A Special Announcement From Stan, Roy, and Marvel Comics
From Marvel's June 1974 letters' pages
Showing posts with label History. Show all posts
Showing posts with label History. Show all posts
Who Is Steve Ditko?
Co-creator of Spider-Man, Steve Ditko is famous for weird, distinctive art, his 1966 departure from Marvel Comics, and granting very few interviews in the course of his decades-spanning career, preferring to let creations such as The Creeper, the Objectivism-inspired Mr. A, and Squirrel Girl speak for him.
Okay, Squirrel Girl not so much.
Jonathan Ross - along with such comic luminaries as Stan Lee, John Romita, Flo Steinberg, Jerry Robinson, , Neil Gaiman, Alan Moore, and Alan Moore's Beard - turns the spotlight on the artist in the swell BBC4 documentary, In Search of Steve Ditko (BitTorrent). Did they find him?
Well, that's The Question, isn't it?
July 1972
"ITEM: January 5, 1972! Mark that date in your memory-book, faithful one - 'cause that's the night the batty Bullpen got it all together at Carnegie Hall, in the hectic heart of New york City!As we told you last month, the whole magilla was called 'A MARVEL-OUS EVENING WITH STAN LEE' - and it was a way-out compendium of music, magic, and madcap Marvel mayhem! Smilin' Stan himself was Master of Ceremonies - presiding over the frantic goings-on while images of mighty Marvel superheroes flitted across a giant movie screen. A trio of our titanic artists got into the act, too, as Jazzy Johnny Romita, Happy Herb Trimpe, and Big John Buscema did sensational sketches of Captain America, ol' Greenskin, and Thor - which in turn were projected onto that selfsame screen. (There was a passel of our cavortin' characters in actual attendance, too, including Spidey, Daredevil, Doc Doom, and even J. Jonah Jameson himself!)
The standing-room-only crowd exploded with applause, also, at the roster of famous names who had gathered to pay homage to the madness that is Marvel: World-famous film director Alain Resnais translated a few of the Silver Surfer's soliloquies into his native French; and there were also a few pungent paragraphs about our heroes which were intoned by radio personalities Alec Bennett and Earl Doud, by actors Rene Aberjonois and Chuck McCann (you've seen the latter a zillion times as the 'Hi Guy' neighbor on the other side of the medicine cabinet in those Right Guard commercials), and neo-journalist Tom Wolfe, resplendent in red, white, and ble as he read about - you guessed it - Captain America.
As for the music mentioned about, most of it was provided by the far-famed Chico Hamilton Players - but some more Marvel Madmen got into the act, too, as Hectic Herbie and Bashful Barry Smith plunked a couple of wild electric guitars while Rascally Roy Thomas belted out a rousin' rocker or two! Then, for the grand finale, just about everybody in the blamed Bullpen crowded onto stage to sing the Merry Marvel Marching Society theme-song - while, not to be outdone, dozens of cheering fans rushed onstage as well, and the show closed amid a revel of handshaking and autograph signing all 'round. And that was that!All in all, it was a wildly successful evening - and not necessarily the last of its kind, either! And, if there were a few bleary eyes and sore throats among the Bullpenners come the morning of the 6th - well, that's show biz, people!"
From Amazing Spider-Man, Vol. 1, No. 110
"... January 5, 1972, a day that will live in infamy... Consider this: Roy Thomas imitating Elvis."-Peter Sanderson
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
"The fellow who operated Marvelmania was not the most honest guy in the world."
-Mark Evanier
"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
"...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
"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
"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
"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
"... 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
"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
August 1971
"Speaking of landmark editions, here's one for the books: the current Hulk thriller, now on sale, is based on Tom Wolfe's brilliant best-seller "Radical Chic," and Tom himself actually appears in the yarn. He said he's always wanted to be a Marvel superhero - and nobody says them there kinda things lightly around the ol' Bullpen! To call this issue 'off-beat' would be like saying that Raquel Welch isn't too bad looking!"From Incredible Hulk, Vol. 1, No. 142
November 1969
"You asked for it - and even if you didn't, you got it! For several years we've been receiving boatloads of requests to do an up-to-date photo feature on all our Bullpen yahoos![...]
