Jump for joy! Fashion magazines aren't back to pre-recession levels, but they're definitely no longer on the brink.

Just in case any influencers out there needed a reminder that Vogue can cover the cost of a consumer panel, going by the number of ad pages sold and current ad rates, Vogue‘s September issue alone will account for more than $92 million in revenue. It will have an impressive 584 ad pages – not anywhere near the September 2007 record of 727 ad pages, but more than any other women’s fashion magazine this year.

Glamour, the Conde Nast sister publication which has more online influence than Vogue, has a relatively low 240 pages but will still bring in “more revenue than any issue in its history” thanks to 2-D bar codes that readers can photograph with their phone cameras to “like” advertisers on Facebook. Most other magazines reported year over year increases, but Elle reported a decline, widely believed to be due to the larger than average influx for last year’s anniversary issue. {AdAge}

*Note that for Harper’s Bazaar, the 1-page color ad rate “doesn’t apply” for March and September, indicating that the magazine likely gets more per page in those issues. All revenue estimates are not inclusive of agency fees or repetition discounts which can lower revenue; nor are they inclusive of pull outs, special inserts or multi-channel promotions like the Glamour offering, which can increase revenue.

Though it’s not unusual to see a Kardashian of supermarket weeklies like InTouch, US Weekly or Life & Style, we wondered if high brow fashion readers would respond favorably to recently installed editor Stefano Tonchi’s choice of cover models outside the usual cover girl choices.

Yes Kim, magazine editors agree, it is about you

Readers responded, and how! The issue which featured a silver sprayed Kardashian, with stars of the art world as a supporting cast was the second best selling issue of the year, tied with March cover girl Megan Fox. The magazine moving doesn’t stop there: Kim Kardashian covered issues of Allure and Shape were best sellers for the respective publications. In fact, the June issue of Shape that Kardashian appeared on was the magazine’s best selling issue of the year. {WWD via Jezebel} Granted Shape isn’t exactly a fashion magazine, but June has never been a particularly explosive month for magazine sales so perhaps it’s an even stronger indicator of the most infamous Kardashian’s selling power.

Just a guess, but there were probably a number of Kardashian fans who purchased W for the first and last time when the reality TV star appeared. We won’t be holding our collective breath for a turn on the front of Vogue (unless Blake Lively drops the ball somehow), but the lure of stronger newsstand sales will probably mean more Kardashian covers in 2011. While the spotlight is shining brightest on Kim, sisters Kourtney and Khloe are frequently part of brand Kardashian promotions and half-sister Kendall Jenner is pursuing modeling which means it probably won’t be long before you’re seeing more members of the Kardashian/Jenner clan for the magazines where Kim would really be a stretch (think parenting magazines for Kourtney, teen magazines for Kendall). And for each Kim cover, the value of her association with projects like e-commerce startup Shoedazzle seems to increase in step.

Behind it all is mom/manager Kris Jenner, and while you may not be a fan of the media monster she created, you have to admire the media monster she’s created.

Covered in silver body paint from the neck down, Kardashian receives top billing for the “Art Issue” featuring collage artist Barbara Kruger (who’s likely responsible for the “It’s all about me” words covering Kim K. on the cover), architect and artist Daniel Liebeskind, mixed media artist Ryan Trecartin, photographer Juergen Teller and revered surrealist painter Salvador Dali. Oh yeah, Johnny Knoxville and Pee Wee Herman also made the issue.

It’s doubtful that Johnny Knoxville would have any problems appearing nude, Pee Wee Herman probably has a legal restriction preventing him from doing so, but judging by the cover list, it seems Tonchi made the right choice with Kardashian. Obviously, a reality TV star who became famous on the back of a sex tape scandal appearing naked in body paint isn’t what most people would consider art – and perhaps, that’s the point. Oh, and to sell magazines obviously.

While she’s said “I’m sorry I did Playboy. I was uncomfortable,” {Harper’s Bazaar} Kim Kardashian seems to have used at least one of the same poses for W, and previously disrobed for Harper’s Bazaar so the discomfort seems to have passed.

With it’s wink and nod towards what defines pop art, we’ll have to see if W’s readers feel the same.

A NSFW gallery of Kim Kardashian’s nude magazine appearances.W images via DListed.