The end of 2016 is nigh: The air has cleared, the dust has settled, and Genii is now once again the sole independent printed magic magazine in the United States, albeit with a spiffy 21st century digital twist.
Next month, John Bannon, one of the most popular creators of card magic today, begins a series on pasteboard wizardry with an accompanying video each month; Mike Caveney will bring his column from MAGIC magazine, “Classic Correspondence,” to Genii and now alternate months with John Gaughan’s “Chamber of Secrets”; ditto for Martin Lewis’s “Making Magic, an excellent exploration of DIY conjuring from one of our most creator thinkers.
And there’s more: through a deal with Stan Allen, Genii will be pleased to add many of MAGIC magazine’s existing subscribers starting with our January issue, who will fill out their remaining issues in this, our happy home. We welcome them. For those who have always wanted a digital archive of MAGIC magazine similar to the now 79 volumes of Genii that are available to all of our subscribers online free of charge, sometime in the first quarter of 2017 we will bring you all 301 issues of MAGIC in digital form on our online archive.
This issue our cover is adorned by the remarkable Julie Eng. Lest. As the author of our piece, David Ben, aptly points out, not only is Julie a beloved figure and an accomplished magicienne, she also possesses the near superhuman ability to get almost anything that comes her way DONE. Yes, all caps for emphasis. She does much good work for kids, seniors, and behind-the-scenes good deeds for magicians that goes unheralded—but the word is now officially out.
Earlier this year The Metropolitan Museum of Art threw a bash with the title “The World in Play: Luxury Cards, 1430-1540,” at the museum’s uptown sanctuary, The Cloisters. Strolling magic was performed at the opening, with many of the earliest known playing cards on display. Carl Mercurio reports on the exhibit, accompanied by beautiful photos of the oldest playing cards you’ve probably ever seen.
Many excellent columns fill the pages this month, perhaps the most unique being a challenge between Jonathan Pendragon and Tom Stone over who could come up with the best (most original?) use for Tom Stone’s Factory Blanks deck of cards. While the deck appears blank on both sides to anyone standing three or four feet away, a spectator standing up close can see the faces of the cards. Anywho, you get to vote on which trick is the best use of the cards on the Genii Forum. (And if you’re a subscriber of the paper edition, you will receive a sample of the card from a Factory Blank deck)
Also present this month is “Magicana” from John Guastaferro, “Conjuring” from Jim Steinmeyer, “Hidden Treasures” from Bob Read, “The Chamber of Secrets” from John Gaughan, “You Are All Terrible” (he doesn’t really mean it) from Harrison Greenbaum, and Eugene Burger, Jon Racherbaumer, and Helder Guimarães. Reviews are by Kainoa Harbottle (who really likes The Jerx Book, and I bet this is the only printed review you’re going to read), Nathan Coe Marsh (who really likes Juan Tamariz), and Danny Orleans (who really likes pizza).
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