BAB Firsts - FOOM Fridays: FOOM #1

This post was originally published on November 26 2010

Karen: Life was good as a Marvel fanatic back in the seventies. It was a time of unparalleled creativity, when a new generation of writers and artists appeared to expand upon the Lee-Kirby universe. We had superheroes, barbarians, monsters, cowboys...anything you could want could be found in the pages of a Marvel comic -or magazine. It was a fun time.

Karen: One of the extra little joys for Marvel fans was the new Marvel fan club, inaugurated in 1973, called FOOM: Friends Of Ol' Marvel. When you joined FOOM, you got a package of cool goodies that included a gold membership card, a 22" x 28" Steranko poster of many of Marvel's finest, some stickers, and best of all, a subscription to the FOOM magazine. This quarterly magazine was chock full of news (remember, no internet in those days!), articles, games, art, and pictures. It was like being a real Marvel insider.

Karen: I'll be taking a look at a different issue of FOOM on these FOOM Fridays. We'll start with the first issue. My own issues are in pretty bad shape -they were read and re-read, and since I was still a youngster, I also *gasp* colored some of the pictures! So please excuse the appearance of some images.

Karen: Issue #1 readers were greeted by a full page image of Smilin' Stan Lee on the cover. Lee saluted the reader in his typical flowery, over the top prose. He described the magazine as "an endless bounty of all that is best, all that is noblest, all that most truly symbolizes the soul and the spirit of we who follow FOOM!"

Karen: Inside, editor Steranko explained the concept of the magazine, and announced a contest: design a hero or villain to appear in a new Marvel comic! (More on this in future reviews.)

Karen: Next followed pages with biographies and photos of Lee, John Buscema, Roy Thomas, Joe Sinnott, and Gerry Conway. I love the photo of the 'hip' Stan Lee! WHile we have a ton of information on all of these men now, and it's easily accesible, back in the day, these bios were really very informative. Of course I was always interested in any information I could get about Marvel and the bullpen. The main article in the issue, written by one Ed Noonchester (?), was on the birth of the Fantastic Four. A detailed index of all FF issues to that point -which would only be issue 132! - followed.

Karen: Interspersed throughout the magazine are puzzles and games with Marvel themes. I dutifully scribbled away in every one of these, I'm afraid.

Karen: Perhaps the most interesting section of the magazine, to me anyway, was the part on upcoming books, titled Far-Out Fanfare and Infoomation. The Marvel magazines were discussed first, announcing that Marvel was launching four black and white magazines: Dracula ( although the cover picture shows the title as Dracula Lives!), Monsters Unleashed, Tales of the Zombie, and Vampire Tales. Also discussed is Marvel's pulp digest book, The Haunt of Horror. Hard to believe but each of the magazines had a price of 75 cents! Marvel was going whole hog into the horror business with these titles, which were to be released one each month over a four month period.

Karen: Some staff changes are discussed, including that John Romita has been made art director, and will be laying out most of the covers. Marie Severin has been made Chief Colorist. Young Marv Wolfman has been made an Assistant Editor. It's funny to read some of the 'upcoming' news now. Some never went anywhere, and some were portentious. Some of the news:

• The Thing is going to star in his own team-up book in Marvel Features
• Strange Tales will return with Len Wein and Gene Colan collaborating on a project "too secret to reveal at the moment...all we can reveal now is its name -Brother Voodoo"!!
• Don Heck will take over Sub-Mariner until Bill Everett recovers from his heart attack. "You might want to drop Wild Bill a note wishing him a speedy recovery!"
• The Spider-Man LP record was so successful, Gerry Conway is writing the script for a second one (Was this Rock Reflections of A Super-Hero? I had both albums, and I recall they were pretty terrible)
• This was a tantalizing tidbit that never went anywhere as far as I can tell: "There has been some talk around the bullpen concerning a one hour, animated Christmas special that will feature all the Marvel characters. This show would not be a Saturday morning special, but a prime time show with nationwide distribution. Remember FOOM fans, you read it here first!" And last -never happened.

