Joker Magazine

From Culture.si




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Joker
Dunajska 5, SI-1000 Ljubljana
Phone386 (0) 59 089 935
Published byAlpress d.o.o.
David Tomšič, Editor in Chief, Managing Editor
Frequency12 numbers per year



After 25 years and 291 editions, Joker magazine ceased in November 2017.

Archival article


Joker is a monthly magazine on gaming culture, first published back in 1992 and continuously in print from 1993 to 2017. Initially set to review video games, its creative editing turned it into a magazine of a much broader horizon and even a cultural phenomena by itself. Though the magazine is centred on video games and current developments in computer technology, content such as film reviews, book critiques, short stories, comics and so on are an integral part of Joker.

Boasting a sizeable community of readers, Joker hosts a lively web forum for all kinds of debates called Mn3njalnik and publishes monthly DVDs with demo games and software.


Distinctive features

Almost since its inception, Joker has been developing an idiosyncratic and quirky humour as well as a recognisable visual style. The humour, often subtle as well as crass and profane, is usually executed in an over-the-top manner. It is distinguished by various neologisms, archaic words and (too-)literal translations, some of which began to have a life outside of the magazine's pages. The Joker's "creamteam" writers are Sneti, LordFebo, Aggressor and Kavbojc.

Since 1995, Joker has been collaborating with the comic book artist Primož Bertoncelj, who creates monthly comics as well as provides illustrations for the magazine. The comics are of a rather surreal nature, with a strong penchant for the absurd.

Aside from the aforementioned film and book reviews, the magazine publishes occasional short stories and, for example, collaborates with the well-known writer, translator and comedian Boštjan Gorenc. One can also find articles on different cultural matters as well as historical overviews of various gaming culture phenomena.

Cultural impact

Especially in the second half of the 1990s, Joker was the only Slovene media that dealt with fantasy literature. It published reviews as well as profiles of authors from the genre. As such it played a strong role in facilitating the community of readers.

Somewhat similarly Joker played a crucial role in introducing board games such as Magic: The Gathering and (to a lesser degree) Warhammer 40,000. Board games coverage still remain its forte.

The magazine was involved in publishing the first Slovene film on DVD, namely Vinci Vogue Anžlovar's Poker.

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