You can hang 'em loose - hang 'em on a wall - or hang 'em in effigy - but buy a few copies, okay? We've gotta make enough extra dough to pay for a cracked Polaroid!"
You can hang 'em loose - hang 'em on a wall - or hang 'em in effigy - but buy a few copies, okay? We've gotta make enough extra dough to pay for a cracked Polaroid!"
From Amazing Spider-Man, Vol. 1, No. 78
Bullpen Gallery from Fantastic Four Annual, Vol. 1, No. 7
The Merry Marvel Marching Society
Also in 1965, Marvel created its own fan community with the Merry Marvel Marching Society, The club crystallized Lee's happy-go-lucky public persona. Announced in the January books, those who joined for the price of $1 received a package consisting of a membership card, stickers, a membership button, and a letter of introduction signed by 'The Bullpen Gang'."
From Stan Lee and the Rise and Fall of the American Comic Book, by Jordan Raphael and Tom Spurgeon
- Click the image to the right to download an mp3 of the MMMS's record... You'll never want to part with it!
- A great, image-packed article on the history of the MMMS by Terrence J. Brady
- Merry Marvel Marching Society vs Mary Marvel Marching Society
- Dograt.com's article on the MMMS's Flexi disc recordings, with mp3s
- YouTube slideshow of the first Flexi disc recording and Bullpen photos
- Jack Kirby's memories of the recording session, via Mark Evanier
- YouTube slideshow of the MMMS's history
- Fred Hembeck's December 15th, 2004 blog entry about Marvel's various fan clubs
- Bullpen Pages featuring MMMS rolls
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)!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:
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."
"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?"
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.
Starring Reed Richards! Ben Grimm! Johnny Storm! Sue Storm! And Spider-Man!
Only another few months till Marvel makes the network! Starting in September, the FF and Spidey will be presented border-to-border and coast-to-coast by the American Broadcasting Company! Our fascinatin' foursome will be produced by Hanna-Barbera, while your favorite web-slinger will be filmed at the Universal City studios of Grantray-Lawrence - with both half-hour shows being in full animation and glowing color!-Bullpen Bulletin, August 1967
Click on the images above to browse YouTube playlists of episodes of Fantastic Four and Spider-Man.
Making their debut on September 9, 1967, the Fantastic Four and Spider-Man cartoon series carried on the tradition of faithful adaptations and great voice work begun by 1966's Marvel Superheroes cartoon, but with improved animation courtesy of such talents as the late Alex Toth and Ralph Bakshi.
Although the Fantastic Four series ran for only twenty episodes, Spider-Man continued for three seasons, in time becoming just as much, if not more, of a cultural touchstone as the comic series that inspired it. For more great Spider-Man info, check out Wallopin' Websnappers, a fun Flash-based site narrated by Spidey himself, Paul Soles (Who also provided vox for Hermie the Misfit Elf!) which takes a look at the actors who lent their voices to the cartoon's cast of characters, and WFMU's Beware the Blog's article on the show's timeless music and its production history.
Although the Fantastic Four series ran for only twenty episodes, Spider-Man continued for three seasons, in time becoming just as much, if not more, of a cultural touchstone as the comic series that inspired it. For more great Spider-Man info, check out Wallopin' Websnappers, a fun Flash-based site narrated by Spidey himself, Paul Soles (Who also provided vox for Hermie the Misfit Elf!) which takes a look at the actors who lent their voices to the cartoon's cast of characters, and WFMU's Beware the Blog's article on the show's timeless music and its production history.
The Marvel Superheroes Have Arrived!
Marvel super-heroes on TV! Here's the official scoop so far - our first stations will begin showing animated films of five - yep, FIVE - of our Marvel heroes in the middle of September. The characters to be featured will be: Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Sub-Mariner, and the Hulk - all in full color! What's more, we'll use exactly the same art and stories which have made our mags the sensation of the nation! Production is under way right now, at the famous Grantray-Lawrence Animation Co. in Hollywood..."-Bullpen Bulletin, October 1966
Well, sort of.The Ol' Bullpen Page wasn't kidding about The Marvel Superheroes series using "exactly the same art and stories"; panels from the comics were directly incorporated into the cartoon, xeroxed onto the cels and given life via very limited animation techniques and camera work.
