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Jem: Best, Worst, or Neither???
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WIZARD #121 (with
covers #1 and 2) |
 For their October 2001
issue, Wizard Entertainment (publisher of Wizard magazine) gathered their staff together,
locked them in a room, and hammered out a list of the Top 100 cartoons EVER! Once done,
they also made lists of the Top 10 Hottest Babes in cartoons and the Top 10 Worst Cartoons
Ever! Since Jem's a cartoon, let's see if Jem made it as a hot babe, terrible toon, an
all-time great, or was just one of the thousands that didn't make any lists! |
 Wizard is a magazine
that generally deals with cartoons, anime, video games, and (specifically) comic books.
More than any other publication, Wizard is best suited to judge which cartoons are super
and which are super-crappy. Basically, these people have likely forgotten more cartoons
than many of us have ever seen! |
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Wizard's rules for what makes a cartoon are very simple: any animation,
anime, CGI (Computer Generated Images), and any cartoon created since 1940 were allowed
(excluding movies, so stuff like "The Land Before Time", "Lion King",
and "Ninja Scroll" weren't allowed). Multiple copies of a cartoon were also
allowed (like Transformers, Transformers: Beast Wars, Transformers: Beast Machines). Since
Wizard primarily deals in comic books, I pretty much figured that anything with a Marvel
Comics (Spider-Man, X-Men), DC Comics (Superman, Batman), or Hanna Barbera (Scooby Doo,
Jetsons) would make the list as well as any other cartoon based on a comic book, video
game, anime, based on a movie, or accepted classic (like Bugs Bunny). Even though Jem had
none of this on its side, I still had hope.
First, I looked at the top 100 best list. 100 - M.A.S.K, 99 - She-Ra.
She-Ra? She-Ra barely made this list? This wasn't looking good for Jem. Then I noticed a
picture of Sailor Moon which said the show only ranked 89 (***Note - Sailor Moon was the
second highest ranking girl-themed cartoon. Powerpuff Girls [10] was first!). Now I
started to worry. I read on: 98 - The Yogi Bear Show, 97 - Transformers: Beast Machines,
96 - Josie and the Pussycats!!! Josie? As in "Just had a movie, still has a comic
book, show still comes on, and she's basically the 70's version of Jem" Josie? Though
She-Ra worried me, the fact that Josie was so close to the end struck me with fear. Josie's
considered a classic (much more so than Jem). I began to doubt Jem's chances of being on
the list and decided to check the other lists in hopes that Jem was at least a Hot Babe or
WAS NOT one of the Worst Toons.
She's a Hot Babe, right?
Well, it's pretty obvious isn't it. Jem must've made the "Hottest
Babes" list. It figures. I mean with all the beauties of the show, Team Jem probably
locked up all ten spaces, with Stormer, Aja, and Jerrica all making a tie for first
place....
- Cartoon Heaven -
The Top 10 HOTTEST babes in 'toons |
- 10) Aquagirl - Batman Beyond
- 9) Betty Cooper and Veronica Lodge (The Archie Comedy Hour)
- 8) Lois Lane - Superman: The Animated Series
- 7) Josie, Valerie, and Melody - Josie and the Pussycats
- 6) Betty Rubble - The Flintstones
- 5) Baroness - G.I.Joe
- 4) Cheetara - Thundercats
- 3) Sailor Moon - Sailor Moon
- 2) Daphne - Scooby-Doo
- 1) Cartman's Mom - South Park (because she's a sure thing)
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Hmmm, seems the list actually has 13 women.... WAIT A MINUTE! If nobody
from Jem made hottest babe (and I demand a recount) then the Jem series must be on one of
the other lists... maybe even the dreaded "10 Worst" list!
She's likeable, isn't she?
