January Mailbox

Our readers offer praise, and we’re blushing

Genii Editors
January Mailbox

A Month of Love

Our office received a number of calls and compliments this month from subscribers:

“I love Genii and especially the changes that have been made with the new leadership. It’s a joy to read. I can’t believe I allowed my subscription to lapse!” (The call corrected that.)

“Your magazine is the best on the market.” 

“Tell the editors that Genii is an amazing magazine and I have canceled all of my other subscriptions because nothing compares.”

And Thanks Given

Wow, the Conover issue of Genii (December 2025) is spectacular! It reminded me of the two Steranko special issues of Genii (November 1962 and October 1964) that are now highly prized collectors’ items. Congratulations to the team (Noah Levine, Eric Mead, Jamy Ian Swiss, and Bob Kohler) that pulled this tribute issue together. I’m giving thanks for my subscription and looking forward to what the next year will bring!

—Richard Hatch

Sterling and Kort

In Genii, Jim Hagy credited Milt Kort for creating the effect entitled MIKO (“Sleightly Astonishing,” December 2025). Mr. Kort did not create this effect. It was created by his boss, Harold Sterling, the owner of the magic shop at which Mr. Kort worked.

Mr. Kort had enlisted in the army and was absent from the shop. To show appreciation for Milt’s service, the newly developed trick was named after him, i.e., Milton Kort, MIKO.

—John Morgan

Genii columnist Jim Hagy replies: Mr. Morgan is absolutely right! While obituaries of Kort in several prominent magic magazines (not our beloved Genii), credited Kort as the inventor of MIKO, indeed the original instruction sheet and advertising make clear that the creator was Harold Sterling, who “named it for my good friend, Sgt. Milton Kort.” Even though it was wartime, Sterling said he sold more than 10,000 in 1943 and reviewers thought he underpriced it at 50 cents (a pretty penny then). The friendship with Sterling was serendipitous; when I first interviewed Milt for print in 1972, he recalled going to college across the street from Sterling’s shop and just walking in one day… as Sterling was sweeping the sidewalk out front. Milt was working there within the week.
Jim Steinmeyer adds this note: With all the discussion about MIKO, I’d like to add the handling from an old friend, Patrick McLane. (It’s a shorthand description.) Use only three force cards, in positions 1, 3, 5. The other three cards are even spot cards. Lay out the row of cards. Have die rolled. Display both sides of the die and give the spectator a choice of sides. Then count to that number, starting at the right or left side of the row to reach the correct number. Turn over cards on either side of the selection to show different values. Five unused cards removed, have the spectator add both numbers on the die to arrive at seven, etc.

“Everything!”

Just cracked open the December Genii and noticed the “Disappointed” letter. I laughed out loud. What has changed about the new Genii? Everything. I now look forward to the new issue of Genii in a way I never did before. I try not to peek at the app or emails before the print issue is delivered so I can be surprised by the cover and feel the rush of excitement at knowing that new wisdom and inspiration has come to my door. I love the new look and feel. I think they elevate the magazine and justify its price.

I want to give a particular shout-out to Jim Hagy’s first column (“Sleightly Astonishing,” February 2025). I found it particularly inspiring and have already reread it multiple times and recommended it to friends. I’ve recently decided to reorient my life back towards magic. 

There are many things that brought me to this decision, but Mr. Hagy’s column was certainly a piece of the puzzle.

—Ethan Gordon

“Short”

New book reviews are now short: vague with no details. The latest book review of the new Ted Karmilovich book (December 2025) is a case in point. This is a book that was decades in production, long-awaited, and the work of a very prominent mentalist. The review was only three paragraphs, and warranted a much more detailed review. 

—Mike Henkel

Jim Steinmeyer responds: Thanks for your comment. Our overall goal is to be efficient, but to allow for the reviewer’s observations and points. We understand that—like any review—readers may disagree with our reviewers: what they say or how much they have to say.

📬 Have something to tell us?

We encourage your comments, suggestions, and prohibitions. Reach us with the speed of email at editors@geniimagazine.com. We are, as the original genie insisted, here to serve.

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Genii Editors
MailboxNewsJanuary 2026