Reuse of backgrounds, expressions, and any other bit of celluloid that looked like it had one more go in it was a hallmark of the series, as was wonderful voice acting, courtesy of many great talents from the CBC (Including John Vernon and pretty much anyone who had a speaking part on Wayne & Shuster.) Click to image to the left to browse a YouTube playlist featuring episodes of the series.
Grantray-Lawrence and Krantz Films also produced the immortal Rocket Robin Hood cartoon, and in 1967, the first Spider-Man cartoon, which also featured occasionally wonky animation, swell voice work, and theme songs catchier than herpes and more sanity-damaging than syphilis.
November 1965 - Can You Guess What's In This Mysterious Mailing Tube?
Well, can you? (Me, I'm going to go with some sort of mail. Tube-shaped mail. )
As mentioned in Mark Gruenwald's Origin of the Bullpen Bulletins, differences in publishing schedules meant that the Bullpen pages for any given month were not always the same. Despite his assertion that the first modern MBBP was printed in all Marvel books cover-dated December 1965, it actually appeared "earlier" in some November issues, like Avengers and the then-bi-monthly Uncanny X-Men, while that month's issues of Fantastic Four and Amazing Spider-Man featured a t-shirt ad.
One thing that's interesting and fun - okay, one thing that's interesting - about the Bullpen pages and advertisements are how they were tailored to the comic they appeared in. In Fantastic Four an ad featured the ever-lovin' blue-eyed Thing exhorting readers to go "T-Shirt Wild", while timid teenager Peter Parker was shilling shirts using the very same sale pitch over in Amazing Spider-Man. In the strip to the right, characters from various books (Including a bizarrely warm J. Jonah Jameson!) directly encourage "their fans" to join the Merry Marvel Marching Society, while in the collaged panel below sneering villains do the shillin', press-ganging America's youth into the MMMS while revealing their Canadianess, eh?
Yeah, it was superficial and blatantly commercial, but it helped make the characters more real to the fans, breaking down the fourth wall with mercenary merriment. The artwork ranged from horribly drawn originals to headshots clipped from the comics themselves. With little consideration given to context, a phrase like "Can You Guess What's In This Mysterious Mailing Tube?" is delivered in a myriad of ways depending on the image used in the advertisement; Professor X goes with the classic "dramatically accusatory and cross eyed" approach, The Thing nails bewildered befuddlement, haughty Doctor Strange can't even be bothered to get off the Can of Cthulhu to emote, an all a-flutter Green Goblin seems to really, really, really like the tube, and Hawkeye... well, I still can't get over the Green Goblin.
He's got plans for that mysterious mailing tube (Whose contents were revealed two months later in the January, 1966 Bullpen Page).
Dirty plans.
As mentioned in Mark Gruenwald's Origin of the Bullpen Bulletins, differences in publishing schedules meant that the Bullpen pages for any given month were not always the same. Despite his assertion that the first modern MBBP was printed in all Marvel books cover-dated December 1965, it actually appeared "earlier" in some November issues, like Avengers and the then-bi-monthly Uncanny X-Men, while that month's issues of Fantastic Four and Amazing Spider-Man featured a t-shirt ad.
One thing that's interesting and fun - okay, one thing that's interesting - about the Bullpen pages and advertisements are how they were tailored to the comic they appeared in. In Fantastic Four an ad featured the ever-lovin' blue-eyed Thing exhorting readers to go "T-Shirt Wild", while timid teenager Peter Parker was shilling shirts using the very same sale pitch over in Amazing Spider-Man. In the strip to the right, characters from various books (Including a bizarrely warm J. Jonah Jameson!) directly encourage "their fans" to join the Merry Marvel Marching Society, while in the collaged panel below sneering villains do the shillin', press-ganging America's youth into the MMMS while revealing their Canadianess, eh?
