Disney Adventures

Disney Adventures (also short-formed as D.A.) was a children's entertainment and educational magazine published twelve (later ten) times per year by Disney Publishing Worldwide, a subsidiary of Disney Consumer Products, a unit of The Walt Disney Company. It should not be confused with the (also defunct) Disney Magazine. Disney Adventures also contained the latest news concerning the Disney Channel.

Disney Adventures
Disney Adventures' fifth and final logo (2006–2007)
CategoriesChildren, Entertainment
FrequencyTwelve times per year
First issueNovember 12, 1990
Final issueNovember 2007
CompanyDisney Publishing Worldwide
(Disney Consumer Products)
CountryUnited States
Based inBurbank, CA
LanguageEnglish
ISSN1050-2491

History

Michael Lynton was inspired to start the magazine after noting the success of Topolino, the Italian Mickey Mouse magazine, which included comics and features. The magazine was first published on October 9, 1990 (and cover dated November 12, 1990) and featured a wide assortment of educational material, entertainment news (from Disney and other studios), sports coverage, profiles of celebrities, user contributions, and puzzle games. Regular features included a guide to television, movies, books, and music called “Ticket”, factoids about unusual yet actual things under the title “Weird Yet True”, and a sports guide that appeared during the late 1990s called “ESPN Action.” The first issue featured Rick Moranis and Baloo from TaleSpin on the cover.[1]

In the early years of the magazine, the comics usually featured in the magazine were standard Disney-based comics such as DuckTales, Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, TaleSpin, Darkwing Duck, Goof Troop, Mickey Mouse, Gargoyles, Bonkers, and various adaptations of Disney feature films.

As the magazine evolved, non-Disney material from artists such as Sergio Aragonés, Evan Dorkin, Matt Groening, William Van Horn, and Jeff Smith began appearing with some regularity. In addition, well known comic book industry names such as Marv Wolfman and Heidi MacDonald worked as comics editor for the magazine at various times during the mid-to-late 1990s. Cover artwork for issues commonly featured an actor or musician interacting with a Disney cartoon character through 1995, and occasionally thereafter until 1998. Issues came out monthly with occasional special issues until 1999, when regular issues scaled back to 10 times a year alongside special issues.

The original slanted Disney Adventures logo survived in a few variations for all but the magazine's last year and a 7-month period in 1996 & 1997. Upon inception until March 1992, the logo was in a basic arched font, before being stylized (prominently with a bar extending from the left of the A.) In December 1996, D.A. changed its logo to a straight and more basic font, with a larger Disney logo, but reader complaints led to the prior logo being reinstated for the June 30, 1997 issue. Starting in April 1999, the logo's 3D effect was removed in favor of a drop shadow, which remained in usage until the final logo debuted in September 2006. From April 1992 To January 1995 and From June 30, 1997 To March 1999, the long-standing tagline The Magazine For Kids was a logo element in its underline.

From 1999 to 2007, Disney Adventures held an annual "Cool Pets Contest", featuring five of the "coolest" and most talented pets along with their owners. In later years, Disney Adventures included information on the Disney Channel and featured articles on current movies especially from Walt Disney Pictures. The magazine offered features on Walt Disney Parks and Resorts as well as music, movies, trends, science, travel, games, puzzles, heroes, explorers and "real life adventures" (archaeology, extreme sports and other hobbies and careers).

Cancellation

On August 21, 2007, The Walt Disney Company announced that Disney Adventures would be discontinued, with the last issue cover dated November 2007, which was the magazine's 17th "birthday".[2] The final issue's actual release date was October 16, 2007. For subscribers, Disney Adventures was usually replaced with Sports Illustrated Kids or Family Fun for the remainder of the subscription period. Some subscriptions were proactively converted to Boys' Life magazine with no option for pro-rated refunds. Disney processed subscription refunds in March 2008.

The decision to cease publishing Disney Adventures evidently came rather suddenly, as the October 2007 issue contained a "Cool Christmas" subscription gift order form. It seems unlikely that the magazine would have sold subscriptions at that late date, had the staff known of its impending cancellation.

Disney Adventures All-Stars

"Disney Adventures All-Stars" was a feature of the magazine that rewards the act of volunteering in the community. It was held once a year and all participants are awarded a prize, but after judging, one winner is selected to participate in a volunteer project with the hosts of that particular year.

In 2006, the hosts were the cast of High School Musical. Past hosts included the cast of The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and other Disney Channel stars.

Comics

In the last few years of its existence, Disney Adventures expanded its publication schedule to include an all-comics magazine, Comic Zone. In addition to Disney properties like The Lion King, Pirates of the Caribbean and Aladdin, Disney Adventures published quite a bit of original comic material, such as:

Over the course of publication, a wide variety of comics professionals contributed to Disney Adventures Comic Zone section. Frequent contributors included: Garry Black, Art Baltazar, Eric Jones, Matt Feazell, Landry Walker, Rick Geary, Evan Dorkin, John Green, Bob Fingerman, Elizabeth Watsin and Jeff Smith. The Fall 2007 issue reprinted the first six installments of the Walt Disney's Treasury of Classic Tales comic strip adaptation of The Black Hole drawn by Jack Kirby.[3]

Collected volumes

Disney Press released several collected volumes of Disney Adventures comics, two of which are Disney Adventures original creations. Each book is approximately 96 pages in length.

  • Comic Zone Volume 1: Lilo & Stitch
  • Comic Zone Volume 2: Gorilla Gorilla
  • Comic Zone Volume 3: Disney's Tall Tails
  • Comic Zone Volume 4: Kid Gravity
  • Comic Zone Volume 5: Aladdin
  • Comic Zone Volume 6: The Lion King
  • Comic Zone Volume 7: The Wild

International

Disney Adventures was also published outside of America, notably in Australia, where the magazine had now been published for over 10 years by ACP Magazines Limited and was distributed to nearby Asia Pacific Islands and New Zealand. Besides featuring Disney articles, Disney Adventures' Australian edition up to the mid 2000s also featured non-Disney articles particularly about Harry Potter and anime, where for a time Neon Genesis Evangelion was heavily promoted.

During 1994 to 1996, the magazine had its own edition in Mexico.

From December 2006 to February 2010, an Indian edition was published. Its 2010 cancellation was confirmed on the magazine's Facebook group; but the reason remains unknown as of this writing, as the magazine was very popular with its audience in India.

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References
  1. Adventures in Magazineland : As a Publisher, Disney Excels at Marketing
  2. "RIP Disney Adventures". Publishers Weekly. August 24, 2007. Archived from the original on September 3, 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-02. Ad Age reports that after 17 years, Disney has cancelled Disney Adventures magazine
  3. Jack Kirby At The Supermarket
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