Marvelmania International

ITEM: Here's big news for all members of the good ol' Merry Marvel Marching Society, and for those of you who intend to join. Remember years ago, when we started the MMMS? We promised we wouldn't just swear you in and forget about you. Then what happened? We forgot about you! Naw, we didn't really - but what did happen is - our mags became so much more popular than we ever dreamed they would and we became so much busier than we ever expected to, that we just never had the time to do all the things we had hoped to do with our swingin' little club. But, we managed to change all that now! And the change is so important, that we're gonna give it a paragraph all to itself - just like this -

ITEM: We had the greatest stroke of luck the other day. We met a fanatical Marvelite who also happens to be a most talented California executive. He's so impressed with our mags, and our club membership roster, that he made us a fantastic offer, which we've just accepted. From now on, the MMMS with be incorporated into a fabulous parent organization named Marvelmania International! Because of this great new development, there'll be an entire new company, independent of your Bullpen, working around the clock to make your club exactly what you want it to be. So watch for the exciting announcements about Marvelmania Internation in our mags, and remember - you won't be watching alone. We're as anxious to see what's coming next as you are!"
-Bullpen Bulletin, October 1969

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"The fellow who operated Marvelmania was not the most honest guy in the world."
-Mark Evanier

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"ITEM! If you haven't joined Marvelmania International yet, you're missing out on the jazziest color catalogue of superhero goodies you've ever drooled over! The original posters, show in living color, are enough to make Jonah Jameson smile - and wait'll you latch onto the swingin' art kit with self-portraits of you favorite Marvel madmen! All that and more, more, more, for only 25 cents to cover postage and kickbacks!"
-Bullpen Bulletin, May 1970

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"...when I'd finally mastered the fine art of taping quarters to index cards and sending them safely through the mail, joining the M.M.M.S. was already a moot point. Gone. Done. Finished. It'd been casually superseded by the more commercially oriented Marvelmania merchandising outlet.Oh, I bought a few posters (STERANKO!), and got an issue of the club zine, as well as their catalog (the cover of which I posted here back at the beginning of the month), but it somehow wasn't quite the same."
-Fred Hembeck

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"ITEM! If you aren't already subscribing to the only authorized publication of our official, bonafide, non-fattening fan club, Marvelmania International - Then you're probably the only one! Everyone else is flipping over Marvelmania Monthly Magazine, and in-depth periodical which cover everything going on at Marvel, past, present, and future! See the subscription ad elsewhere in this mag, then go, great one, go!"
-Bullpen Bulletin, September 1970

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"ITEM! Just thought you'd like to know - the outspoken young fan who gave us the idea for the Ranks of Marveldom a few years ago is now a full-fledged editor, turning out possible the greatest fan mah of all for our own Marvelmania International! His name's Mark Evanier, and he and his assistant editor, Sturdy Stevey Sherman, came to visit us the other day from sunny California where Marvelmania has its headquarters. They're a couple of young, zingy, with-it guys, and after yakkin' it up with 'em for a while it's easy to see why Marvelmania has become the toast of fandom!"
-Bullpen Bulletin, January 1971

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"In 1970, I worked for a while for an outfit called Marvelmania International, which was selling posters and decals and other merchandise of the Marvel characters. Well, let me amend that: The mail order firm, which was disguised as a fan club, was taking orders for such items and cashing the checks, and once in a rare while, they'd actually produce an item and ship it out."
-Mark Evanier

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"... things at Marvelmania continued to fall apart. The guy who ran the place had overextended himself. He had great ideas for full-color catalogs and posters, but just as many outstanding bills from printers. Sherman quit working there. Three weeks later, after completing the next Marvelmania Fanzine, Evanier also left. Soon, creditors came after the guy who ran the place, the sheriff shut him down, and the police sat there and took the funds as they came in the door. Employees who left work on a Friday arrived on Monday to find the guy had 'cleaned the place out and disappeared.'"
-Tales to Astonish, by Ronin Ro

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"SPECIAL NOTICE: Just as this issue went to press, we learned that Marvelmania International, the club which has been advertising in our pages for some months, has been officially disbanded. No more memberships or orders should be sent to Marvelmania."
-Bullpen Bulletin, December 1971