Yeah, it was superficial and blatantly commercial, but it helped make the characters more real to the fans, breaking down the fourth wall with mercenary merriment. The artwork ranged from horribly drawn originals to headshots clipped from the comics themselves. With little consideration given to context, a phrase like "Can You Guess What's In This Mysterious Mailing Tube?" is delivered in a myriad of ways depending on the image used in the advertisement; Professor X goes with the classic "dramatically accusatory and cross eyed" approach, The Thing nails bewildered befuddlement, haughty Doctor Strange can't even be bothered to get off the Can of Cthulhu to emote, an all a-flutter Green Goblin seems to really, really, really like the tube, and Hawkeye... well, I still can't get over the Green Goblin.He's got plans for that mysterious mailing tube (Whose contents were revealed two months later in the January, 1966 Bullpen Page).
Dirty plans.
Origin of the Bullpen Bulletin, by Mark Gruenwald
So I asked Stan Lee, "where did the idea of Bullpen Bulletin page, one of the fundaments of Marvel Comics come from?" He told me: "When I was a kid, there was this series of hardcover juvenile adventure books featuring a character named Jerry Todd. They were something like the Hardy Boys, but they had a lot of humor mixed in with the adventure. And at the very end of each book, the publisher printed letters from the readers as well as responses from the author himself. It was so informal, so warm...it made me feel like I knew these guys and they cared about what their readers thought. I was surprised at the time other books didn't see what a great idea this was. I don't know if I consciously remembered those books when I set out to do the Bullpen page years later, or if I was unconsciously influenced and only afterwards realized where I got the idea from. I do know that talking to the readers informally and indirectly seemed like the natural thing to do."
There you have it, another secret behind comics, from the man who wrote the book on secrets behind the comics.
In the beginning, there were letters pages-- or "letters sections", as Stan liked to call 'em. Starting with FANTASTIC FOUR #3 (cover dated March 1962, it came out in late 1961), Stan ran a page of fan mail in his flagship title and, with FF #11, expanded it to two pages. With issue #13, a "Special Announcements Section" appeared at the end of the second page of letters to respond to general fan mail topics and alert early Marveldom to other titles in the line. (Most titles wouldn't get letters pages of their own for a few years, so I'm tracking the Bullpen Bulletins' genesis through the pages of FF.)
By FF #24, this Special Announcements Section often took up a whole column of the second page of letters, and by FF #33 (December 1964), "The Mighty Marvel Checklist" appeared imbedded within the "Special Announcements Section." Then with FANTASTIC FOUR #41 (August 1965), the page before the letters section, which had been an ad for Marvel's first fan club, the Merry Marvel Marching Society, was labeled for the first time (ta-daa!) "The Merry Marvel Bullpen Page." Still hand-lettered and mostly featuring information and coupons for cool Marvel t-shirts, this first Bullpen Page had typeset names of 25 MMMS members (MMMS Rolls). The checklist and special announcements were still on the letters pages.
[Note: Due to publishing schedules, "The Merry Marvel Bullpen Page" first appeared in The Avengers, Vol. 1, No. 18 and The Uncanny X-Men, Vol. 1, No. 12, both cover-dated July 1965, one month ahead of Fantastic Four, The Amazing Spider-Man, and other series. The Fantastic Four-based chronology used by Gruenwald is used here.]
Then with FF #45 (and all the other Marvel titles cover dated December 1965) the first modern "Marvel Bullpen Bulletins" page appeared with tidbits of news, the checklist (containing a mere nine other titles), a list of 25 more MMMS members, plus an ad for an FF t-shirt and Marvel stationery. In FF #46 (January 1966), there was a subheading beneath the Marvel Bullpen Bulletins banner: "More Nutty News and Notes from One Marvel Madman to Another!" Within a matter of issues, the typeset text began to dominate the page, crowding out all but the tiniest of illustrations. Here was a page of information presented in Stan's uniquely informal style, filled with straight-from-the-hip chat from The Man himself, using all sorts of pop lingo and cool catch phrases such as "true believers", "no-prizes", "'nuff said", "frantic one", "Brand Ecch", and "Make mine Marvel", as well as the occasional Latin quote!
With the April 1966 edition in FF #49, alliterative subtitles began to adorn the Bullpen page, the first reading "More mirthful, monumental, mind-staggering memoranda from your Marvel madmen!" (My favorite read: "A profound potpourri of perplexing pronouncements and preposterous philosophy, all portending practically nothing!")
