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Ad Age reports that after 17 years, Disney has cancelled Disney Adventures magazine, with the November issue the last one.

Disney Publishing attributed its decision to an effort to better focus resources and maximize long-term growth potential through new magazine and book initiatives.

The demise of Disney Adventures, which was introduced for tweens in 1990, closely follows the end of fellow child soldier Nick Jr., which MTV Networks closed with the April issue. It isn’t clear that there’s any particular exodus of children from magazines, but proliferating competition and rising costs are knocking out big magazines at a fairly regular clip these days; adults for their part have lost Premiere, Jane, Life and Child so far this year.


While DA still had a healthy circ of over 1 million, ad pages were down — a common complaint among magazines — and that sealed its fate.

DA was of course, The Beat‘s old stomping ground for many years, and this announcement fills us with a bittersweet feeling. With its vast circulation, and stand alone comics spin-offs, “Comic Zone” this was one of the lone lights for children’s comics during the darkest days of the comics industry, and over the years published such cartoonists as Jeff Smith, Evan Dorkin, Art Adams, Christine Norrie, Rick Geary and many others. Selling ads was always a challenge however, and the slowly eroding ad market for magazines couldn’t have helped.

But it was fun while it lasted, creating the comics adventures of TailSpin, Rescue Rangers, Toy Story, Timon & Pumbaa, Pirates of the Caribbean and many others. The “DA Kids” grew up to read and buy comics and helped show that comics weren’t just for grown ups after-all.

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94 COMMENTS

  1. Wow I remember getting that first issue when I was kid. You can see how the magazine changed from featuring Rick Moranis and Baloo to a bunch of future tabloid stars.

  2. Ugh.

    I got DA from issue #1 on as a kid, too, and it remained one of the best outlets for kids comics from then straight through to today. Next time I go home, I’m going to have to dig out the copies I still have with the “Rocketeer” movie tie-in strips and the Bone reprints colored by Tom Luth (which I still prefer to the Scholastic editions). And if anyone stumbles upon any of those Comic Zone trades like Kid Gravity or Gorilla, Gorilla they are totally worth the pick up.

    What crappy Friday news.

  3. This depressed the hell out of me. Everyone at Nick Magazine is really bummed about the loss of our favorite “other” kids magazine. It really was an institution and a great source for entertainment and kids comics. I wish all the editors and artists and writers well.

  4. Rough news indeed. After drawing the Jet Pack Pets in Disney Adventures for nearly 6 years, I’m doing the final one this weekend – bittersweet. I’m going to miss working with all the excellent folks and artists at DA.
    All things must pass-

  5. This mag was my gateway into comics. I was buying and reading each issue with my allowance as it hit the stands, Rescue Rangers and Darkwing Duck and such, when the Death of Superman exploded across the industry. At that point, I was a goner, “softened up” for JLI and Green Lantern by Baloo and King Louie.

    Fare thee well, DA. Rest now, my friend.

  6. “While DA still had a healthy circ of over 1 million, ad pages were down — a common complaint among magazines — and that sealed its fate.”

    I wonder how much the recent activism against aiming advertising towards kids might have played a part in the decline in ad revenue. I know the drop in advertising has been common throughout the magazine industry, but when heavy hitters like Kelloggs and McDonalds being pressured to be “more responsible” in their marketing towards children, putting more money towards Disney Adventures or Nick Jr as old contracts expire could be seen as almost inviting the critics to start a new round of complaints.

  8. Depressing news indeed.
    I’m amazed this gateway product (with TV and movie tie-ins) couldn’t find more advertisers. Could it be Disney’s lack of animated features? Loss of yet another all-ages publication isn’t good for anyone.

  9. It was nice to see characters I created taken seriously and given new adventures in the comics. With all the superhero blockbusters in the theaters, how is there NOT a Darkwing Duck comic on the stands?

    But DA did the industry a service when it stretched beyond synergistic marketing and printed the work of non-Disney creators. They were more in touch with the spirit of the TV animation department than its executives were.

    I’d love to see a big, thick collection of the stuff they printed.

