Does that mean that any publication that isn't wouldn't qualify?

Some random thoughts:


Pros:


Fanzine covers would probably not only be a tiny minority of entries, but in most contests wouldn't even appear. I could see them being more likely on the (rare) occasion that the contest subject is a particular artist or character, far less likely when the subject is something like "Brains" or "Newspapers" or "Jewels". “Prozines” such as Marvel Age are mostly pin-up style covers, which are less likely to qualify for the contest topic, and less likely to win the contests, I would guess.


Many of these covers are indistinguishable from conventional comics covers with respect to artist, content, design, technique, etc. They look just like the kind of covers we already allow.

We can’t assume that others enjoy participating in exactly the same way. Personally, I usually like the challenge of wracking my brain to dig up an old comic from my memories that fits the contest. Others may prefer to hunt for an eligible cover (as I sometimes do, myself). I used to play by my own “advanced difficulty level”, where my cover had to satisfy both the current and previous weeks’ topics. I don’t think I’d ever pick a fanzine cover for my own entry. But others may have their own approaches to selecting entries, having fun with it in their own ways.


Would I enjoy seeing fanzine entries? Probably, at least in some cases. They’re not likely to be of the “oh, how could I have forgotten that one?” variety, but again, that’s just one of the ways that I like to enjoy the contest, as sort of a competition to remember or locate the “best” example. Others may have their own ways to enjoy the experience, and that’s fine.


Cons:


It complicates the rules. Even if this game has (or should have) no real consequences on our egos or well-being, it’s more fun to play a game according to the rules. We all understand what a qualifying comic is, but we’ve already had to explain the intended definition of “fanzine”. I think that the intention is to allow comics-related magazines with “comics-like” covers, but does this include amateur work, like Alter-Ego issues from the 60’s, or obscure 70’s fan press, or APA-zines? Text magazines, like Marvel’s first run of Haunt of Horror? Music zines with superhero art on the cover? The Monster Times? I’ve seen a Popular Mechanix cover drawn by Dick Giordano—can I use it? PS Magazine, the Army’s Preventive Maintenance monthly, with covers by the likes of Eisner and Kubert?


We don’t need to widen the playing field. I can think of only one instance in the history of the contest (and this may have been back in the CBR days) in which the contest came close to exhausting all of the eligible entries. And topics that are as limited as that one aren’t as much fun…to me, anyway.


We already frequently have participants who post “NOT AN ENTRY” covers when they have a relevant but non-qualifying cover that they want to share. I haven’t seen any complaints about that. Fanzine covers could be posted to the thread like that—we’d all get to enjoy the art, and maybe see something we didn’t know about, it just couldn’t be a winner.


We’re a friendly community here. If changes aggravate any of our participants, even if we personally don’t think it’s a big deal, is it worth changing? Some people might be dealing with issues or conditions that we’re not aware of, and I’d rather be sensitive to that possibility. I dare say that every single one of us here is a little “off” in one way or another, and we should take no pleasure in pushing another’s buttons if there’s nothing important at stake.

How on Earth could Mad be not a comic?