Karen: The back of our first issue features coupons to cut out and send in to buy Marvel T-shirts ( I did) and the Spider-Man record album (ditto). So about 1/4 of my back cover (featuring a Steranko-drawn Spidey) is missing! But dang...those t-shirts were only $2.50 a pop! Man, do I miss the seventies.

Social Networking in the Bronze Age of Comics

Doug:  As Facebook went public just two days ago, let's do a social networking time capsule.  I'm personally not on Facebook -- I always like to use the smart alleck answer that I really don't care if your cat has bunions.  And I don't.  Really.  Anyway, some time ago frequent commenter Redartz suggested (with minor editing by me) we do a post that goes like this:


Redartz said... How about a look at the social aspect of comic fandom? What first drew your attention to comics; were you a lone reader or was there a circle of friends with shared interest? Were you in FOOM, the MMMS, or another club? Were the companies' efforts to grab and expand your interest (think Marvel Value Stamps) successful?

Doug:  Last week we took a look at how you've been in and out of the comics habit/hobby.  Today we're going to personalize it just a bit more and ask you who those "significant others" were when you were a child -- were they cousins or siblings, schoolmates, or neighbors?  Were you an island in your comics-buying or did you know a lot of other kids who shared your interests?  Did you get together with specific friends to read and trade and draw and play Megos?  And how about those company marketing attempts?  We've discussed FOOM and such before, but so what?  We're all middle-aged and no one remembers anyway!  Talk about it again! 

 

FOOM Fridays: FOOM #8

FOOM #8 (December 1974)

Karen: This issue of FOOM marks yet another change in the editor title, as Tony Isabella gives way to Scott Edelman. I know, I had the same question: Scott Edelman? With contributing editors Jim Salicrup and Duffy Vohland, apparently all active in comics fandom but not really names in the industry, it seemed like FOOM was being run more as a fanzine than a professional mag. There a numerous typos, and the layout and reviews in this issue were a real step down from previous ones, in my opinion.

The subject for this particular issue is the star-spangled Avenger, Captain America. Cap and Bucky are featured on the cover in an illustration by John Romita Sr. and Mike Esposito. I know some might choose Kirby as their Cap artist, or even Sal Buscema, and they're both great picks. But Romita was drawing the book when I was first reading it, and I've always thought he did a great job on Cap.

Roger Stern contributes an article on Cap that reads as if Cap were a real person, discussing his background and history as if it were common knowledge. He manages to discuss not only Steve Rogers' days prior to becoming a Super Soldier, but retells his origin, manages to get in some references to the 50s Cap that had recently appeared in Captain America, Cap's revival by the Avengers, his time as Nomad, and his return to the red, white, and blue uniform. It's nicely done.

There are one page articles on both Bucky and the Falcon, neither of which includes the author's name. Neither article really has much to say, although the Falcon one suggests that the hero needed to get away from Cap to establish himself.

Another article looks at the 1944 Captain America serial. It's rather enlightening to read about all the changes that were made to Cap in light of the new movie coming out this year. This version featured a Cap without a Bucky, a change in secret identity to district attorney Grant Gardner, and to top it off, this sentinel of liberty does not have a shield! What the heck? I've complained about the uniform in the new film, and what I perceive as a desire to avoid mentioning Nazis, but at least they still have the shield! Some day I would like to see this serial though; I've seen a few clips but that's all. There are some decent photos included with the article.

The final Cap feature is an essay by Jack Kirby, although it is stated that it is from his autobiography, "first printed eight years ago, never printed again or seen by any but a select few." Anyone have any idea what this is in reference to? In any case, Kirby recounts his early comics work, including Captain America, and the fact that he was drafted into the army after Pearl Harbor. The whole thing definitely feels like it was lifted from somewhere else, with no real beginning and no end. Somewhat informative but it reads oddly.