- Cartoon Crap -
The Top 10 WORST 'toons ever! |
- 10) Alvin and the Chipmunks
- 9) The Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo Show
- 8) Life With Louie
- 7) The Osmonds
- 6) Alf
- 5) The Super Mario Bros Super Show
- 4) Hammerman
- 3) Hulk Hogan's Rock N' Wrestling
- 2) The New Kids on the Block
- 1) Little Rosie (the show about a young Rose Ann Barr!)
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Well, at least we didn't make this group! Let's face it! It's better to NOT make any
list than make the worst list!
She's Truly Outrageous, but I felt she was one of the greatest ever!
"Sigh... Jem! Jem, please be on the list", I thought. I began
to read the list again and much to my joy, ranking above Voltron: Defender of the Near
Universe, SilverHawks, Josie and the Pussycats, Transformers: Beast Machines, The Yogi
Bear Show, She-Ra, M.A.S.K., was our pal Jem! Jem beat Voltron? Jem beat SilverHawks? Jem
beat Transformers: Beast Machines? Jem beat Alvin and the Chipmunks and Josie (guess we
know who the best band was). Though ranking in at 93, at least we finished, unlike many
other shows like Tenchi Muyo, Gobots, Digimon, Pokemon, or Little Mermaid! So if you're a
Jem fan, remember to tell people when you talk about Jem that she is OFFICIALLY listed and
one of the Top 100 Cartoons of All-Time! Yahoo! Yippee! Hooray! The entire list is below
if you want to look up your other favorites!
Color coding the corporations!
Sorting out the corporate teams! |
| Color |
- Explanation - |
Red |
It's a Disney series (as in DISNEY!!!) |
| Orange |
It's not a series, but is on the list! |
| Yellow |
It's a Hanna-Barbera / Cartoon Network series
(As in the show will always be on the air because it has it's own station) |
| Green |
It's an Anime (Japanese cartoon) series |
| Blue |
It's a Warner Bros. Animation series. Besides
Bugs bunny and crew,Warner Bros also owns DC Comics (y'know, SUPERMAN, BATMAN, WONDER
WOMAN, etc)! |
| Purple |
It's an MTV cartoon series (yes, they make
cartoons!) |
| BOLD PINK |
An incredible series that deserves a higher
rating, but considering the thousands of cartoons that exist, fans of the show can settle
for the fact that it is listed as 'ONE OF THE GREATEST CARTOONS OF ALL-TIME!!!! (sigh...
just pretend you don't know which show I'm talking about) |
- The 100 Greatest
Toons EVER! - |
- The Simpsons - Klasky-Csupo/Film Roman
- Batman: The Animated Series - Warner Bros. Animation
- The Bugs Bunny Show [Looney Toons] - Warner Bros.
Animation
- Superman - Max Fleischer
- Transformers - Sunbow, Hasbro, Marvel
- Batman Beyond - Warner Bros. Animation
- G.I.Joe: A Real American Hero - Sunbow, Marvel
- Johnny Quest - Hanna-Barbera
- Battle of the Planets - Tatsunoko/Sandy Frank Films
- The Powerpuff Girls - Cartoon Network
- Space Ghost Coast to Coast - Hanna-Barbera
- Ren and Stimpy - Spumco
- Dexter's Laboratory - Hanna-Barbera
- The Tex Avery Show - MGM
- Tom and Jerry - Hanna-Barbera
- The Tick - Sunbow
- South Park - South Park Studios
- Pinky and the Brain - Warner Bros. Animation
- Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids - Filmation
- SpongeBob Squarepants - Nickelodeon Animation Studio
- Superman: The Animated Series - Warner Bros. Animation
- Peanuts - United Features Syndicate
- Animaniacs - Warner Bros. Animation
- Schoolhouse Rock - Newall
- Fantastic Four - Hanna-Barbera
- Ducktales - Disney
- Futurama - The Curiosity Company
- Spider-Man: The Animated Series - Marvel
- Gargoyles - Disney
- Voltron: Defender of the Universe - World Events Productions
- Star Blazers - Office Academy
