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Magazine Collecting 101

Sports Magazines

The history of sports magazines dates back to the 1800s, although these magazines originally were more like newspapers. The Sporting News was first published in 1886 and became the go-to publication for baseball coverage. Throughout the 1900s, more sports magazines emerged, covering topics such as players, teams, notable games, trade, and draft news relating to various sports including baseball, basketball, football, and other popular athletics. These magazines often featured star athletes on the covers and on poster inserts.

Some of the most notable publications include:

  • Baseball Digest (First published August 1942)

  • ESPN The Magazine (First published September 1998)

  • Golf Digest (First published 1950)

  • Sports Illustrated (First published August 1954)

  • Sports Illustrated Kids (First published January 1989)

  • Tennis (First published May 1965)

  • World Soccer (First published October 1960)

News, History, and Current Events

These magazines capture key cultural moments with bold, often dramatic headlines that encapsulate the moment in time in which they are published. Their subjects range from the past to the present to the future. These publications cover politics, geography, history, art, business—the zeitgeist is captured, but so are more fringe, obscure subjects. These magazines are commonly known for their world-renowned photography and journalism. 

Some of the most notable publications include:

  • Life (First published January 1883)

  • National Geographic (First published September 1888)

  • The New Yorker (First published February 1925)

  • Newsweek (First published February 1933)

  • Time (First published March 1923)

Entertainment and Pop Culture

As the entertainment industry grew, so did its coverage. These magazines cover topics such as celebrities, music, TV, film, and the entertainment industry in general. Articles can sometimes be sensational, with some indulgence in gossip and attention-grabbing headlines. Trade publications about the entertainment industry can be colloquially referred to as “the trades.”

Some of the most notable publications include:

  • The Hollywood Reporter (First published September 1930)

  • Movieland (First published February 1943)

  • People (First published March 1974)

  • Rolling Stone (First published November 1967)

  • Vanity Fair (First published February 1983)

  • Variety (First published December 1905)

Lifestyle

Lifestyle magazines are often targeted toward either male or female readers, and focus on a broad and fluid range of topics, such as cooking, culture, fashion, finance, and more. In the 19th century, there was an increase in magazines exclusively for the female audience, which often focused on traditional gender roles. Some publications like Harper’s Bazaar — which is considered the first American fashion magazine — began exclusively focusing on couture fashion. This category can often overlap with the entertainment and pop culture space as well.

Here are a few notable publications:

  • Cosmopolitan (First published March 1886)

  • Esquire (First published October 1933)

  • Good Housekeeping (First published May 1885)

  • GQ (First published 1957)

  • Playboy (First published December 1953)

  • Vogue (First published December 1892)

Comic Magazines

The comic book format was crossed over to magazine-sized publications to capture greater market share and to legitimize comics as a mature industry. It allowed publishers to sidestep Comic Code Authority censorship and offer more graphic content. These magazines were often printed with black and white interiors.

Comic magazines became relevant during the 1950s, with more and more publications entering the market in the ‘60s and ‘70s, including Marvel. While the graphic novel emerged as the popular choice for mature readers in the early ‘80s, the magazine-sized comic publications dwindled in sales and slowly ended by the late '90s.

  • Blazing Combat (First published October 1965)

  • Deadly Hands of Kung Fu (First published 1974)

  • Eerie Tales (First published November 1959)

  • Marvel Preview (First published 1975)

  • Pussycat (First published October 1968)

  • Savage Tales (First published May, 1971)

  • Shock Illustrated (First published September/October 1955)

  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (First published May 1984)

  • Vampirella (First published September 1969)

  • Weird Mysteries (First published March 1959)

Gaming

Gaming magazines cater to video game players by offering strategy guides and news about current and upcoming releases, and often include collectible posters and other inserts. Some magazines focus solely on a specific manufacturer, while others cover topics related to every console on the market. This category of magazines is relatively newer than others, considering the age of video games as a form of entertainment.

  • Electronic Gaming Monthly (First published March 1989)

  • Game Informer (First published August 1991)

  • Nintendo Power (First published July/August 1988)

Humor Magazines

These magazines primarily serve to entertain and amuse readers with comics, farcical subjects, and articles that dabble in satire, gross-out humor, or absurdity. Celebrities and current pop culture references are often included, but original characters and stories are also common. 

