December 1968

"Sooner or later, if man is ever to be worthy of his destiny, we must fill our hearts with tolerance."

From Fantastic Four, Vol. 1, No. 81

November 1968

"Rascally Roy Thomas, is knockin' 'em dead with his new Nehru threads and guru goatee! Groovy Gary Friedrich will be sending us his scripts from Hollywood for the next few months! Jazzy Johnny Romita bought himself a new set of wheels and now you can't even get him to walk across the street!"

From Amazing Spider-Man, Vol. 1, No. 66

October 1968

"Wanna know the name of our newest writer? He's none other than Artful Arnold Drake, the lovable king-size leprechaun who combines his own unique dramatic quality with a fabulous flair for biting satire and crafty characterization!"

From Fantastic Four, Vol. 1, No. 79

September 1968

"And so, with heavy hearts, we announce the departure of one of the Bullpen's most popular pixies - Fabulous Flo Steinberg who bids us a fond farewell to seek her fortunes is another field of endeavor...
Face Front, Flo! The best of luck to you where e'er you go."

From Fantastic Four, Vol. 1, No. 78

August 1968

"That's the lowdown, loyal one. We don't want you to spend all your bread on our mags, honest. But, so long as the dramatic demand for them continues, we can't turn a deaf ear."

From Amazing Spider-Man, Vol. 1, No 63

July 1968

"To give you an idea how far in advance we have to write these pithy pages, it's the day after Christmas, 1967, at this very moment as we write these lines... but you'll probably be reading this sometime in April, 1968!
And you wonder why we have trouble remembering things!"

From Fantastic Four, Vol. 1, No. 76

June 1968

"'Who SAYS this isn't the Second Golden Age of Marvel!'"

From Fantastic Four, Vol. 1, No. 75

May 1968

"[T]ill we meet again - let's be good to each other. There's gotta be SOME hope for a race that keeps reaching for the stars!"

From Fantastic Four, Vol. 1, No. 74

Real Frantic Ones, Titanic True Believers, and Quite 'Nuff Sayers, Oh My!

Enough! I have sat idle too long! I have watched the MMMS turn into disorganized chaos. (And that's the worst kind!) As a solution, I suggest we have some officers. By buying his first Marvel mag, a fan is automatically entitled to the rank of RFO (Real Frantic One). His first published letter elevates him to QNS (quite 'Nuff Sayer). A no-prize raises him to TB (true Believer). Each additional no-prize raises one level: From JHC (Junior Howling Commando) to AAT (Associate Assistant Thing) and finally to the penultimate, the utmost status a fan can attain: MM (Marvelite Maximus)!
Naturally, the artists all have the rank of DDD (Definitely Dizzy Doodlers), the editorial assistants are IPR (Illiterate Proof Readers), art associates are VOD (Victims of Doodlers), the letterers are IWP (Indefatigable Word Placers), and Stan himself is at the summit - MEO (Marvel's Earthbound Odin). Each person would use his title at the start of his name - as I've done."

(Signed-)
RFO Mark Evanier
[July 1967]

Although the Bullpen's response was positive, this letter published in the November 1967 Bullpen Page shows not everyone in Marveldom agreed with young Evanier's idea:

"Dear Stan,
Let's get something straight. You are not MEO (Marvel's Earthbound Odin); your artists are not DDD's (Definitely Dizzy Doodlers); and your letterers are letterers, not IWP's (Indefatigable Word Placers) and so on. Get the message? If you follow up the idea of having to get letters printed, and of winning no-prizes in order to gain Ultimate Status, you'll get more bone-head letters than you know what to do with.
When a fan sends a letter, it's to verify or correct what you've done. If it gets printed, fine! If it wins a no-prize, fine! But if people write just to get their letters printed or to win no-prizes, the letters pages will start losing dignity. Finally, I though all loyal Marvelites had achieved ultimate status in the eyes of the Bullpen long ago. Do we have to add an atmosphere of cheap, commercial competitiveness to the Marvel comics group?"

Robert Lax

Despite Rancorous Rob's objections, Marvel adopted Evanier's proposal and introduced the first rank in the next month's Bullpen Page. Real Frantic One was followed by Quite 'Nuff Sayer, Titanic True Believer, Keeper of the Flame, Permanent Marvelite Maximus, and Fearless Front Facer, cementing Marvel's rep as a company that cared and listened to its fans.
Mark Evanier went on to considerable success in both comics and television and Robert Lax was never heard from again... unless he was this Robert Lax. Regardless, his snarky spirit lives on in the cranky comments of killjoys and flame-artists all over the internet.

From the letters page of Fantastic Four, Vol. 1, No. 78 [September 1968]

April 1968

"Anyway, when you're on top of the heap, it doesn't seem right to rib the other guy who hasn't quite made it - and that's why the only time we'll use the phrase Brand Echh from now on is in the title of our own goofy gag mag!
So, to the artists, writers, and editors of the other companies in this batty business in which we toil, many of whom are close personal friends of ours - we hereby end the fatuous little feud we've been flaunting before the public."

From Amazing Spider-Man, Vol.1, No. 59

March 1968

"This notice is not intended as an endorsement on our part of any specific policy regarding the war.
We simply feel that many American boys have been sent into battle far from home - and anything we can do to make 'em feel they're not forgotten is surely a worthwhile deep which transcends mere politics.
'Nuff said?"

From Amazing Spider-Man, Vol. 1, No. 58

February 1968

"Now then, we've often been asked how we at Marvel actually feel about having to submit out masterful yarns to an outside agency for approval. Our answer is, we're delighted to do it.
After all, the Comics Code Authority and your batty Bullpen share the same overall objectives..."

From Fantastic Four, Vol. 1, No. 71

January 1968

"And by the way, even if you don't live in the continental United States, write to your local TV station anyway, asking when Spidey and the FF will be seen in your area. (If you live in Red China, think how that'll shake 'em up!)"

From Fantastic Four, Vol. 1, No. 70