- Family Guy - Film Roman
- Robotech - Tatsunoko
- Mobile Suit Gundaw Wing - Sunrise
- Rugrats - Klasky-Csupo
- The Real Ghostbusters - DIC
- Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends - Marvel
- The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers - Transcom Media
- Scooby Doo - Hanna-Barbera
- Dr.Katz: Professional Therapist -
- Dungeons and Dragons - Marvel / D&D Entertainment
- X-Men - Saban/Fox
- Space Ghost - Hanna-Barbera
- Freakazoid - Warner Bros. Animation
- The Herculoids - Hanna-Barbera
- Defenders of the Earth - King Features Syndicate
- Thundarr the Barbarian - Hanna-Barbera
- Spawn - Todd McFarlane Productions
- X-Men: Evolution - Film Roman
- Dragonball Z - Toei Animation
- Thundercats - Rankin/Bass
- Clerks - Miramax
- He-Man and the Masters of the Universe - Filmation
- Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics - Hanna-Barbera
- Darkwing Duck - Disney
- The Flintstones - Hanna-Barbera
- The Critic - Russell Bangert / Nick Johnson
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Murakami Wolf
- Smurfs - Peyo
- Beavis and Butthead - MTV Animation
- King of the Hill - Film Roman
- Danger Mouse - Cosgrove/Hall Productions
- Challenge of the Superfriends - Hanna-Barbera
- Muppet Babies - Jim Henson Productions
- Tiny Toon Adventures - Warner Bros. Animation
- Aeon Flux - MTV Animation
- Mighty Mouse Playhouse - Terrytoon
- Johnny Bravo - Hanna-Barbera
- The Bullwinkle Show - Jay Ward
- Speed Racer - Tatsunoko Productions
- The Jetsons - Hanna-Barbera
- The Maxx - MTV Animation
- Men In Black: The Series - Amblin
- The Zeta Project - Warner Bros. Animation
- Saturday Night Live: TV Funhouse - Robert Smigel
- Invader Zim - Nickelodeon Animation
- Histeria! - Warner Bros. Animation
- Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors - DIC
- Popeye the Sailor - Max Fleischer
- Transformers: Beast Wars - Mainframe Entertainment
- The Inhumanoids - Marvel/Claster
- The Woody Woodpecker Show - Walter Lantz
- Marvel Super-Heroes - Grantray/Lawrence Animation
- Spider-Man (old version before the 80s) - Grantray/Lawrence Animation
- Inspector Gadget - DIC
- Daria - MTV Animation
- Disney's Aladdin - Disney
- Static Shock - Warner Bros. Animation
- Sailor Moon - DIC
- Neon Genesis Evangelion - Gainax
- Cow And Chicken - Hanna-Barbera
- Where On Earth Is Carmen Sandiego? - DIC
- Jem (Sunbow) - "One of the
most entertaining cartoons geared toward female audiences, "Jem" provided a
successful role model for the 80's in Jerrica Benton, business exec by day and lead singer
of her own girl band by night. Tackling topical issues like drug abuse and illiteracy,
this 'toon was as socially conscious as it was entertaining with its musical
numbers."
- Voltron: Defender of the Near Universe - World Events Productions
- SilverHawks - Rankin/Bass
- Josie and the Pussycats - Hanna-Barbera
- Transformers: Beast Machines - Mainframe Entertainment
- The Yogi Bear Show - Hanna-Barbera
- She-Ra - Filmation
- M.A.S.K. - DIC
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Wizard Magazine is available at any bookstore or market magazine rack at
a cost of $4.99 an issue. Each issue comes bagged and includes freebies. This particular
issue includes a Samurai Jack CD-Rom, a 48 page comic book, and a cool Final Fantasy: The
Spirits Within CD-Rom that was shaped like a trading card (VERY COOL)!
| Extras |
Some pics from the magazine |
| Page |
The page where Jem's listing is located. |
| Cover |
The cover of this issue. |
| 93 |
Jem's listing |
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