CGC Magazines Hot List – September 2025

Posted on 9/2/2025

This month we're putting a spotlight on CGC-graded magazines: From groundbreaking debuts to unforgettable covers and hidden fan-favorite moments, these five issues capture the thrill of pop culture history and the excitement of the chase for collectors of all kinds.

In this monthly series, CGC delves into the dynamic world of comic book collecting, focusing on the hottest titles influencing the current market. Utilizing comprehensive insights from CGC submission data, we explore significant first appearances, rare variant covers and milestone issues.

This month we're celebrating some of the most sought-after magazines. From timeless athletic showdowns to bold statements in adult publishing, and gaming firsts to the rise of fan-driven guides and larger-than-life wrestling heroes, these five issues offer a mix of nostalgia, excitement and discovery that makes them impossible to pass up.

Sports Illustrated #1 (1954)


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Sports Illustrated launched as a glossy, full-color sports magazine that treated athletics with the same attention and care as fine art or literature. The debut issue’s cover photo of Milwaukee Braves slugger Eddie Mathews at bat with Wes Westrum crouched behind the plate and umpire Augie Donatelli ready to make the call captured the drama of the game in a single frame. Inside, readers found coverage that spanned from baseball to yachting and signaled that no sport was too big or too niche for its pages. Its writing had a sophistication that appealed to lifelong fans and casual readers alike, setting a standard that would guide the publication for decades.

Playboy #1 (1953)


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Playboy appeared on newsstands with an undated cover featuring Marilyn Monroe in a joyful, waving pose that demanded attention. Inside, Monroe appeared in the now-famous nude calendar shoot but the magazine’s ambitions went beyond the salacious. It mixed humor, fiction and cultural essays with a modern, urbane sensibility. Playboy founder Hugh Hefner was still working from his kitchen table when it went to press yet the issue read like a fully formed brand manifesto that would soon reshape the publishing world. The combination of bold visuals and sharp editorial voice gave it a lasting allure that made this debut one of the most sought-after magazines ever printed.

Nintendo Power #1 (1988)


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Nintendo Power arrived in mailboxes and magazine racks as a direct line to Nintendo’s inner circle. The cover, a clay-sculpted diorama of Super Mario Bros. 2, was whimsical and tactile, unlike anything in gaming media at the time. Within its pages, gamers found exhaustive maps, developer secrets and contests that made it feel like a personal invitation into the Mushroom Kingdom. For a generation this first issue became the totem of their Nintendo loyalty. Decades later, it remains a vivid reminder of when gaming felt new, mysterious and endlessly full of discovery.

Wizard #1 (1991)


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Wizard hit newsstands loud, brash and unapologetically fan-driven. Its cover featured Todd McFarlane’s Spider-Man art and the interiors were packed with creator interviews, price spikes and rumors, speaking directly to the comic shop crowd it served. There was an infectious sense that readers were not just buying a magazine but joining a movement in a decade when comics felt like they could explode in value overnight. Its mix of speculation, insider chatter and playful attitude would define comic culture throughout the '90s and turn the magazine into a cornerstone of fandom.

WWF Magazine Vol. 2 #1 (1984)


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WWF Magazine (Vol. 2) came out during the height of wrestling’s rock ’n’ wrestling era with Hulk Hogan grinning confidently from the cover in his yellow gear. His image radiated the unstoppable force he represented in the ring, a hero to millions of fans worldwide. Now with the news of Hogan’s recent death, the issue has taken on a new kind of gravity. It is a piece of history that holds both the spectacle of mid-'80s wrestling and the memory of its most enduring icon. For collectors and fans alike, it is a bittersweet keepsake of a performer who blurred the lines between reality and larger-than-life fiction.

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About CGC

Since revolutionizing comic book grading in 2000, CGC has grown to include certification services for a vast variety of pop culture collectibles. These divisions include CGC Cards, CGC Video Games and CGC Home Video. CGC Cards provides expert card grading for sports cards, TCGs and non-sports cards. CGC Video Games is dedicated to video game grading for the most popular consoles, including Nintendo, Sega, Atari, PlayStation and more. CGC Home Video provides expert VHS grading in addition to other types of videocassettes, DVD, Blu-ray and more. CGC also offers seamless solutions for autograph collectors with CGC Signature Series and JSA Authentic Autograph services.

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