Back in May, some of you may recall that I did a review of the second issue of “Tales from the Laughing Place” magazine. You know, LaughingPlace.com‘s spin-off publication?
At that time, I said that — over all — I liked the magazine. That — yeah — there were a few articles in the thing that (to my way of thinking, anyway) took a far-too academic approach when it came to writing about the Disney theme parks. But — beyond that — this new Disneyana publication appeared to be off to a good start. Filled with strong photographs, “Tales from the Laughing Place” was attractively laid out and printed on quality paper. So I thought it looked to be a keeper.
Photo by Jeff Lange
Well, Issue 3 of the LaughingPlace spin-off magazine has just been sent out to its subscribers. And — this past weekend — I actually got a chance to page through the latest issue. And I am pleased to report that “Tales from the Laughing Place” continues to improve. The magazine’s page count continues to climb. And due to its stellar interviews with Joe Rohde about “Expedition Everest,” Bruce Vaughn about Lucky the Dinosaur and Andreas Deja about working on “Lilo & Stitch,” Issue III is well worth reading.
Unfortunately, due to the teeny tiny type that’s used in quite a number of its articles, this latest issue of “Tales from the Laughing Place” sometimes isn’t all that easy to read. But — that said — it is still worth reading.
Don’t get me wrong, folks. I’m not just saying this because I feel that I have to find something to complain about when it comes to “Tales from the Laughing Place.” To be honest, I’m a guy in my mid-40s. And I wear bifocals now because I have trouble seeing things that are either very far away or right close up. And in this latest issue of LaughingPlace.com’s spin-off magazine, there are a number of stories that are printed in a point size that — frankly — I found difficult to read.
“How small are we actually talking here?,” you query. Here. I’ll provide you with an unretouched photograph to provide a proper sense of scale. That’s a really-for-real dime next to one of this issue’s photo captions. Talk about your fine print.
Photo by Jeff Lange
I bring this publishing-related concern up because .. Well … I have to think that I can’t be the only person out there who’s reading “Tales from the Laughing Place” who is having this same type size problem. Or — for that matter — I can’t be the only guy who is somewhat put off by “TOTLP” ‘s quirky layout and design.
“So what’s wrong with the magazine’s layout and design?,” you ask. To be blunt, it’s sometimes kind of confusing. Take — for example — that article toward the back of Issue 3 that reports on some spy-themed after-hours event at Disney/MGM. As I tried to read the thing, I couldn’t figure out whether I was looking at the story’s text, headline or photo caption. There was nothing on that two page spread that actually told my eyes where they needed to go.
Photo by Jeff Lange
Yesterday afternoon, I was talking with Roy Mitchell about my concerns with Issue 3 of “Tales from the Laughing Place.” As a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, he knew immediately what the problem was.
“This used to happen all the time with the new design students,” Roy explained. “When they did their initial magazine layouts, these kids would really want to impress their teachers. So they’d try way too hard. The end result would always be these layouts that had great art direction but then were virtually impossible to read.”
That’s what I think is actually going on with “Tales from the Laughing Place.” The people who are behind this LaughingPlace.com spin-off was determined to make sure that their publication looks nothing like the now-defunct “Disney News.” Which is why they’re working so hard to make this magazine look young, hip, trendy, now.
The only problem with doing something like that is that there are probably a lot of “Tales from the Laughing Place” ‘s readers who are just like me: old and unhip. More to the point, people who are looking for a more traditional layout when it comes to the magazines that they read.
But the way I figure it, this LaughingPlace.com spin-off magazine is still a work-in-progress. And — if we just give the people who are running “Tales from the Laughing Place” enough time –I’m sure that they’ll eventually realize that there’s nothing wrong with putting the hay down where the goats can get at it.
And — given how enjoyable this new Disneyana magazine is — this is one old goat who really wishes that he didn’t have to strain his eyes in order to read some of the great stories to be found in Issue 3 of “Tales of the Laughing Place.”
Photo by Jeff Lange
But how about the rest of you “TOTLP” readers out there? Did you have a similar reaction to Issue 3 (I.E. That the magazine had great content, but it was still kind of hard to read)? What do you think of LaughingPlace.com’s spin-off magazine?