  11. I saved every issue of Disney Adventures when I was a kid … somewhere in my parents’ house there has to be a nearly complete run of the first ten years or so. I feel like the Bone reprints must have played a pretty big role in Jeff Smith’s success, as it exposed his work to thousands of comics-lovin’ kids who otherwise never would have seen it, let alone set foot in a grungy, scary comic shop. The Evan Dorkin strips were terrific, too — I couldn’t understand why there wasn’t more Kid Blastoff stuff out there!
    Heidi, as someone who grew up reading the mag, I’d be really interested to read a retrospective or something of your time there …

  12. Now that does make me sad. I still have the first business card I ever got from you. You guessed it. It’s for DA magazine. Hmm, I wonder what it’d go for on ebay? Kidding! I’m Kidding, but truly it was a fun little kids mag, and I wish it wouldn’t go. Kids do need things that talk to them, and only them.

  13. “an effort to better focus resources and maximize long-term growth potential through new magazine and book initiatives.”

    Ugh, I HATE corporate speak.

    What is very disappointing about this is that Disney Adventures was one of very few publications that paid well for creator-owned material. Landry Walker and Eric Jones published Little Gloomy and Kid Gravity in DA, and they have always been very positive about the way they and their creations were treated their. It’s really too bad because I like to see artists get paid well for their work without having to give up the rights to it.

  14. I was way outside their demographic (MAD was my gateway, in 1979), but I did enjoy the comics. Heidi, you have an impressive resume, but your work at DA alone will place you among the comics pantheon. Thank you.

  15. I started at DA in 1998, thanks to Heidi, so this cancellation comes just shy of my 10th anniversary working there.

    I have to say it’s very sad for everyone.

  17. I loved writing for Disney Adventures during the last millenium.

    When Marv Wolfman edited it, he ran my three-part graphic novel, “Space Mickey & The Throgg Ray Wars,” perhaps the only OGN DA ever ran.

    And my old pal Heidi kept me working, first on the prequel to the sequel to Aladdin–(Try saying THAT five times fast)–then on a bunch of stuff.

    I loved the format; LOVED the distribution into the mass market, and as I’ve always said, DA PROVED that kids will read comics if you can get ’em into their hands.

    I’ve already had a moment of silence today–did you hear the forlorn horn tooting in the Poconos–but I think it’s time for another one.

    Congrats to Marv, Heidi, and everybody who followed in their footsteps and helped to make this one swell magazine.

    –Lee

  19. What the?!? Why’d it have to end this way? It’s not supposed to end! Cool magazines like these are supposed to last indefinitely! This makes Disney even less cool. >:0

    Okay, all hysterics aside, I didn’t really expect DA to expire the way it did. Somewhere in my stacks, I have a copy with Quasimodo from Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame on the cover which I had the character autograph. I wonder if it will be worth anything?

  20. Aw, rats! I always picked up a copy for my oldest daughter whenever I saw it in the supermarket. How sad that I won’t be able to pick it up now for my son or youngest daughter…

  21. I also had a subscription to Disney Adventures from day one, being as I was such a fan of The Disney Afternoon, out of which that was most immediately spun. I think it will still be quite some time before the major media corporations, Disney being first and foremost and Warner Bros. only just behind, truly realize how thoroughly they shot themselves in the foot with deregulation: they destroyed the concepts of Saturday morning and weekday afternoon programming to create 24 hour networks, multiples for each, that don’t command anywhere near the advertising revenue or ancillary products per capita. Yes, you get your odd “High School Musical” and Adult Swim phenomena, but if that’s what you’re banking on you’re in the wrong business. Give me a solid two to four hours of quality a day or even a week over 24 hours of incessant mediocrity. It’s a lesson the major comic publishers could stand to learn about oversaturating their properties and the stands, too.

  22. Man, that’s kind of disappointing. It was the one source of comics for me when I was young.

    Even looking back at how creepily corporate it was, it was still pretty sweet. Congrats to the writers and artists on some good work.

  23. I’m starting Orlando Attractions Magazine. We’re going to cover all of the theme parks and attractions in Orlando. It’s sort of a replacement for the old Disney Magazine.
    We were always planning a puzzle/comics page, but now that Disney Adventures has stopped publishing, we’re thinking about expanding on that.
    You can read more about the magazine at http://www.attractionsmagazine.com

    Thanks
    Matt Roseboom

  24. Living in Germany, that news is almost impossible imagine. Disney comic magazines (with Mickey and Donald Duck) are the most popular comics by far here and sell like crazy. It was like that in the 70s when I was a kid, and it’s still the same today.

