Until a searched for it, I had no idea Animerica had an issue 0. I found this on eBay and immediately got fascinated and had to buy it. Best $14 spent. I have the Anime Expo beta issue of Newtype USA and the first Anime Invasion supplemental before it was Anime Insider.
Animerica was published from November 1992 to June 2005. 13 Volumes. Animerica is the best chronicle of two to three generations of anime fandom. I first heard of the magazine in college when my sister would buy it – 1996. I was familiar with anime through the VHS section in Hastings and Saturdays on the Sci-Fi channel. I didn’t really become a collector until 2001 when Animeigo released the Macross DVD set.
So how did this project Anime Nostalgia Bomb get started? I am nostalgic and I don’t throw away magazines, con badges nor con program guides. I had about 1/3 of Animerica’s run, 95% of Anime Insider and 70% of NewType USA and most of Protoculture Addicts from the past 7 years. I decided to revert to my comic book and baseball card nerd brain from the early 90s for a project -try to collect full runs of these magazines.
I’m going to post front cover, table of contents, editor’s page, ad scans, fan art and the occasional feature – to visually create a time machine for older fans and a nostalgia destination for new fans. You will get to see what was popular and what was marketed. Magazines will be chronologically by date. You’ll see a lot of Animerica and some Protoculture Addicts for a while then MixxZine will visit and be greeted by Anime Insider and others. I’ll supplement with posts of con programs, promo items and badge art. Here we go.
Animerica Volume 1, Issue 0 – November 1992
First Appearance Ads:
US Manga Corps (Central Park Media), US Renditions, LA Hero, Gundam Model Kits
Pop Culture Highlights from November 1992:
Apple introduces Quicktime
“The Death of Superman” – DC multi-issue story arc where Superman dies
ABC Wednesday night was The Wonder Years, Doogie Howser and Home Improvement
Highest speed internet connection available was a dial-up 14.4 Kbps modem
They Might Be Giants “Apollo 18” released this year and is still awesome
I owned this one. Loved the Macross II article. Macross was a mere 10 years old at this time.