First thing this morning I went to the Junkudo bookstore in Ikebukuro, and was very happy to find 2 stacks of copies of the first issue of MONOCLE in the foreign magazines section. They even had them on one of the top shelves, with a small info card next to them, which they don’t usually do.
The verdict? I’ve only leafed through it without reading anything yet, but I absolutely love what I’m seeing. It looks smart, and feels smart as well, with a layout and design throughout that stays consistent, and doesn’t feel overblown. I’m also a big fan of magazines that use uncoated paper stock, but at the same time, here, I appreciate the splash of glossy pages at the end for the “Expo” section. You also get an original manga by Takanori Yasaka, which I hope is going to be a regular feature.
As far as pricing, some have mentioned the high price, even at Tower Records Shibuya, in my previous post‘s comment thread. That 2200 yen is the magazine’s Japanese price — they have official distribution in Japan, same as weekly’s like TIME and NEWSWEEK — so we won’t be able to get it at a cheaper import price. Sure, it’s a bit pricey, but you do get quite a lot of content, so I don’t necessarily feel cheated (also, I’m used to paying close to that for certain design-related Japanese magazines).
Update
Dan Hill, in charge of web content for the magazine, has posted on his blog some details on what’s going on with Monocle.com.
Update 2
Editor Andrew Tuck has a piece for the THE INDEPENDENT on what it took to launch the magazine, and some of the thinking behind it.
By Dan Hill February 20, 2007 - 7:12 am
Glad you liked it, Jean! :)
By Jean Snow February 20, 2007 - 10:10 am
Really a terrific magazine, Dan, congrats on the launch! And from the web content I’ve seen so far, looks like you will be offering some rather attractive online supplements as well.
By Dan Hill February 20, 2007 - 6:00 pm
Well, yes, we’ll be trying to offer something different online – as well as covering the basic magazine content, we’ll be focusing on more broadcast audio and video led formats. Watch that space.
And drop me a line sometime, Jean, would be good to hook up, maybe?
By Jean Snow February 20, 2007 - 9:04 pm
Unfortunately, I can’t afford a subscription right now, so looks like I’ll miss out on the online content, but I do like that the magazine is placing so much importance on this web stuff.
And Dan, I’ll email you directly.
By akatsuki February 22, 2007 - 3:31 am
I have to say I like the magazine a lot, but could wish for a little more depth and a little less breadth. Too many articles, and some of them feel like they are just brief one-offs when they all seem to be interesting.
By Jean Snow February 22, 2007 - 9:49 am
I like the mix. I don’t think I could handle it if they were all in-depth. I like to have bit-sized chunks mixed in with the longer pieces.
By akatsuki February 23, 2007 - 1:06 am
I can understand that, but at the same time, for some reason I found the article about Miura golf clubs fascinating and wanted to know more, both about the clubs and about the forging process. Some of the other articles I ended up feeling the same about, but I loved the article about the Japanese navy.
The other thing I wish for would be a city index. This could be online or wherever, but if I am flying out to Tokyo or Stockholm or wherever, it would be nice to be able to click on a map and get links to all the articles about a place, organized by their ABCDE categorizations. I often felt this lack in other magazines (such as Wallpaper), which I felt was intentional so they could sell their city guides, but given the increased price of online access, it makes sense to put some exclusive content there.
By Jean Snow February 23, 2007 - 1:14 am
As part of their online content, you’ll find guides to 25 cities, all downloadable as PDFs.
By Akane February 23, 2007 - 2:45 am
yes I’m afraid I share a mutual feeling with akatsuki-san on this. Love the visual, paper quality, writing, but content seems a bit weak. A lot of the articles feel incomplete or ‘shirikire tonbo’ as we say in Japanese. I guess there are certain expectations for prints and I would definitely read a blog of a site if i wanted bit-size contents.
By M2 February 23, 2007 - 11:24 am
Purchased Monocle today.
Is very sharp magazine.
I like the paper, format and photos.
Design and social issues can mix well together.
Another reason why I prefer Monocle over Wallpaper.
By Erik Brown February 24, 2007 - 1:34 pm
After seeing the magazine here in NY, my first thought was comparing it to late ’90s Wallpaper magazine. Then, reading the 2 comments here about the comparison made me curious. Looking at the credits for Monocle, the editor-in-chief is Tyler Brule – initial editor-in-chief of Wallpaper until 2002 or so. Now it makes sense…..at least I wasn’t crazy for seeing a sharp similarity.
BTW, big fan of your website, Jean. Thanks.