    America is a really strange country… ;)

  25. How sad! DA was such a bright spot in my childhood, and probably is responsible for my now being interested in comics.

  27. Awww, that sucks…I have fond memories of reading those as well. I can’t remember if I was already reading comics or not by then, but I do know it was my first exposure to Bone. I still have the stack of 1-2 years worth I collected, in a box around here somewhere.

    I still remember the X-Men issue, with the awesome Hildebrandt Bros. cover, and my first sighting of the X-mansion schematics that showed up around the same time in the “Survival Guide To The Mansion” book.

    And I loved the whole create-a-superhero contest idea (which I tried sending in an entry for myself), even if the resulting comic done for the winner ended up looking a little too “old fashioned” for my young Image-style loving self.

  28. Wow! I can’t believe it!! Even with a “healthy circulation of over a million copies”!! Yow!! How many comic book companies would kill to have those kind of numbers? Lots of great comics and illustrations in DA. I remember years ago I did some stuff for Heidi that I’m not sure ever saw print. I even brought my then 3 year old son with me and Heidi gave him a Pokemon figure. Good luck to all the freelancers and staff. Such a shame…

  29. DA was a nice freelance gig for me back in the 90s, and when they switched to digital color (yes, at the beginning it was still ‘color guide’ territory) it was a great opportunity to stretch my Photoshop-coloring wings and have fun. Haven’t done anything for them in a long time, but it was always nice to see them on the stands. The writing seemed to be on the wall as the issues got skinnier and skinnier–the sign of impending stoppage for circulation magazines. Cheers and good luck to all the staff and creative types who worked there over the years!

  32. It’s been terrific working with editors who love comics and really know their stuff! Steve, Jesse, Amy and Doug were the kind of editors who did their jobs in a way that made the artists job easier and the final product better. Can’t beat that!

  37. I realy like that magazine! I am just a kid and I enjoy reading it. the last issue was a anevery issu and it said that there has been a total of 201 issues. I’m going t miss it :(

  38. This is horrible. I’ve gotten Disney Adventures ever since it came out I was 9. I am 27 years old, now. I found out about this when I saw a cover with Miley on it and it got me to wondering when I’d be getting the next issue, as it hit me that it was past the normal time for my subscription to arrive. I looked at my last issue and didn’t see the page where they usually put the “Coming Next Issue…” section. So, I looked up DA on the internet and found that DA is no more. So sad. It’s a shame and so depressing to lose something I’ve been buying most of my life. We don’t have a lot of money and DA was one of the very few things that I could have !

  39. I really loved DA! My sisters and I were always excited when a new issue comes in. Gorilla Gorilla was my favorite comic. It’s sad that now they canceled it. We’ll always remember DA!

  40. IM SO SAD
    DISNEY ADVENTURES WAS A REALLY SPECIAL MAGAZINE FOR ME
    I CAN´T UNDERSTAND WHY DISNEY
    WHY THEY HAVE A REALLY BAD MAGAZINE AS PRINCESS AND THEY KILL DA?
    WELL ONE MORE COOL MAGAZINE THAT SAYS GOODBYE!

    BY THE WAY FOR ALL THE READERS OF DISNEY ADVENTURES I WANNA SHOW THE MAGAZINE VIRTUAL KIDS!

    VISIT: http://www.yonatangomury.com

  41. I guess that explains why my Daughter didn’t get her December issue. I was searching on line for the site because I e-mailed them inquiring about her missing issue and never heard back from them. Wow, I wonder how much $ they made off new subscriptions that will never be sent? We have only recieved 4 magazines or our year subscription. My daughter is going to be MAJOR bummed about not recieveing the magazine any more!!

  42. my first published work with a circulation over 1000 was in DA – i only had 8 or 9 comics printed over the span of 3 years in the mag but it was always such a treat to see one of my bits in a magazine that i knew my then 10 yr old nephew would actually look at and appreciate; not only the passing of the magazine itself but the loss of jobs for so many smart dudes & dudettes – i hope everyone has found some new form of gainful employment after the burst of this sweet-sacharrin gem of a kids’ tome…

    thanks for the article, heidi! (late tho my note may be…)

    regards
    james dean conklin

  43. Well that really was a bummer. I moved to a new apartment in November so I thought the mail lost my December issue! Then my mom called DA today and I found out the bad news that way. I had no idea!!! I was supposed to get my magazine until March! I have been a reader since 2003 and I am 15 now. Now where am I going to get my comics fix and all the scoop about Disney?