Also in this issue are some cover reproductions showing how covers were altered to different purposes. The cover of Iron Man #45, for instance, was redrawn with the IM figure replaced by Spider-Man for an issue of the Spidey British comic. We're also shown how the original cover to Giant-Size Avengers #2 featured not only Kang and Rama Tut, but Dr. Doom as well!

A photo shows a bunch of comics fans with Roy Thomas at a comic convention. These were "The Marvel 100 Club" members -fans who had collected all 100 Marvel Value Stamps! It doesn't say what they received -if anything -for their efforts, other than mangled comics!

The Department of Infoomation features eeny weeny little blue text that is incredibly difficult to read. At least it is for me now, in my middle years. While the previous issue featured the previews arranged alphabetically, this one meanders all over the place and tries far too hard to be funny. There are baby pictures of the bullpen all over the place. I'm sure the bullpen found this amusing, but it just feels self-indulgent.

Don McGregor discusses Killraven, primarily the fact that the book has been cut from 18 to 15 pages, and how that has affected his ability to tell stories. You can really tell how peeved he was. Marv Wolfman discusses how he is slowly building up the sub-plots in Tomb of Dracula to a big event around issue 32. It's fascinating hearing how much thought Wolfman was putting into the title, but it shows.

Steve Gerber shows how he earned his oddball reputation as he discusses the audience for Son of Satan: "That book seems to appeal to the lunatic fringe. Both fringes. Both ends of the cloth. And both clothes. We get lots of letters from religious people who really like it. Now by religious people I don't mean to say clergymen, but people who are strict religionists. There are religious people who really can't stand it. I've been called a tool of the devil, lately. I just want to confirm all those suspicions. I am a tool of the devil. I'm a screwdriver."

George Perez and Dave Kraft describe how they are trying to differentiate Man-Wolf from Werewolf by Night. Perez talks about how he gave Man-Wolf more of a full wolf's head, and Kraft discusses the effort to make John Jameson less one-dimensional.

There's a tiny paragraph with Len Wein talking about the new X-men. He mentions that Cyclops is the only returning X-Men. The rest will be Colossus from Russia, Nightcrawler from Germany, Storm from Africa, The Wolverine from Canada, and Thunderbird from Arizona. No mention of Banshee oddly enough. He says the first giant-size issue will be by himself and Dave Cockrum, and the second one will bring back the Sentinels.

A lot of the previews are just too dumb to even comment on. Obviously the bullpen was having fun, but at the expense of the FOOM readers, who were not getting a whole heck of a lot of information.

The back cover features a John Byrne-Duffy Vohland Cap illustration, but it's not particularly memorable.

FOOM Fridays: FOOM #7

FOOM # 7 (Fall 1974)

Karen: FOOM 7 continues the focus on the Avengers. Check out that cover! I love how the Hulk is messing the logo up. I keep looking at the art and trying to decide if it was John Buscema's pencils and brother Sal's inks, or Sal's work alone. The figure of Thor definitely gives me a Big John vibe, while Hawkeye and Cap have more of a Sal feel to me. Any ideas?

The second part of the Jarvis interview proves as entertaining as the first. This time we also get a writer credited: Roger Stern. Jarvis discusses his unfortunate treachery with the Masters of Evil, a story that never really made any sense under close examination. Here, we are told that Dr. Pym thinks Ultron may have exercised some mental control over Jarvis, which makes more sense than the faithful butler betraying his employers. Some interesting tidbits about Jarvis: although born in the Bronx, both parents had recently emigrated from Britain, and Jarvis served in the RAF during World War II, which explains his British accent. Jarvis also discusses the Vision, and the android's relationship with the Scarlet Witch, which veers into a discussion of intolerance... fascinating stuff!

This article also has more of those wonderful Dave Cockrum drawings of the different team members. This time around it's Mantis, Swordsman, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Black Knight, Black Panther (the last two on a centerfold unfortunately), and Captain America and the Vision. All really nice stuff. While he's lauded for his work on Legion and X-Men, the man could have been one of the finest Avengers artists, if he'd only had a run of any real length.

