Showing posts with label Stan's Soapbox. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stan's Soapbox. Show all posts

August 1975

"While we're on the subject of congratulations, let's hear it for Artful Archie Goodwin, who's returned to the fold after far too long an absence... "

From Uncanny X-Men, Vol. 1, No. 94

July 1975

Just this week (That's Marvel Standard Time, O Keeper of the Flame, not to be confused with the week when you finally read these wondrous words), George Pal, producer of such well-remembered and deeply-cherished Science Fiction films as The Time Machine and War of the Worlds, dropped by 575 Madison Avenue to let us in on the scoop of what many say may be his greatest epic - Doc Savage, Man of Bronze!

From Amazing Spider-Man, Vol. 1, No. 146

June 1975

"... let's not forget Dynamic Dave Cockrum, whose fan dream of a lifetime came true when he was chosen to illustrate the equally-all-new, equally-all-improved adventures of the X-cruciatingly X-citing X-Men, who are currently cavorting in their brand-new Giant-Size mag!

Who says this ain't the Marvel Age of Sensational Second Chances?"

From Incredible Hulk, Vol. 1, No. 188

May 1975

"On his wedding day, paying no heed to the risks involved, Brave-hearted Bill Mantlo cast aside all thought of his own safety to race to the rescue of a driverless bus plunging backwards down a hillside towards a rapidly-approaching brick wall. Stopping the vehicle mere inches from impact, Bill calmly returned to his wedding ceremony with the profound thanks of two much-relieved elder states-people still ringing in his ears.

We're proud of you, Bill, but no matter how much you argue, we still don't think Mantlo-Man deserves to star is his own mind-boggling mag yet."


From Giant-Size X-Men, Vol. 1, No. 1

March, 1975

"Holiday Greetings, right from the heart
To our wondrous scripters
Who make writing an art.
To our painstaking pencillers
Breathing life to each tale
And our illustrious inkers
Be they female or male.
To our editors, letterers,
Production folk too,
Colorists, proof-readers,
Both the old and the new.
But heading the list
Is our top superhero -
So, greetings to YOU, chum
Without you - we're zero!"

From Avengers, Vol. 1, No. 133

February 1975

"Let's roll out the red carpet for Free-wheelin' Frank Robbins, Marvel's newest artist and bon vivant! As many of you know, Frank's the artist and writer of the newspaper comic-strip 'Johnny Hazard' and is considered by his peers to be one of the finest craftsmen in the business."

From Amazing Spider-Man, Vol. 1, No. 141

January 1975

"Remember how we promised you the latest scoop on our mighty Marvel softball team? Well, the other day the Marvel Comics (as some anonymous wag christened our Bullpen batters) took on the whole cockamamey staff of the Greenwich Village Voice, one of New York's best-known newspapers. We won't exactly tell you who won - but let's just say that our new team motto is, 'Wait'll next year!'
'Nuff said?"

From Captain America, Vol. 1, No. 181

October 1974

"The nominations for the annual awards given out by the Academy of Comic-Book Arts have been announced, and while we don't have room to sandwich 'em all in here, suffice it to say that the minions of Marvel were not exactly overlooked this time around."

From Uncanny X-Men, Vol. 1, No. 90

September 1974

"This last little tidbit isn't exactly chicken-fat, either! Yep, this is the month when the awesome, ultimate Marvel Value Stamp will appear somewhere - sometime - in one (count 'em, one) of our colorful classics!
Nope, we still won't tell you just which of our world-famous super-stars it features: we'll leave you the fun of finding that out for yourself, when you discover it starin' back at you from one of our liltin' letters pages!"

From Captain America, Vol. 1, No. 177

August 1974

"And now, till we meet again, think peace - think love - think Marvel.
It could be habit forming.

Excelsior!"


From Amazing Spider-Man, Vol. 1, No. 135

July 1974

"Here's a personal tid-bit or two we thought might be of interest: First off, let's give a harried hello to Lethal Larry Hama, who takes over as artist of our new Iron fist feature in the current ish of Marvel Premiere...

Speaking of kung fu, we've gotta tell you how pleased we are with Peerless Paul Gulacy, who's taken over our much-heralded Master of Kung Fu title, now that Judo Jim Starlin's devoting his full time to his own rendition of Captain Marvel.


Add the above names to the roster of new young talents who are swiftly growing to Marvel-ous maturity, a list which already includes Affable Al Milgrom, (Santa) Klaus Janson, plus the other new lights we've discovered - or, more truthfully, who've discovered us, since we're nothing without 'em...

From Fantastic Four, Vol. 1, No. 148

June 1974

Due to a last-minute emergency, we had to forego our widely-acclaimed Bullpen Bonus Page this go-round. So, we'll just have to wait till next month to tell you about all the brain-blasting bargains that'll be yours when you've amassed a complete set of Marvel Value Stamps - or about some of the hectic hijinx which the World's Weirdest Bullpen have been up to - not to mention the return of our capricious Checklist.

From Incredible Hulk, Vol. 1, No. 176

April 1974

"After all, didja know that Fantastic Four #1 is now selling for up to $50 in many back-issue comic-book store across the nation, and that Spidey #1 isn't far behind?"






























From Avengers, Vol. 1, No. 122

March 1974

"So, starting now - and without abandoning our search for ever-newer horizons to conquer in the name of Marveldom Assembled - we're returning this paged to all its former, much-lauded glory, and adding a new Bullpen Bonus Page, to boot!

That's right, believer - now you'll get two full pages of news and views each month (three, if you count our liltin' letters pages)!

And, for those of you who are counting: Nope, we haven't dropped any pages of art and story, just a paid ad which took up the space last month - and this is spite of ever-rising printing costs and that depressing paper shortage you've been reading about (often, we might add, in newspapers with fewer pages).

So now who says mighty Marvel isn't the Company with a Heart?"


From Fantastic Four, Vol. 1, No. 144

February 1974

"RQF ILFBSHFXY UJDTUF
EFIRQ SO LIGXSVW - VSHDJP
BSSJ DJ RQF QUXW!"

From Amazing Spider-Man, Vol. 1, No. 129

January 1974

"In answer to countless queries: Yes, the Glynis Wein who does that sensational coloring in so many Marvel Masterworks these days is indeed the lovely wife of one Len Wein. And, so help us, if your next question is 'So who's Len Wein...?'"

From Incredible Hulk, Vol. 1, No. 171

March 1973

"Hmmm... The Monster Times... The New Yorker... looks like there are no worlds left for the ol' wall-crawler to conquer, 'cept maybe the Ladies' Home Journal! But, who knows - maybe one of these fine days-!"

From Captain America, Vol. 1, No. 159

February 1973

"Those of you who've been with us since the early days of Marvel have probably lost track of how many times I've hammered home the point that, unlike cigarettes, our comics are really good for you."

From Fantastic Four, Vol. 1, No. 131