There you have it, another secret behind comics, from the man who wrote the book on secrets behind the comics.
In the beginning, there were letters pages-- or "letters sections", as Stan liked to call 'em. Starting with FANTASTIC FOUR #3 (cover dated March 1962, it came out in late 1961), Stan ran a page of fan mail in his flagship title and, with FF #11, expanded it to two pages. With issue #13, a "Special Announcements Section" appeared at the end of the second page of letters to respond to general fan mail topics and alert early Marveldom to other titles in the line. (Most titles wouldn't get letters pages of their own for a few years, so I'm tracking the Bullpen Bulletins' genesis through the pages of FF.)
By FF #24, this Special Announcements Section often took up a whole column of the second page of letters, and by FF #33 (December 1964), "The Mighty Marvel Checklist" appeared imbedded within the "Special Announcements Section." Then with FANTASTIC FOUR #41 (August 1965), the page before the letters section, which had been an ad for Marvel's first fan club, the Merry Marvel Marching Society, was labeled for the first time (ta-daa!) "The Merry Marvel Bullpen Page." Still hand-lettered and mostly featuring information and coupons for cool Marvel t-shirts, this first Bullpen Page had typeset names of 25 MMMS members (MMMS Rolls). The checklist and special announcements were still on the letters pages.
[Note: Due to publishing schedules, "The Merry Marvel Bullpen Page" first appeared in The Avengers, Vol. 1, No. 18 and The Uncanny X-Men, Vol. 1, No. 12, both cover-dated July 1965, one month ahead of Fantastic Four, The Amazing Spider-Man, and other series. The Fantastic Four-based chronology used by Gruenwald is used here.]
Then with FF #45 (and all the other Marvel titles cover dated December 1965) the first modern "Marvel Bullpen Bulletins" page appeared with tidbits of news, the checklist (containing a mere nine other titles), a list of 25 more MMMS members, plus an ad for an FF t-shirt and Marvel stationery. In FF #46 (January 1966), there was a subheading beneath the Marvel Bullpen Bulletins banner: "More Nutty News and Notes from One Marvel Madman to Another!" Within a matter of issues, the typeset text began to dominate the page, crowding out all but the tiniest of illustrations. Here was a page of information presented in Stan's uniquely informal style, filled with straight-from-the-hip chat from The Man himself, using all sorts of pop lingo and cool catch phrases such as "true believers", "no-prizes", "'nuff said", "frantic one", "Brand Ecch", and "Make mine Marvel", as well as the occasional Latin quote!
With the April 1966 edition in FF #49, alliterative subtitles began to adorn the Bullpen page, the first reading "More mirthful, monumental, mind-staggering memoranda from your Marvel madmen!" (My favorite read: "A profound potpourri of perplexing pronouncements and preposterous philosophy, all portending practically nothing!")
"The Bullpen Bulletins Page was the definitive place for everything in the medium that was uniquely Stan."
In FANTASTIC FOUR #63 (June 1967) the first ever "Stan's Soapbox" appeared on the Bullpen Bulletins page, where our Leader waxed sincere on the topic of "The Marvel Philosophy". Here Stan really connected with his audience. The soapbox was somehow more specific and more intimate than Stan's writing anywhere else. The Bullpen Bulletins Page was the definitive place for everything in the medium that was uniquely Stan.
But all things had to come to an end, and, with the September 1972 Bullpen Page (FANTASTIC FOUR #126), Stan preempted all items (except the Checklist) to make room for an expanded Soapbox explaining how he was not only stepping down as editor of the whole Marvel line, but he would also be foregoing all regular comics writing. Not stated (but certainly implied) was that the Bullpen Bulletins page - with the exception of an occasional Stan's Soapbox, of course - would pass on to his successor. Through the 70's, the Bullpen Bulletins more or less followed the template established by Stan, and featured an alliterative subheading, various news and promotional items, a checklist (albeit an abbreviated one, since Marvel was now producing almost three times the number of titles it was in Stan's heyday), and more-or-less regular Stan's Soapboxes.
