I think my favorite read so far this month has been Alter Ego #150, the special 100-page Stan Lee issue, with a rare interview with Stan the Man conducted in the 1980s, a look at Stan’s non-Marvel work, and tons more. The January fiction mags feature stories by Nisi Shawl, Nick Mamatas, Adam-Troy Castro, Sarah Pinsker, Laurie Tom, David Afsharirad, Patricia Russo, and many others.

Here’s the complete list of magazines that won my attention in late January (links will bring you to magazine websites).

Alter Ego — Issue 150 of Roy Thomas’ Comics Fanzine celebrates 95 years of Stan Lee! 100 pages in full color for $9.95.
Apex — Issue #104 has new stories by Lila Bowen, Benjamín Naka-Hasebe Kingsley, Nick Mamatas, Chi Hui, Armando Saldaña, and Nisi Shawl, plus reprints by Cassandra Khaw and T. Kingfisher
Galaxy’s Edge — The fifth anniversary issue has stories by Laurie Tom, Nick DiChario, Eric Leif Davin, Sean Patrick Hazlett, David Afsharirad, M. E. Garber, George Nikolopoulos, and David VonAllmen, plus reprints by Joe Haldeman, Orson Scott Card, Kij Johnson, and Mercedes Lackey — and the fourth segment of Joan Slonczewski’s serialized novel Daughter of Elysium.
Meeple Monthly — Upcoming games from IELLO, Looney Labs, Expedition: The Roleplaying Card Game, Pelgrane Press Ltd, and Steve Jackson Games!

Back Issue — The cutthroat Mercs and Antiheroes issue, with histories of Cable, Taskmaster, Deathstroke the Terminator, the Vigilante, and Wild Dog, plus… Archie meets the Punisher??
Lightspeed — New fiction from Adam-Troy Castro, Susan Jane Bigelow, José Pablo Iriarte and Sarah Pinsker, plus reprints by Catherynne M. Valente, James Patrick Kelly, Joanna Ruocco, and Roger Zelazny
Lackington’s — Stories by Kate Dollarhyde, Natalie Ritter, Joseph Tomaras, D.K. Latta, N. Muma Alain, and Alexandra Seidel
Space & Time — Issue 130 has fiction from Esther Scherpenisse, Patricia Russo, Fraser Sherman, Richard Dansky, David Stevens, and Dale Carothers

Click any of the thumbnail images above for bigger images. Our Early January Fantasy Magazine Rack is here.

[Click the images for bigger versions.]

Earlier this month we also covered:

Worlds of If, November 1969, a retro-review by Adrian Simmons — with fiction by James Tiptree, Jr., Alfred Coppel, Neal Barrett Jr., Keith Laumer, and more
Galaxy Science Fiction, January 1954: a retro-review by Matthew Wuertz — stories by Damon Knight, Gordon R. Dickson, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., Jerome Bixby
The Brythunian Prints, June 1967, by Doug Ellis — with poetry by Lin Carter
Steven Silver’s Birthday Reviews — covering Pulphouse (August 1991), Astounding Stories (December 1933), Future Science Fiction, Galaxy, Astounding Science Fiction (February 1953), Weird Tales, Pulphouse (September/October 1992), and Amazing Stories

As we’ve mentioned before, all of these magazines are completely dependent on fans and readers to keep them alive. Many are marginal operations for whom a handful of subscriptions may mean the difference between life and death. Why not check one or two out, and try a sample issue? There are magazines here for every budget, from completely free to $35/issue. If you find something intriguing, I hope you’ll consider taking a chance on a subscription. I think you’ll find it’s money very well spent.

Black Gate reports exclusively on fantasy magazines, although we also cover the occasional science fiction or mainstream magazine with some fantasy content. We currently cover 51 magazines (links will take you to our latest coverage):

Adventure Tales edited by John Betancourt
Albedo One edited by Robert (Bob) Neilson
Analog, edited by Trevor Quachri
Andromeda Spaceways Magazine, edited by a rotating staff
Apex, edited by Jason Sizemore
Ares Magazine, edited by Michael Anderson
Asimov’s Science Fiction, edited by Sheila Williams
The Audient Void, edited by Obadiah Baird
Back Issue, edited by Michael Eury
Beneath Ceaseless Skies, edited by Scott H. Andrews
Black Static, edited by Andy Cox
Bloke’s Terrible Tomb of Terror, edited by Jason Crawley
Broadswords and Blasters, edited by Matthew X. Gomez and Cameron Mount
Cemetery Dance, edited by Richard Chizmar
Cirsova, edited by P. Alexander
Clarkesworld, edited by Neil Clarke and Sean Wallace
The Dark, edited by Jack Fisher and Sean Wallace