    If all the adults are depressed think how we the kids are feeling! I am TOTALLY bummed out. I bet a bunch of kids out there are also feeling the grinch just won. :(

  44. WHY?
    WHY?
    WHY?!!!!!!!
    I’m young (I have a 1-number age) I have ALL except 2 issues from September 2003 to now. DA (Yes I use acronyms) was my FAVORITE magazine. Like Tad Stones said they need to make a big compilitation book with exact reprints of every issue with BONUS CONTENT and make them with ads and the puzzle pages and the comics

  45. If you want your money back you have to call the subscription dept at 1-800 829-5146. They said that you can get the remaining money from the subscription or get it towards another subscription. Anyway thats what the lady said to my mom. We’ll see if that really happens.

  46. I just saw where this magazine is not being published anymore. I hate to see that. My question is I signed up for a yearly subscription and only received three magazines for my daughter. I hate paying $14.97 for a year and not get but three issues. How do I get refunded for the rest?

    Thank you for your time and information.

  47. How could do that to my kid??? and myself?? I paid for a 2-year subscription in June 07, and they took my money!!! I’m sure they knew it by then!!

    Now I have a dissapointed kid at home and a another rip-off in my story!

  48. Thanks, Lawrence! Just called the Subscription Department (800-829-5146) and I was told a letter will be sent in the mail to subscribers this week, explaining about the refund process or the transfer to another Disney publication. We’ll see…

  50. I called the Subscription Department today. They couldn’t give a date or estimate on when they will give a refund on my 2 year subscription – but did try to sell me a discount on a FamilyFun magazine subscription.

  51. I got the news today…from a postcard from Sports Illistrated Kids saying that Disney has chosen them. I am not into sports and am NOT going to subscribe to this magazine. I am going back to my Christian Youth magazine I had to unsubsribe to when I got this. It is VERY sad news as I read Disney Magazine from ages 11-18(I am 18 now) Farewell disney magazine and a job well done

  52. It is really sad to see such a great publication leave. I subscribe to DA for my son who is now just turning 11 and I know he will be very sad when he comes home today to find out that he no longer has his fun magazine anymore. He is an avid reader of anything and always has been, but I have to tell you he will read and re read these magazines until they are worn out. Now the problem is to find an adequate replacement for him. He is still to young to read my Entertainment weekly LOL, plus they don’t have comics.

  54. We have been a subscriber for this magazine for over 6 years and are saddened to see it end.

    Just today we found out another magazine that my son loved, Neopets Magazine has also been cancelled.

    In an age when the children only want to video game and the schools are doing everything possible to get them to read, I am so frustrated that the items they do enjoy reading are no longer available.

    Wouldn’t it be nice to have a corporation care more about the impact that their products have on a child’s mind, imagination and education matter more than the impact on their wallets??? …sigh

  55. Disney doesnt make enough money from their parks, movies, stores and toll numbers at the parks to help Disney Adventures out with advertising?
    Anything that gets kids to read is a worthwhile endeavor.

  56. I called the subscription line about a month ago and was told the postcards were coming telling us what to do about our remaining subscription, it hasnt come yet. Gonna call again today and see what I can find out.

  57. i too am subscribed up till jun 09 called the sub line they said they would send out a letter with offers for other magazine but nothing in the mail yet

  58. Too bad, no more Disney Adventures. It was very entertaining! The kids loved it. I purchased a one year subscription and only got 2 issues. I called the 1-800 # and they said that the remaining 10 issues were going to be replaced with another magazine and they don’t know which at this time. They said I would receive a letter in the mail explaining this soon and if I don’t, to call them back and check in again.