  • Cracked (First published March 1958)

  • Mad (First published October/November 1952)

  • The National Lampoon (First published April 1970)

PSA Magazine

Originally published as the Sports Market Report, PSA’s monthly publication was rebranded in January 2022 to PSA Magazine. Exclusive to Collectors Club members, this magazine includes collector spotlights, stories about notable products and sets, as well as general PSA news. This publication was primarily focused on sports cards, although readers could also find pop culture and trading card game (TCG) content.

In April 2024, PSA launched the Pop Culture & TCG edition of PSA Magazine, highlighting pop culture collectibles, TCGs, Funko POPs, video games, and more. For both editions of the magazine, collectible variant covers are randomly and evenly distributed to Collectors Club members and often feature specialty refractive elements, sequential numbering, and even on-cover autographs. PSA-exclusive promo cards have also been included in certain issues. 

Two editions of the magazine are issued monthly:

  • PSA Magazine – Pop Culture & TCG

  • PSA Magazine – Sports

First Appearances and First Issues

Magazine covers feature various icons—world-famous athletes, actors and actresses, politicians, activists, business leaders, and other important figures. As a collector, it can be helpful to understand why certain subjects are popular, as it can inform your collecting decisions and set expectations for demand and rarity. The popularity of a specific subject often contributes to a magazine’s desirability. 

  • First Appearances: Magazines in which a certain subject appears for the first time in print may be perceived by the market as highly collectible, similar to how a rookie card is highly collectible for a specific athlete. An example of this is Michael Jordan’s first appearance on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

  • First Issues: First issues can be highly collectible for similar reasons. The first issue of a long-running publication such as Sports Illustrated or Time is incredibly rare and elusive.

Significant Historical Events

Like first appearances, covers depicting significant historical events can also affect a magazine’s demand and rarity. Such events include scientific breakthroughs, notable crimes, discoveries, deaths, political elections, and more.

Canadian and UK Editions

Just like comic books, many US-published magazines are also sold in both Canada and the U.K. If the cover of a Canadian or UK edition is the same as a US edition, collectors can distinguish them by the different prices listed on the cover. These prices vary based on the international exchange rate. International covers may sometimes have different photos, illustrations, typography, and other graphics than U.S. versions. In the example shown here, the US version is on the left and the US version is on the right.

Newsstand vs. Subscription

Newsstand magazines are sold via retail newsstands, while subscription magazines are delivered to readers directly through a subscription. Subscription editions have a paper address label stickered to either the front or back cover, while newsstand editions do not. Sometimes the address is printed directly onto the cover, but paper labels are more common.

Variant Covers

Some magazines are printed with collectible variant covers, which have the same interior but with different artwork printed on the cover.

Magazine Grading

Collectors choose to get their magazines professionally graded and encapsulated for a variety of reasons. These include: better preservation, eye-appealing presentation, and guaranteeing authenticity with an independent third-party grade assigned, which can sometimes increase a magazine’s secondary market value.

PSA is excited to channel its superpowers — over three decades of expertise, the world’s finest authenticators and graders, an adept research department, and an integrated product and technology team committed to serving collectors and their collectibles — into some of the most important magazine titles in history.

With such a wide array of services and products available at launch, PSA is poised to serve the magazine collecting community with the same expertise, dedication, and authority it’s been delivering for years to trading card collectors around the world.

PSA's Holders

PSA’s comic book and magazine holders come equipped with state-of-the-art technology to ensure the safety and security of your items. Here are just a few of the specs:

  • Exceptionally strong polycarbonate holders made with the same material as aerospace windshields and riot shields. It offers excellent optical clarity, high impact strength, and shatter resistance.

  • Our holders are 99.9% UV light reflective, making PSA the ideal choice for displaying your treasures.

  • Retains strength in both extreme cold and high temperatures, and is flame retardant. 

  • Our tamper-evident sealing process prevents the removal of items without destroying the holder.

  • Includes PSA labels with comic book information, grade, cert number, and more.

The content within this article is provided for educational purposes only and does not reflect Collectors Universe, Inc.’s or any of its affiliates' opinions on the value of any individual collectibles or the comic market as a whole. Neither Collectors Universe, Inc. nor any of its affiliates is providing financial or investment advice in connection with this article. Any discussion of past value or prices is not indicative of future value or prices.