With the June 1977 issues (FF #183) the last alliterative subheading appeared ("Zounds! A Zealful Zetetic of Zestful Zanies to Zap the Zeitgeist") and, in the issue after, a listing of Marvel's editorial staff-- a mere 14 in number-- appeared in the masthead. This listing lasted until June 1978 (FF #196), ending the month before my name would have had to have been annexed to the masthead. (Coincidence? Conspiracy? You decide.) From 1978 through most of '80's the Bullpen Page underwent various format changes. January 1980 (FF #214) brought back the Checklist, while #215 dropped all the items in favor of just Stan's Soapbox and the Checklist, a format that continued for almost a year before paid advertisements ate into the magazine's editorial page count and the BBP mysteriously vanished for a number of months. With FF #238 (January 1982), the BBP was back, minus the checklist and Stan's Soapbox, and signed for the first time by the pages' author, then-editor in chief Jim Shooter.
Throughout most of the '80's, all Stanisms of the previous two decades were eradicated in favor of a new idiosyncratic tone for the page. There were various new innovations, such as guest columns written by various freelancers, the Hype Box, and tongue-in-cheek photo features (editors wearing hats, and the Hunk of the Month). The Checklist was expanded to fit the number of titles Marvel was publishing. FF #299 (February '87) featured the last of this style '80's Bullpen page and, after three months with no Bulletins, I took over as editor of the page, a position I've held ever since.
My writing staff and I have put that poor page through a lot in an effort to regain a consistent voice and the best balance of features-- way too much to fit into this month's column. Tell you what, if enough of you request it, I'll convince my editor to let me write a behind the scenes look at the Bullpen Bulletins Page as it stands today. Till then, shoot the bull!
But all things had to come to an end, and, with the September 1972 Bullpen Page (FANTASTIC FOUR #126), Stan preempted all items (except the Checklist) to make room for an expanded Soapbox explaining how he was not only stepping down as editor of the whole Marvel line, but he would also be foregoing all regular comics writing. Not stated (but certainly implied) was that the Bullpen Bulletins page - with the exception of an occasional Stan's Soapbox, of course - would pass on to his successor. Through the 70's, the Bullpen Bulletins more or less followed the template established by Stan, and featured an alliterative subheading, various news and promotional items, a checklist (albeit an abbreviated one, since Marvel was now producing almost three times the number of titles it was in Stan's heyday), and more-or-less regular Stan's Soapboxes.
With the June 1977 issues (FF #183) the last alliterative subheading appeared ("Zounds! A Zealful Zetetic of Zestful Zanies to Zap the Zeitgeist") and, in the issue after, a listing of Marvel's editorial staff-- a mere 14 in number-- appeared in the masthead. This listing lasted until June 1978 (FF #196), ending the month before my name would have had to have been annexed to the masthead. (Coincidence? Conspiracy? You decide.) From 1978 through most of '80's the Bullpen Page underwent various format changes. January 1980 (FF #214) brought back the Checklist, while #215 dropped all the items in favor of just Stan's Soapbox and the Checklist, a format that continued for almost a year before paid advertisements ate into the magazine's editorial page count and the BBP mysteriously vanished for a number of months. With FF #238 (January 1982), the BBP was back, minus the checklist and Stan's Soapbox, and signed for the first time by the pages' author, then-editor in chief Jim Shooter.
Throughout most of the '80's, all Stanisms of the previous two decades were eradicated in favor of a new idiosyncratic tone for the page. There were various new innovations, such as guest columns written by various freelancers, the Hype Box, and tongue-in-cheek photo features (editors wearing hats, and the Hunk of the Month). The Checklist was expanded to fit the number of titles Marvel was publishing. FF #299 (February '87) featured the last of this style '80's Bullpen page and, after three months with no Bulletins, I took over as editor of the page, a position I've held ever since.
My writing staff and I have put that poor page through a lot in an effort to regain a consistent voice and the best balance of features-- way too much to fit into this month's column. Tell you what, if enough of you request it, I'll convince my editor to let me write a behind the scenes look at the Bullpen Bulletins Page as it stands today. Till then, shoot the bull!
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