The Digest Enthusiast, edited by Arkay Olgar
Fantasy and Science Fiction, edited by C.C. Finlay
Galaxy’s Edge, edited by Mike Resnick
Gathering Storm Magazine, edited by Michael McHenry and Cinda McHenry
GigaNotoSaurus, edited by Rashida J. Smith
Grimdark Magazine, edited by Adrian Collins
Heroic Fantasy Quarterly, edited by Adrian Simmons, David Farney, William Ledbetter and James Frederick William Rowe
High Adventure, edited by John P. Gunnison
Holdfast, edited by Laurel Sills and Lucy Smee
Inhuman Magazine, edited by Allen Koszowski
Interzone, edited by Andy Cox
Knights of the Dinner Table, edited by Jolly Blackburn
Lackington’s, edited by Ranylt Richildis
Lightspeed, edited by John Joseph Adams
Locus, edited by Liza Groen Trombi
Luna Station Quarterly, edited by Jennifer Lyn Parsons
Meeple Monthly, edited by Jenna Piller and Amy Clarke
Mythic Delirium, edited by Mike Allen
Nightmare, edited by John Joseph Adams
Occult Detective Quarterly, edited by Sam Gafford and John Linwood Grant.
Outposts of Beyond, edited by Tyree Campbell
Postscripts, edited by Nick Gevers
Pulp Literature, edited by Mel Anastasiou, Jennifer Landels, and Susan Pieters
Red Sun, edited by Ben Richards

Science Fiction Classics
Scrolls of Legendry, edited by D.M. Ritzlin
Shimmer, edited by E. Catherine Tobler
Shoreline of Infinity, edited by Noel Chidwick
Skelos, edited by Mark Finn, Chris Gruber, and Jeffrey Shanks
Space & Time, edited by Hildy Silverman
Swords and Sorcery Magazine, edited by Curtis Ellett
Tor.com, edited by a cast of thousands
Uncanny, edited by Lynne M. Thomas, Michael Damian Thomas, and Michi Trota
Weirdbook, edited by Douglas Draa‎
Weird Fiction Review, edited by S.T. Joshi
Weird Tales, edited by Marvin Kaye

We also cover many fine magazines that are now defunct:

All Hallows
The All-Story
Amazing Stories
Arcane
Blood, Blade and Thruster
Bull Spec
Cosmic Crimes Stories
Crossed Genres
Dark Realms

Darker Matter
Doc Savage
El Conquistador
Electric Velocipede
Fantastic Novels
Fantastic Stories of the Imagination, edited by Warren Lapine
Fantastic Stories
Fantastic Universe
Fantasy Magazine
Fantasy/Fantasy Newsletter
The Fantasy Fan
Fantasy Review
Fantasy Scroll, edited by Iulian Ionescu, Frederick Doot, and Alexandra Zamorski
Flashing Swords
Future Science Fiction
Galaxy Science Fiction
Gygax, edited by Jayson Elliot
H.P. Lovecraft’s Magazine of Horror
I Palantir
Infinity
Innsmouth Magazine
Interfictions Online, edited by Delia Sherman
Jabberwocky

Kobold Quarterly
The Last Province
Level UP
Other Worlds
Paradox
Planet Stories
Port Iris
Pulphouse
Reader’s Digest
Realms of Fantasy
Satellite
Science Fiction Adventures
Shadis
Shock Totem
Spellbound
Strange Tales
Strategy & Tactics
Subterranean
Super Science Stories
The Original Science Fiction Stories
Unknown
Venture
Wizard
Worlds of If
Zahir

And we’ve covered the following magazines intermittently:

3×3 Illustration
Adventure House Pulp Reprints
Alarums and Excursions
Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine
Against the Odds
Alter Ego
Betwixt
Blind Spot
Dark Worlds
Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine
Entertainment Weekly
The Excellent Travelling Volume
Faerie Magazine
Game Informer
Goblin Fruit
Graphic Classics
Granta
Heliotrope
The Lorelei Signal
Lovecraft eZine
New Realm

The New Yorker
The New York Review of Science Fiction
On Spec
PC Gamer
Primeval: A Journal of the Uncanny
Rue Morgue
The SFWA Bulletin
The Best of Star Trek
Strange Aeons
Strange Horizons
Stupefying Stories
Tin House
Vanity Fair
Virginia Quarterly Review
Whistling Shade
Wired

Check out all of our recent magazine coverage here.