetic to those who are now going through the same thing instead of saying “ha ha”. Regarding your last sentence, a saying about twigs and logs in eyes comes to mind.
August 1, 2008 at 5:13 pm
So, does anybody know how I can get my money back? They owe me for about 5 months worth of magazines.
August 6, 2008 at 5:38 am
I find it very compelling to laugh and dance on that horrible magazine’s grave. I too have been screwed out of my money by ADV. I have nothing nice to say about it all.
August 17, 2008 at 2:27 pm
I only discovered this magazine yesterday!
Sad news.
I wish you all the best with future writing endeavours.
D
August 24, 2008 at 11:35 am
…So how in the hell do we get our money back? I had a year’s subscription left.
August 25, 2008 at 4:11 pm
To all who are waiting for a refund . . . my sympathy. ADV owes me $82. Calls to subscription center in NJ, ADVHouston offices, e-mails to both got nothing. July complaint filed with Texas Attorney Gen & Houston BBB still waiting for response.Pretty arrogant for company still asking the anime fan base to buy its products.Very least even a failing company could do it respond to the people who supported it.
August 27, 2008 at 2:22 am
Yeah… PiQ isn’t anything new, contrary to what people believe.
It’s just a rehash of all other existing magazines. Think about it.
TV/Movies = Entertainment Weekly
Anime/Manga = Anime Insider/Newtype JPN/Otaku USA/Shounen Jump/Shoujo Beat
Video Games = Play/Game Informer/EGM/edge/games/PSM
Hmm… Yeah, PiQ had new content, but it was about pre-existing stuff. It’s.. not really new. It’s just an illusion of being new. =P
I’m a writer myself, so fellow writers getting the sack is really disheartening, but I’m sure you can find a spot in entertainment weekly or any other magazine that you can find.
August 27, 2008 at 7:20 am
By that argument, nothing is ever new.
August 27, 2008 at 1:32 pm
Well, it wasn’t really so much of an argument, as I said the content itself was new. I was just saying that the topics the magazine covered weren’t essentially new.
Cause some of the other comments stated that the magazine brought new things to the table, which, technically… it didn’t. ^^;
I dunno. The magazine wasn’t essentially bad, persay. It just covered too many topics at once. I mean.. it wasn’t even a viable replacement to NewType, even though it was advertised as such.
I think if the mag stuck to one genre, it may have done better. I’m not entirely sure. It’s just my opinion.
August 27, 2008 at 8:33 pm
I thought the combination of topics was new, that they covered that particular set of items in the proportion that they did. What you see as a flaw, I thought was a strength.
August 27, 2008 at 8:39 pm
PiQ sucks i wish NewType USA back.!
August 27, 2008 at 10:32 pm
Well, yes, the combo is pretty new and hasn’t been done before… (I wonder why. =P)
The weakness of it is that it spreads itself thin and doesn’t give as much information as it could, unless PiQ was really thick. ^_^;;;
August 27, 2008 at 10:34 pm
Also, robert, NewtypeUSA isn’t going to be coming back any time soon, unless someone who has a lot of free time and a lot of resources, buys the rights to it.
Which I doubt.
August 30, 2008 at 1:48 pm
@Shisho: My sentiments exactly. I hoped that it wouldn’t play out that way, but ADV has washed their hands of it all, and the measures you’ve taken are exactly what I’d recommend to anyone else.
@Mistress Sheena: I don’t see what’s wrong with having the best parts of magazines like the examples you listed all in one single place, and I think in comparison, PiQ was packed with more content. Maybe we didn’t have the formula just right, but we were working with each issue to adjust. It sucks that we’ll never get to see if a magazine like PiQ could’ve worked or not. I say that because the reasons for PiQ going away had more to do with the incompetence at ADV than the magazine itself. In the right hands, I think it would probably still be going strong and finding new audiences.
