So, as I mentioned earlier, the first issue of Prime hit the free newsstands around the city recently.

I didn’t even know – I just walked into Bagel Boy and looked down. I was surprised to see the stack of magazines – surprised by how slick it looks. I didn’t expect Prime to be Esquire-lite, or Esquire-free considering the price, so I was pleased to see how well it presents itself.

I grabbed seven copies. I opened it; the first article I landed on was a Clash article by Scott Hudson. I was glad to see Scott’s work, but I was even more excited to see it nestled up next to my book column.

The funny thing is that I didn’t even recognize my column when I saw it – like I said before, I didn’t exepct anything so slick, so well produced. My column looks professional, as if I was actually getting paid for it. I’m impressed, to say the least.

The magazine itself is geared towards the male population and the articles range from hunting discussion to booze reviews. They test drove the new Passat (which looks just as ugly as the new Jetta) and commissioned a feature article from a guy who lost 120 pounds. It’s certainly got a lot of information for the “well-to-do” male, but with Hudson, movie reviewer Jeffrey Miller, and myself, there’s enough media review to give anyone, male or not, something to read. In that respect, it reaches everyone.

If you’re in Sioux Falls, or the surrounding areas, pick one up. If you’re not, they have a website, though it’s not up and running just yet. As soon as it is, you’ll see the link to the left.

For the next couple of months the magazine will be put out every other month with the ultimate goal of becoming a monthly magazine. With any luck, this will be a great first step for many of us who are involved with this magazine. I’m excited for this opportunity to get my writing out to a much larger audience than this humble little blog.

Most importantly, though, you can’t understand how cool it is to be published in a magazine, free or not, until it happens to you.