We all know that a magazine is more than ink on paper. It is an experience. An experience that is lived, felt and cherished. We also all know that ink and paper are manufactured in factories, but magazines and their brands are manufactured in readers’ minds, one at a time. This past weekend I had the luxury of looking over 13 new magazines covering all types of topics and reaching all segments of the population. Needless to say I had 13 different experiences, each and every one of them helps me believe even more in the need to amplify the future of print and its byproduct that we call magazines.

Rebel Ink
www.rebelinkmag.com/

Rebel Ink: a new monthly magazine with “a match made in Hell. Tattoos and a life style that make moms weep and grown men cross the street.” The tag line of the magazine is “A tattoo magazine with attitude.” So, for the rebel in me (after all we are the Ole Miss Rebels) and the tattoos on them, that is one of a heck of an experience. They get the tattoos and I get to see them. Now, I am getting ready to cross the street!

Natural Cat
www.catfancy.com/

Natural Cat: From the folks who brought you Natural Dog and Cat Fancy comes this latest addition to the family of pet magazines. The magazine “provides your cats with a more natural lifestyle.” And if you are still wondering what type of magazine is this, wonder no more. Here is an experience I never think I will be involved with any time soon. The experience of learning “how the ancient technique of acupuncture can bring relief to your aging or ailing feline companions.”

Mambo Scene
www.themamboscene.com/

Mambo Scene: “Learning how to dance, at any level, is like learning how to speak a new language: it takes patience, lots of practice, great instructors, someone to practice with, and then some more patience…” This is an experience to learn and enjoy the Mambo Scene (the magazine also comes with a CD to help put you in the mood) and a guide to the top Mambo radios, songs, and plenty of advise to get “good in Salsa.”

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Legends Magazine
www.bjjlegends.com

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Legends Magazine: Staying in the Latin American scene, this new quarterly offers the experience of “training tomorrows legends today.” According to BJJ, “Jiu-Jitsu is the only martial art that a smaller person can beat a stronger person.” The magazine comes with a DVD with “over 3 hours of content, 25 techniques, interviews and fights.” Well, needless to say, I may experience Salsa, but BJJ is taking my experiences a little bit too far.

Fighters Only
www.fightersonlymag.com

Fighters Only: This British import offers a monthly “essential fighting magazine” that is “The world’s leading mixed martial arts and lifestyle magazine.” The over-sized magazine provides an excellent addition to the Mixed Martial Arts magazine scene that has been growing slowly but surely. It is worth the experience.

Blurt
www.blurt-online.com

Blurt: Time to relax a little bit after all the fighting and dancing experiences. Just sit down and read about the music and the “14 ways to forget about the recession.” This new magazine, from the folks at Blurt-Online.com, is about “real music, real artists and real opinions,” and comes from music folks who experience nothing in life “next to drinking coffee endlessly, it’s all what we know how to do.” And it shows.

Prestige New York
www.crmedia-us.com

Prestige New York: From the music escape to “The Very Best in Life,” fantasy escape. The magazine that was launched nine years ago in Singapore, arrived on our shores last month with the launch issue “for no matter who in business or society you talk to, New York is viewed as a place of international awareness, culture and intelligence where people embrace new concepts, relish new challenges, thirst after information and are tickled by the quirky side of life.” This is one experience you will not find at a newsstand near you, but if you belong to this “experience” you should have a copy of the magazine on your coffee table already.

Loft Life
www.loftlifemag.com

Loft Life: Well this magazine will have you put some affordable fantasy in your loft or condo and will provide a “guide to life in the city.” What strikes me first is the recession-geared article that will help you move from want to need when it comes to design. In addition the experience is not limited to reading but also tweeting, communicating, enjoying, blogging, living, relaxing and of course subscribing… three issues will cost you $8.

Guitar Aficionado Magazine
www.guitaraficionado.com

Guitar Aficionado Magazine: Taking a page from Cigar Aficionado, this Future US new quarterly does not limit itself to guitars but also ventures into “cars, watches, wine and the deluxe life.” The magazine experience debuts “for passionate people who enjoy the guitar in all of its timeless, functional beauty — people who, likewise, have enthusiasm for the very best that life has to offer.”

Technikart Paris-New York
www.technikart.com

Technikart Paris-New York: Here is an experience that has been in the making for 230 years since Lafayette came to the USA assistance and “we’ve had a long and passionate relationship since…though sometimes recently the Atlantic seemed a very cold and wide wall separating us…” This art and artists magazine “was created in 72 hours in France and we cannot be responsible for any damage caused by trans-continental language, incoherent internationalisms or translated European thought.” Quite a hefty experience and admission.

Gulf Coast Wine+Dine
www.gulfcoastwineanddine.com

Gulf Coast Wine+Dine: This is a very doable experience for me since it is closer to home than any of the aforementioned magazines. This new launch aims to cover “coastal Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.” It is a “celebration of our passion for living (and if I may add loving) life.” And in a typical Southern hospitality the magazine’s editor Tim McNally welcomes the reader to the neighborhood and asks “Can I fix you a drink?” A refreshing experience indeed.

Wolverine Magazine
www.marvelkids.com

Wolverine Magazine: I will admit it from the very beginning. I am a Superman fan, so no matter how many new magazines arrive on the market place celebrating all the other super heroes, none will replace the experience I had with my very first magazine I ever bought, Superman, the one that started my magazine hobby, education and career. Well, enough about me and my Superman experience. Wolverine is the latest full size – full color bimonthly in the Marvel series of new up-sized super heroes magazines. It you are a Wolverine fan, this experience is for you.

Marie
www.stampington.com

Marie: Leaving the best for last, if for nothing else but the name. Marie is my wife’s name and although I have no idea whether my in-laws named my wife after Marie Antoinette for which this magazine is named after, I have to say good things about anything that carries the name Marie. The experience, otherwise, will not be as good. This new entry from the publishers of Belle Armoire and Somerset Studio provides “Marie Antoinette – Inspired Mixed-Media Art.” The magazine feature “decadent vintage jewelry” and “royal shoes made of paper.”

So here you have it. 13 different experiences in one weekend. So, what is in it for you? How about Samir Husni’s Guide to New Magazines, Vol. 24. The new Guide will be out soon listing all the new magazines of 2008 is yours for free if you are one of the first five people who comment on this blog and give me the correct answer on how many times did I use the word “experience or experiences” including the aforementioned two in this blog.