WENII Magazine....

[Guest]

This is a MAJORLY HILARIOUS piece of printed magic memorabilia. For those of you who don't know, this is a parody of Genii Magazine. This was made in 1982 by "The Left Handed League", led by Harry Anderson. Last time I talked with Harry about it, he said he had a few copies left lying around, and wouldn't part with 'em for less than a hundred bucks a piece.

From the cover picture of "The Magic Hostel" (nee The Magic Castle), looking like a hotdog stand, to the numerous ads inside (Abutts Magic, Oweing Magic, Chuck Yu's Magic Factory, TenyoYo Magic) and the incredibly funny stories and photographs, this is a MUST HAVE for all magicians. You'll read this a thousand times, and the next time you pick it up to read, you'll find something new in it.

This copy is MINT, no rolling, no folds, tears or creasing. The cover still has its new "shine" to it. $50 and shipping, and you'll be laughing your head off.

You don't see these around for sale, either. I happened to find a double copy in my Studio Library.

Oops, almost (okay, I did!) forgot to put address and phone number.

Steve Thomas
P.O. Box 3684
University MS
38677
662-234-0827

Steve Thomas

[Guest]

Is Wenii one off or were there more volume/issues of Wenii ??


:genii:

[Dustin Stinett]

There was just one.

Steve, we need you to add your address and phone please (per Marketplace rules).

Thanks,
Dustin

[Guest]

Wenii was a one off, but it did have a sort of follow up issue.
The story goes that, to make things authentic, the makers of Wenii (The above mentioned Left Handed League) went to the same printers that printed Genii. They wanted the issue to seem to have come out between two real issues of Genii. (I'm not sure which one's.) At the printers they worked very hard to get the cover color just right, a kind of ground up hot dog color. They got the color and printed the issue.
Well, it turns out that the very next issue of Genii was late at the printers (I know, a shock) and the printer was out of the color they wanted for the cover, so Bill Larsen Jr. told them to just use whatever color was in the printers. This color turned out to be the ground up hot dog color used for Wenii.
So, if you look at the following issue of Genii (And again, I don't know which one it is. Richard? Dustin? A little help here.) you will find that the cover color is the same color of Wenii.

Gord

[Guest]

Well, I have all the Geniis, so I'll look around and see which one from '82 has that color cover. The "hot-dog" color is exactly how Harry described it, too!

Steve

[Dustin Stinett]

Mike Caveney and Tina Lenert told me the same story when I interviewed them for Genii. The problem with finding the right issue is that it could be dated 1981!

One of the things that make this a truly great parody is how the humor was inoffensive to those being mocked. It was a badge of pride to be in Wenii while there were people who were upset that they didn't make it into its pages. This is the direct opposite of the parody of MAGIC (called MAJOKE) which was downright cruel. It's easy to be cruel; it takes talent to be clever. Wenii is clever!

Dustin

[Guest]

The two best bits in Wenii:

The column by Max Mayhem the thief of ideas (rather than Max Maven the thief of thoughts) that detailed his method for "pre-show" which was basically breaking and entering, and the ad for Name That Magician a service that would provide you with a magicial sounding name for a nominal fee. They boasted such famous clients as:
Houdini
Hardweeni
and
Derek Dingle

[Guest]

Were they the same guys that did Majoke?

[Dustin Stinett]

No. No one from the Wenii staff had anything to do with MAJOKE.

[Evan Shuster]

I had heard that Majoke was from a group led by Dan Harlan (is this true or false?) and that the intent was not to be hurtful, despite the final, published result.

[Guest]

I own both Wenii and Majoke and there is no comparison. Wenii does an excellent job of parodying Genii while Majoke was quite crude.
My favorite ad in Wenii was the advertisement for a thumb tip that matched everyone's flesh tone. It was a clear thumb tip. You vanished a flesh tone silk!

[Guest]

I believe the Hot Dog Pink Genii is June 1982 (Volume 46 - number 6) with Ted Biet on the cover. I run into copies of it every once in a while and it always makes me smile.

[Guest]

For those interested, I talked to Harry Anderson today and he was bringing some stuff into a local magic shop In Asheville, NC to be sold at the Twin City Magic Convention in Bristol, TN this weekend. Among the items were 3 copies (now only 2 copies) of Wenii. Harry did mention that there were 2000 copies made and less than 10 available out there. The ones that I saw were in great shape and were going for $45. The issue of Wenii is Volume 46 - Number 6 1/2, June 1982. It is very funny and well worth adding to a collection if you can find one.

The Harry Hujuini - The Missing Link artical can also be found in Harry Anderson's "Wise Guy" book. (That book is out of print now but can still be found a few places.)

[Guest]

AND...I think I still have a spare issue lying around for sale.

Steve

[Guest]

Me too...hee hee.

[Pete Biro]

Majoke was more than cruel and harmful... it was in worse than bad taste.

Wenii was clever, funny and well worth keeping. It took me YEARS to find out who wrote the parody of my column (which I loved)!

[Guest]

--As MINISCULE examples regarding the influence of "Wenii" on a certain segment of the magi-population, I offer the fact that for more than a quarter century we have not been able to HELP but call Ricky Jay, "Tricky Ray"; and since then, "classified ads" HAVE ALWAYS BEEN "assified clads".

As my grandmother used to say, "Those were the days my friend, we thought they'd never end!"

"Wenii" truly, in all honesty was a stroke of pure genius that is "SPOT ON" satire.
For those of us that grew up with "Genii" in the 70s, it is hard to elaborate why "Wenii" was such a pitch-perfect take. So great.

:whack:

THANK YOU Harry Underhand, Ball Putter, Martian Lewis, and the rest of the Left-handed League!! You are going down in history.

P.S. Mr. Biro--"The Veal (still) Burps" :D

[Ian Kendall]

Recently I've been digging out stuff to ebay, one thing on the list was my copy of Majoke, which I thought someone might be interested in since it was hard to get.

A quick Google brought up a link to a live ebay auction where someone was selling 100 copies at a starting price of 1.99 dollars! I sent a quick message to check if they were real issues or copies, and he said that one of the Evil Five worked at his magic shop in Vegas, and he recently found a box of 100 copies in the back room!

If you want to see Majoke, a quick search will find them - the parody, as has been said, was uncannily accurate, despite the humour being somewhat lowbrow.

Take care, Ian

[Guest]

I was in Williams Magic and noticed that they have several copies of Majoke for sale.
www.williamsmagic.com

Also, I have a copy of Wenii that is signed by Harry and Leslie Anderson.