  59. looks like i’m doomed

    i called the sub line and now they say i was subscribed through a clearing house so they gave me a different number to call
    i called it and the clearinghouse and they said the agent i ordered it through is out of buisness and there is nothing they can do

    i dont see how it is anybodys responsibility other than the entity than decided to stop publication if it was still being published i’d be getting magazines why is it being passed on the clearinghouse who then passes the buck to an out of buisness agency

    sheesh

    oh well i did some pro-rated calculations and since it came out to about 30 cents a mag i’m only out a couple bucks

    but its never about the money i miss my “gorilla gorilla” fix

  60. My now 9 1/2 yr old autistic son’s ritual since his birthday in 2005 was to accompany me to the grocery store each month and cruise the magazine racks for the newest edition of DA and the Comic Zone. He’d carry them everywhere. Sometimes I’d have to go back to the store and buy extra copies because he’d leafed through them so much. He’d mark off the calendar days until the next edition was released to the stands.
    He was so distressed at not finding the expected Dec/Jan edition that I called our store and they said they’d look into it. They called me back today with the sad news. My son is crushed. For him there truely is no life without DA. It’s his lifeline to our world. If Disney truely wants to see the effect of their choice they should see my boy. He adores those comics. He just earned his first badge at Timberwolves, completely on his own; telling his leader about his DA collection. The poor kid. I don’t know what to do.

  61. darn! i love this magazine a lot and i also collect them! I’ll sure miss jet pack pets and kid gravity and hair pair !! : (

  62. darn! i love this magazine a lot and i also collect them! I’ll sure miss jet pack pets and kid gravity and hair pair !! : (

  63. NOOOOOOO!!! Absolutely nooooo way!!! I’m almost in tears…. I was practically obsessed with DA when I was a kid, and never missed a single issue from 2000-2005. I’ve still got my 5 years worth of collection of mags in my locked drawer in my cupboard… now they are even more sentimental!! Gonna miss those comics… I remember ‘Society of Horrors’ being my fave. And also the ‘IT Kids’ section, later known as ‘Game On’!! Far out what tragic news… farewell DA, you’ll be greatly missed!! :'(

  64. MAKE SURE YOU GET YOUR REFUND!! We had 9 months left on our subscription and they wanted to refund only $3.50. When you call the number for help you get the runaround. This is definitely not what I would have expected from Disney.

  65. Does anyone know the phone number so that I can get a refund???? I had about 6 issues left and my child is very upset about this.

  66. I am having a HORRIBLE time with this. Between my two children we had 4 years lseft on our subscription. They are refunding $21 for the four years. Now why couldn’t I buy the magazine for $5.25 per year when it was published?????

    Any suggestions?

  67. I’m very surpirzed, I always looked forward to getting the next editon. I’m very upset! they could have least sent me a letter saying that they weren’t making them anymore, but no! they just leave me in the dust! oh well, I’ll miss them dearly. hmm I wonder what I should do with my small collection?

  69. This totally sucks! I am really peeved at DA!! My daughter is especially mad since they have switched us to Boys Life…no notice, no choice…what 9 year old girl that is into Hannah Montana and the Disney channel is going to want a Boys Life magazine as a substitute for Disney Adventures?
    When I called DA mag, all they could do is tell me is to call Boys Life publishers and see if they have anything else we can have instead…when I call BL, all I get is a recording…No letter or anything from DA to even tell us this was coming. Disney….What a bunch of JERKS!!!!

  70. This totally sucks! I am really peeved at DA!! My daughter is especially mad since they have switched us to Boys Life…no notice, no choice…what 9 year old girl that is into Hannah Montana and the Disney channel is going to want a Boys Life magazine as a substitute for Disney Adventures?
    When I called DA mag, all they could do is tell me is to call Boys Life publishers and see if they have anything else we can have instead…when I call BL, all I get is a recording…No letter or anything from DA to even tell us this was coming. Disney….What a bunch of JERKS!!!!

  71. hey i got the boys life mag today of course since they stopped with last years nov. issue and it being march seems like i’m short 3 mags but eh its ok

    they are still publishing disney adventures in australia i wish i could get pdfs of them

    i need my “gorilla gorilla”

  72. We just got the boys life in the mail also, I had not heard they weren’t producing it anymore. I can’t believe that they are giving such low amounts as refunds. I don’t want boys life either. How depressing.

  73. I received my son’s copy of “Boy’s Life” in the mail today and spent the better part of the morning trying to remember whether or not I received notice about this and researching online for info and what my options are with regard to the rest of his subscription, which is 12 months. At least now I know I didn’t receive any notice and didn’t misplace paperwork regarding our options. I’m going to see what my son thinks of BL, but it doesn’t look like his kind of thing. He’s going to be devastated about losing DA!!

