I’ve been thinking of starting this discussion for a long time. It used to be, when I couldn’t decide what to read, I’d pull out a copy of Marvel Fanfare at random and read whatever I picked. But long gone are the days when I couldn't decide what to read because I couldn’t think of anything. These days my indecision is more likely to be cause by having too much I’m in the mood to read. Or, other times, I’m in the midst of some ridiculously long “project” (such as “the first 200 issues of Daredevil” or whatever) and am simply in the mood for something different. In either case, I’ll get this discussion going and it will be here when I need it.
I bought the first issue of Marvel Fanfare the day it shipped, and I was quite enthusiastic about it for a while. It soon became apparent that the title was being used as more of a clearing house for inventory material than it was for work newly commissioned specifically for Fanfare. After three consecutive issues featuring “Weirdworld” I had had enough and dropped the title with #26, although I would still buy an issue from time to time. Years later, I bought up most of the rest of the series at a quarter sale. I filled in some holes after that, and currently have every issue except two.
COVER: Spider-Man, Angel and a pterodactyl (or is it a pteranodon?) by Michael Golden. I don’t know if this was my first Michael Golden or not, but it was certainly the issue that put him on my radar.
BACK COVER: Daredevil by Frank Miller
INSIDE WRAP-AROUND: Spider-Man and the Silver Surfer by John Byrne. This poster originally appeared, in black & white, as part of the John Byrne portfolio. It was intended to be a centerfold, but the last-minute expansion of the first issue from 32 to 36 pages forced it to be run inside the front and back cover with the comic in between.
FIRST STORY: Tanya Anderson seeks Warren Worthington’s help to seek her fiancé, Karl Lykos, in the Savage Land. Lykos is a mutant “energy vampire” who the X-Men had pursued to the brink of the Savage Land in #60-61 of their own title. He presumably died there, but Tanya recently spotted him in a photo-spread in National Geographic. J. Jonah Jameson gets wind of the expedition and decides to send Peter Parker by virtue of his having been there before (Spider-Man #103-104). A few days later, they are on their way. Angel thinks about the last time he was there (X-Men #63-64).
After an eventful landing, Peter Parket, Warren Worthington and Tanya Anderson make their way to Garokk’s domed city (X-Men #113-116). They are attacked by Zaladane’s followers, Angel is attacked by Vertigo, and Peter Parker pushes Tanya off a cliff to the relative safety of the river below, then switches to Spider-Man. He, too, is ambushed by Vertigo and also attacked by Gaza and Barbarus. Meanwhile, Tanya is threatened by a tyrannosaurus rex.
Spider-Man awakens, strapped to a tble next to Angel, in Magneto’s citadel and is greeted by Brain Child, who introduces Amphibious and the other of Magneto’s “neo-mutants” (they are not referred to as “mutates” even once). Magneto’s machine has now been modified to devolve as well as evolve, and Brain Child sets about using it on Spider-Man and Angel.
EDITORI-AL: Marvel Fanfare was the brainchild of editor Al Milgrom, who uses a nine-panel grid comic to introduce each issue in lieu of a traditional editorial.
NOTEABLE IN-HOUSE ADVERTISEMENT: Moon Knight, Micronauts and Ka-zar the Savage have been converted to “direct sales only” titles. Ka-Zar was the only one I had heard of, and I wasn’t particularly interested in any of them at the time. It would be a few months yet before I tried them.
SECOND STORY: Daredevil by Roger McKenzie and Paul Smith (his first published work) in a story about a street-corner Santa who was mugged and lost faith in humanity.
SHOOTER’S PAGE: Not yet officially called ”Shooter’s Page,”Marvel Fanfare #1 featured “An Open Letter to Stan Lee” written by Jim Shooter, four years into his reign as Marvel’s editor-in-chief. The cynic in me says he wrote it to blow his own horn while simultaneuously plugging Marvel’s new graphic novel line, Epic imprint and Marvel Fanfare.
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Cool thread, Jeff! I don't have a lot of issues of Fanfare -- I think I bought the Cloak and Dagger issues off the stands, and that was about it at the time. But I recently picked up the Charles Vess run of Warriors Three stories (Fanfare issues in the early 30s) from a dollar bin! This is a good reason to pull them from the convention buys pile and give them a read!
I have them all, and I think you summarized its use and volatility well, Jeff. Some issues were pretty good, some were obviously inventory. It declined in quality the longer it ran.
I saw an issue of this at my LCS a couple of weeks ago, and realized I've never read an issue. I might have an issue or two in my unread boxes.
Still a neat thread, Jeff.
Cyclops is sick and Sprite is nursing him? As excuses go for a character's absence, that's pretty lame. Couldn't they have been in space? Busy with a mission of their own? Trapped in the Phantom Negative Zone?
Seriously, this suggests that this is, indeed, an inventory story, set at a time when Cyclops and Kitty weren't with the team. Is there a run of books with the team that appears in this story? If not, then my theory is blown. If so, we might can figure out when it was commissioned.
