Beckett has done it again. The most trusted name in sports card collecting has released its price guide to Pokémon. Beckett Pokémon Collector reinforces the fact that magazines for collectors are here to stay.

Even though Beckett is best known for its price guides, Pokémon Collector is much more than that. It gives hints on Pokémon gaming techniques used in the card game and the new Nintendo GameBoy version. A list of new products and a Pokémon television schedule round at the magazine.

Aside from the tips and pricing, Beckett Pokémon Collector also seeks to be a place where Pokémon fans can create their own community. Artwork by readers is featured as are collectors themselves. The magazine also has Pokémon puzzles and a guide to all 150 monsters.

When a publishing firm like Beckett produces a price guide to anything collected, it signifies that the collectible has actual worth in society and is not just a passing fad. Pokémon, though a fad in many ways, has affected the lives of so many children (and the wallets of so many parents) that a magazine has to chronicle the effect. Perhaps 200 years from now, if PBS still has its program "The Antique Road Show," someone will bring up a Pokémon card to be valued, and the antique representative will consult Beckett Pokémon Collector.

As I've often said, magazines are the mirror through which Americans can see themselves. Beckett Pokémon Collector is going to be the mirror that children are using until the next hot toy comes around.