Sometime in the spring of 2026 a mysterious letter arrived on my doorstep, apparently delivered by hand. Opening it, I found a single copy of an eight-page magazine I had never heard of, appropriately titled Out of the Blue. An online search revealed magicians around the world had also discovered copies that had appeared in bags, materialized in coffee shops, or otherwise unexpectedly been discovered.
Flicking through its pages, mysteries sprung to life. It’s clear the editor, Ruprecht Jamieson, has good taste. (Mystery number one; who is Ruprecht?) The first issue contains contributions by Tommy Wonder, Stephen Tucker, Max Maven, Reynard Vulpes, and the magazine’s editor. (Mystery number two; how do you get material from people no longer in our magical, or literal, world?)
Contacted through an anonymous intermediary, the magazine’s editor agreed to let Genii share an excerpt from the first issue to help raise awareness. Precisely what you do with that awareness is a much bigger challenge than usual. If you want to know how to get a copy, I am afraid I don’t know how to make that happen. To quote the magazine, “Out of the Blue can’t be subscribed to. It can’t be bought, sold, copied, transmitted or given away. If you got it, it is yours.” (Mystery number three; how do you get a copy?) When the second issue will come out is also not clear. The official policy is that “this quarterly publication will return when least expected.” (Mystery number four; when will the next issue appear?)
— Will Houstoun
Flicking through its pages, mysteries sprung to life. It’s clear the editor, Ruprecht Jamieson, has good taste. (Mystery number one; who is Ruprecht?) The first issue contains contributions by Tommy Wonder, Stephen Tucker, Max Maven, Reynard Vulpes, and the magazine’s editor. (Mystery number two; how do you get material from people no longer in our magical, or literal, world?)
Contacted through an anonymous intermediary, the magazine’s editor agreed to let Genii share an excerpt from the first issue to help raise awareness. Precisely what you do with that awareness is a much bigger challenge than usual. If you want to know how to get a copy, I am afraid I don’t know how to make that happen. To quote the magazine, “Out of the Blue can’t be subscribed to. It can’t be bought, sold, copied, transmitted or given away. If you got it, it is yours.” (Mystery number three; how do you get a copy?) When the second issue will come out is also not clear. The official policy is that “this quarterly publication will return when least expected.” (Mystery number four; when will the next issue appear?)
— Will Houstoun
Note Pad: Where our conjuror conjures up some currency
A trick by Stephen Tucker from the first issue of Out of the Blue • Privately published softcover magazine. Unavailable from any normal sources.
This is likely the strongest application of the playing-card paddle move in the whole of magic history. It goes like this: “Almost everything is cashless these days,” says the performer. “It’s almost pointless to carry any cash... until you come across something that is cash only, and then you’re screwed. That is why I carry this!”
A pad of bill-sized blank papers is produced, together with a transparent plastic “print plate” of a bill. Using this, two crisp, pristine bills are magically printed. Everything is examinable.
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