"What ever happened to the Courier magazine?" Topic

Was just surfing this forum and noted I responded back in 2012. I endured Hurricane Harvey in 2017 and lost all my Courier magazines. Others were tough enough to lose, but I miss the old Courier issues. I'd pick them up frequently during the years and re-read them. Would like to find the again….

Mine made it through Sandy. I kept them and MWAN up high on top of bookcases. I miss MWAN. I have mine going all the way back to # 12 or 13 when they were just photocopied.

And Hal and I got to be friends over the many years he published. It was a great day when we finally got to meet at Historicon the year they honored him.

Still miss it,even when I buy WI and WS&S(as good as they are).

It's funny that this forum thread was nercobumped, I was just thinking about the only issue of MWAN I ever found (132) and wishing I could find more physical copies. Seems like they're in demand. Their ebay price is crazy. I'll have to keep my eye out at Con flea markets.

I enjoyed both through the years wish I had hung on to both of them.

Just an FYI: the late, great MagWeb.com (1996-2009) had all the issues of the 'new' (8.5x11-inch format) Courier up (Vol 1 No. 1 Jun-Jul 1979 to the last issue 91 2004) and all MWANs from issue 65 (Sep-Oct 1993) to the last one issue 131 (Jan-Feb 2005) plus 16 other scattered MWAN issues from 1 to 63 -- I was filling them in as fast as I could. :) MagWeb also had all 8 issues of Historical Miniatures Gamer (2001-2007), which is the magazine that came after Courier/MWAN.

At its demise, MagWeb had 161 magazines on its site…

"I would love it if someone were to take on the task of making the old articles from the Courier, MWAN, Historical Gamers, etc. and post them online."

Look for this to happen for MWAN and The Courier soon, very soon
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I have been looking for this, but am not finding it.

What is holding up the putting of all old Couriers on disk.

Well, someone has to do the scanning and formatting grind… :)

Then you have to obtain permission from every author. I'm not a lawyer, and don't play one on TV, so you have to check for yourself, but it is my understanding that the demise of a magazine sends the copyright back to the original authors barring a signed contract specifying otherwise.

When I wrote for computer publications in the 1980s and 1990s, I signed contracts granting the magazines 1st North American rights, and later World rights, and still later, 'All' rights. No sign. No work. I signed. You'll note the phrase 'Work for Hire' in many contracts now…that means the company owns everything you turn in.

Contacting authors and estates takes a while.

Just an example, I'm able to publish the Wally Simon Secrets of Wargame Design series of booklets (now up to 8) because I secured the rights to his PW Review and other writings from his estate (and pay it royalties). And yes, it takes a while to get the editing and formatting done.

John Curry reprints lots of Featherstone and other UK authors' wargaming works because he presumably secured rights from the estates.

Indeed, come to think of it, EU law now mandates, hmmm, it was back in 2013 if I recall (dangerous) right, that unless the contract specifically says 'internet' or 'website' or 'digital' rights, the author still retains them. The US signed a treaty with EU soon thereafter with reciprocal rights.

MagWeb was closed by the time this copyright wrinkle appeared, so I never had to deal with it, but folks have to deal with it now.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on your viewpoint, Congress keeps extending the copyright time period. It used to be 14 years back into the 1800s. Then, doubled to 28 years, then to 57 years, and now I think it's 70 years for people and 95 years for corporations. My recollection is that it's nicknamed the 'Disney' rule because Steamboat Willie kept coming up for being out of copyright and so the bar moved again. It'll probably move again…

When it started, Wargamer's Digest was very exciting to me. I subscribed almost from the beginning. Not only did it give me ideas for WW2 and ACW gaming, but also the ads put me in touch with dealers and stores that before the advent of the Internet I would have otherwise been unaware of. In the relative isolation of Albuquerque, I was happy to discover WRW Imports and Bonnie Brae Hobbies, both in Denver (in the West, that's practically next door).

There is a Yahoo site that discusses WGD. But no reprints anything because of the copyright.

And I'm late to the party again. As noted in the MWAN/Courier vs HMG back and forth, Mr. Perrin is frequently beaten up for things which may have been beyond his control. Except for the two and a half "glossies" miniature wargame magazines really are a labor of love, not an instrument of commerce. With hard work and luck, they break even.

But that said, "mistakes were (or may have been?) made." There was a distinct shift in editorial tone--more serious, with long discussions of game vs simulation, and not much interest in a more light-hearted approach to the hobby. Articles were sometimes reprints, without mention or apology. Maybe more importantly, both predicessor magazines had run on volunteer labor--typing, editing and articles. There was not general request that any of us continue, and I don't know a single MWAN or Courier contributor who was asked to submit. I think it's a good general rule that when people are working for free, those in charge should thank them and ask them to continue.

But I'm a wargamer. The people who do simulations may see things differently.