And you’re right. Newtype USA is dead. I don’t think there’s a publisher out there in their right mind that would agree to the ridiculous conditions from Kadokawa.
September 16, 2008 at 6:56 pm
Views aside of PiQ and my disappoint as a replacement for easily the best Anime magazine around, I am wondering if anyone knows or can point me in the right direction of either getting my money back for my expensive subscription or whatever compensation that is now being offered. NewtypeUSA, though they made everything sound like it was the greatest even when that wasn’t the case, was still a great source of information for Anime fans. If anyone can help that would be great. I do hope that the people that moved from one magazine to the next have found work and are doing well.
September 16, 2008 at 8:36 pm
I don’t know what to tell you. The only people I ever talked with there are either no longer there or no longer responding. You might try the Better Business Bureau, or if you paid by credit card, file a dispute with your card issuer. However, in many cases, if the magazine went under, there are no funds available for refunds.
September 17, 2008 at 7:55 am
@Erik: As far as I know, there is no compensation being offered. Executives at ADV made it clear to me in our final days that there would be no refunds and that there was no intention of offering any other sort of compensation to subscribers.
I’d suggest, just as Johanna has, that you take it up with the BBB or with your credit card company. Appealing to ADV directly probably won’t get you very far in terms of a refund, but it would let them know how dissatisfied you are with their service (not that they really care anymore).
September 17, 2008 at 11:56 am
Thanks for the help. I paid by check. I will have to check into the BBB though I am gathering if they no longer exist and no longer have offices etc, that it is a mute point by now. Magazines in general seem to be having problems right now which is not to big a surprise with the internet being available. I have a second magazine now that I just found out is going out of business as well. However, they are offering a refund or a choice of around 12-15 other magazines to move the rest of your issues over too.
September 22, 2008 at 8:34 am
I filed w/Texas Attorney General & Houston BBB against ADV Films as parent company for Newtype/PiQ. ADV did not respond to either. (Class actions have been taken by AGs offices in the past when enough complaints of the right type come through against a company, so maybe the heat could be turned up with everyone piling on.)
Complaints w/Attorney General can be filed online: http://www.oag.state.tx.us/ under “Consumer Protection”.
Before Houston BBB deleted most of its history for ADV Films a few days ago, the company had unacceptable rating with at least 10 recent unanswered complaints (Not a surprise …). BBB does still show address: as: 5750 Bintliff #210, Houston, 77036. BBB complaints can be filed online from their home page:
http://houston.bbb.org/WWWRoot/SitePage.aspx?site=148&id=e53c622a-5a6f-4629-bc19-cb6a8bfbca38 (Hope you can paste that one)
There’s a time limit on challenging charge card purchases. Since I wasted so much time trusting that ADV would do the right thing, I missed that deadline.
Best you can do is try to file, then decide how much more money you want to send ADV’s way through their DVDs and Anime Network subscriptions. I still subscribe to AN but only because there is no other anime channel available. Can’t help but feel that what they’ve done to their loyal, trusting (naïve?) customers will eventually come back to them full force.
September 25, 2008 at 1:32 pm
[...] PiQ magazine went defunct in June, subscribers have been asking about how to get their money [...]
February 22, 2009 at 8:44 pm
what the hell were they thinking? publishing that worthless magazine that nobody cares about,i wish fans of the now defunct NewType USA want to get a refund from ADV.
August 4, 2009 at 1:36 pm
My subscription for Newtype ran out on the last issue, but I didn’t know that and had gave them a check for another 2 yr subscription (well over 200.00) and then they start sending me this PiQ magazine which i didn’t want. i called and wrote many emails. no one ever got back to me. I finally talked to someone at PiQ. They cancelled my subscriptiong after their first issue and I never saw and refund. It horrible that they would do this to many many people. I know I work hard for my money (at a minium wage job) and its rediculious that they re not giving this money back to the people. I don’t feel sorry for this company at all. The magazine would have probably made it if they had not ripped the customer off.