Not all magazines are created equal.

If you, like I, grew up with the grocery rack standbys, the hair salon tabloids and your sister’s dogeared copy of Seventeen—I’d like to introduce you to the world of independent print.

When digital began to surpass print as the supreme societal currency, ad revenue at the print mainstays began to drive up (The money follows the eyeballs.) and thus began the slippery slope to where we are today.

But print adapted. Smaller titles, privately funded (and with higher cover prices) began popping up like weeds of creativity. On top of that, with fewer people needing to sign off, niche topics from more diverse creators found their footing.

In short, indie magazines *happened*.

And sure, while they were there before that, and print still isn’t perfect, this is that perfect window of time where us and them exist at the same time.