  74. I received my son’s copy of “Boy’s Life” in the mail today and spent the better part of the morning trying to remember whether or not I received notice about this and researching online for info and what my options are with regard to the rest of his subscription, which is 12 months. At least now I know I didn’t receive any notice and didn’t misplace paperwork regarding our options. I’m going to see what my son thinks of BL, but it doesn’t look like his kind of thing. He’s going to be devastated about losing DA!!

  75. I received my son’s copy of “Boy’s Life” in the mail today and spent the better part of the morning trying to remember whether or not I received notice about this and researching online for info and what my options are with regard to the rest of his subscription, which is 12 months. At least now I know I didn’t receive any notice and didn’t misplace paperwork regarding our options. I’m going to see what my son thinks of BL, but it doesn’t look like his kind of thing. He’s going to be devastated about losing DA!!

  77. I was shocked to discover this fact. I subscribe to both DA and Nick and looked foward to each issue. Just as with the end of the Harry Potter series, it seems that the closing of Disney Adventures is another part of my childhood ripped away………..another sign that I’m growing up.

  78. I remember when I used to read Disney Adventures Magazine when I was a kid all the way to 1998. I stopped collecting them because they stopped publishing comics with Disney Characters in them and that used to be one of my favorite parts other than the Video Game Reviews.

  79. I remember when I used to read Disney Adventures Magazine when I was a kid all the way to 1998. I stopped collecting them because they stopped publishing comics with Disney Characters in them and that used to be one of my favorite parts other than the Video Game Reviews. It’s sad to know they are not being published anymore.

  81. hi,

    I want to tell you that you are awesome.This is my favourite magazine.i want be a repoter,but dont how to be one.

  82. hi,

    I want to tell you that you are awesome.This is my favourite magazine.i want be a repoter,but dont how to be one.

  83. Just got a notice that it’s time to renew my Sports Illustrated Kids subscription (which I NEVER subscribed to) – noticed a line in the letter about the ‘disney transfer” – then it CLICKED! I had wondered what happened to all my daughters Disney Magazines she was supposed to be getting but never got around to calling – come to think of it we only received about 3 of them from our original subscription – what a rip off. Does ANYONE have ANY contact numbers for DA??? Posting them would be most appreciated! Thanks.

  84. I had just started college in 1995 when one day I noticed DA at the newsstand at a grocery store. After buying a few DA mag for myself, I started subscribing DA with limited money I had and never missed an issue. Then one day around Nov/Dec 2007, I received a mail from DA, but postponed in opening it due to busy with passing of my dad. After things settled down and one day I realized that I thought I had missed Dec issue…I decided to open and read the unopened mail from DA and…it just really broke my heart! I did received few remaining issues from Sports Illustrated, but never renew it. I was already heart broken when it broke my heart! Really miss the comic sections!
    GOOD LUCK Disney! Will really miss DA, Sat mornings cartoons weekdays afternoon cartoons, midnight and after midnight Disney animated programs and many more!!! ;(

  87. We have nearly four complete years of these magazines as follows:
    1999-Jan to Nov
    1998- Full Year
    1997- Full Year
    1996- 8 months 1 cover missing
    2000- Jan (Millenium Collectors issue)
    and June 2000

  89. DEAR DISNEY ADVENTURES I JUST LIKE TO SAY I LOVED READING THAT LITTLE MAGIZAN THE COMICS, MOVIES, NEWS, MUSIC IT WAS ALL GOOD. WHICH IS THE PART I DON’T GET WHY END SUCH A GOOD MAGIZAN LIKE THAT WAS IT REALLLY WORTH IT TO MAKE ALOT OF ROOM FOR THE NEW. i’M REALLY MAD AT YOU I THINK YOU COULD STILL BRING IT BACK IF YOU WANTED TO, IT’S NOT TO LATE YOU COULD STILL GIVE IT ONE MORE SHOT IF YOU TRIED TO, AND I HOPE YOU DO, GOOD BYE FOR NOW.

  90. I still miss this magazine! The size and content was AWESOME! Even for adults. Oh well, maybe they will bring it back again in the future. I hope a whole new generation of kids don’t miss out on this GREAT magazine.

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