Charlie Boatner wrote one of my favorite comic book stories.
ISSUE #3:
SECOND STORY: Hawkeye by Charlie Boatner (who?) and Trevor Von Eeden. Milgrom explains using Von Eeden stories two issues in a row so fans could compare his pencils when inked by Armando Gil to those inked by Joe Rubenstein.
THAT story was an instant classic.
Dave Palmer said:
Charlie Boatner wrote one of my favorite comic book stories.
ISSUE #3:
SECOND STORY: Hawkeye by Charlie Boatner (who?) and Trevor Von Eeden. Milgrom explains using Von Eeden stories two issues in a row so fans could compare his pencils when inked by Armando Gil to those inked by Joe Rubenstein.
Captain Comics said:
Seriously, this suggests that this is, indeed, an inventory story, set at a time when Cyclops and Kitty weren't with the team. Is there a run of books with the team that appears in this story? If not, then my theory is blown. If so, we might can figure out when it was commissioned.
According to Dave Cockrum, the Fanfare story led to his return to Uncanny X-Men:
they asked me to do that Marvel Fanfare with the X-Men in the Savage Land and it was fun! I called up Chris and said, "This is really fun! If Byrne ever wants to leave the book, give me another chance at it." And Byrne left the book that following Monday.
Mike's Amazing World tells me Marvel Fanfare #3 came out the same month as Uncanny X-Men #159. Cockrum's recollection implies the story was drawn around the time #143-#145 were in preparation, #143 being the last Byrne issue and #145 Cockrum's return. That was the period when Cyclops had left the team and was working for Lee Forrester.
That was also the point when Ka-Zar's 80s title started. The X-part of the Marvel Fanfare story is a two-parter. Maybe Cockrum's part was intended as the first part of a crossover.
#144, drawn by Brent Anderson, guest-starred the Man-Thing. At that point Man-Thing had a title and Claremont was writing it. Perhaps Claremont wanted to do a Cyclops/D'Spayre story, to address where he was psychologically, and took the opportunity to bring Man-Thing into it. (D'Spayre first appeared in a Claremont/Byrne Marvel Team-Up story featuring Man-Thing.)
Anderson was drawing Ka-Zar the Savage, and Uncanny X-Men and Ka-Zar the Savage were both being edited by Louise Jones. I guess that's how he came to draw the first post-Byrne issue.
Perhaps the Marvel Fanfare four-parter was intended as a Savage Land mini-series? But I think Marvel only began doing minis a bit later.
ISSUE #4:
WRAPAROUND COVER: By Paul Smith (also main feature artist).
FIRST STORY: Angel awakens in Ka-Zar’s camp and recaps issue #3 for him. They both go to attack Sauron’s citadel where they find Tanya and Shanna devolved into Neanderthals. Ka-Zar frees the X-Men, Meanwhile, Sauron has captured Angel. Storm generates a Katabatic blizzard to defeat Sauron. (According to Wikipedia, “A katabatic wind (named from the Greek word κατάβασις katabasis, meaning ‘descending’) is the technical name for a drainage wind, a wind that carries high-density air from a higher elevation down a slope under the force of gravity.”) Then Wolverine maims him for good measure and he reverts to Karl Lykos. They devolve the neo-mutants back to their original state and destroy the accelerator. Back in Westchester, Professor X. cures Lycos. Kitty and Cyclops make a cameo appearance.
SECOND STORY: A six-page Deathlok story by David Anthony Kraft and Michael Golden, chronologically the earliest. Fanfare #2 was published in 1982. World War III occurred in Deathlok’s reality in 1983. (See “Where Do You Draw the Line?”)
THIRD STORY: Tony Stark has a dream, five pages. David Winn (who?) is credited with “visual plot,” but I’m not sure what that means because the story also has credits for “final plot and script” (David Michelinie), “pencils” (Michael Golden) and “inks” (Dan Green). So what does “visual plot” mean? “Idea”?
SHOOTER’S PAGE: As a follow-up to his “Open Letter to Stan Lee” in issue #1, Jim Shooter is given a regular column, to write about whatever he wants to, starting this issue. He mentions that 1981 was Marvel’s best year ever, surpassing 1980, the company’s previous best. He mentions that there are fewer than 400 people in the field, divided by six major companies and a few smaller ones. He then solicits submissions for new talent and provides guidelines for writers, pencilers, inkers, letterers and colorists. “I won’t be able to give critiques or instructions,” he says, urging each applicant to take an objective look at his or her own work. “Is it in league with Marvel’s best published work? Unless you are good enough to offer you work, you’ll receive only a polite no thank-you letter from us in reply.”
I did not respond to this particular offer, but I did send a submission right around this time and I did, indeed, receive “a polite no thank-you letter from [submissions editor Carl Potts] in reply.” I did write Shooter a letter on a different matter, though (somewhat critical, as I recall), also right around this time, but I don’t remember specifically what it was about, and I received a hand-written reply on Marvel letterhead stationary which said simply, “WE HEAR YA!” written and signed by Shooter.