There are pictures of the mighty bullpen from both a 1974 comics convention and the Marvel softball team. Boy, were all the guys hairy! It's fun to see how everyone looked back in 1974. For one thing, most of them were so young. I kind of forget that a lot of these guys were in their early twenties when they started working for Marvel. Of course, all the mid-70s styles also bring back a great nostalgia. The one thing I really did not need to see was a shirtless Vinnie Colletta. But I wanted to share my pain, so that photo is included here. It seems Marvel played over 25 games that summer, with the bullpen splitting up into teams and taking each other on. Hulk penciller Herb Trimpe is named as the best all-around player, and Al Milgrom, Archie Goodwin, and Doug Moench also showed some flare. It's stuff like this that certainly made this young Marvel fan think that all was peace and love within Marvel!

The big announcement in this issue's Department of Infoomation is that Roy Thomas is stepping down as editor in chief so that he can concentrate on writing. Marv Wolfman will become editor of the black and white books while Len Wein becomes the color books editor. Of course, we all know what a revolving door that editor in chief position became.

I mentioned in a comment on one of our posts that I don't think Roy Thomas has received enough credit for what he did with Marvel in the 70s. I've read articles, and I've interviewed people who worked for Roy, and the comments you hear again and again is what a great job Roy did in the balance between letting creators express themselves, and making sure that the comics sold. His philosophy seemed to be, "Go ahead, try different things, knock yourself out. But at the end of the day, the book has to sell." Nowadays, it feels, to me at least, like so much of the artistic aspect of comics has disappeared; stories are all geared towards whatever marketing says they should be doing. In the early 70s, Marvel was trying all sorts of off the wall stuff. Sure, some of it didn't work, but some of it was great. Now everything seems so calculated. I miss those days, when I could go to the spinner rack and get several super-hero titles, monster titles, sword and sorcery, jungle adventure...the Big Two now seem so limited. But, I digress.

The Giant-Size books were still going strong; it seems like they were still mostly new material and had not become reprint oriented yet. In the regular sized books, we are told to watch out for a new costume for the Scarlet Witch, something that never materialized. The very young George Perez was assigned as artist on the Man-Wolf series running in Creatures on the Loose.

There are a lot of fill-in writers and artists on titles this time around. It seems like a number of books, such as Daredevil, were in a state of transition. I recall as a kid being bewildered at times by the numerous changes in creative teams. I had only really begun to be aware of the various writers and artists a year or two before, so to see them constantly shifting at this time was frustrating.

There's some more fan art towards the back, and a contest to draw three pages from a Spider-Man script. All in all, this issue felt a bit light on content.

The back cover features a cool Mike Ploog Ghost Rider drawing; not sure what it had to do with the Avengers theme, but hey, it looked neat! I just wish the color separations had been aligned more accurately. When I look at it, I keep trying to adjust my eyes to make the image look right!

FOOM Fridays: FOOM #6

FOOM # 6 (Summer 1974)

Karen: This issue of FOOM was the first of a two-part look at the Avengers, Earth's Mightiest (and at that time, finite) Heroes. The cover is an amusing shot of the faithful butler Jarvis, surrounded by his work. Jarvis is also the subject of an interview, where he reminisces about the early days of the team. It's pretty amusing stuff, as we get Jarvis' view of the first meeting of the Avengers. Of course he is "awestruck" by Thor, and passes out when the Hulk enters the room! Jarvis goes on about the coming of Captain America, and the Kooky Quartet. It's striking how much thought was put into this article; the comments about Cap and how lonely his life was in the early days were really well-done. There's no author credited so I'm not sure who to heap praise on. This feature was graced by some absolutely beautiful Dave Cockrum art. Again, I can't express how much I wish he had been a regular artist on the title. His work here is perfect -and I believe some of these images were used for other purposes, maybe even on some of the Slurpee cups.

There's a one-page biography of then-Avengers writer Steve Englehart. I'm sure most of you have already heard the details of his life elsewhere, so I won't repeat them here. I did smile when I read this quote from him: "I've been kind of feeling my way with the series for a while now and I'm still not quite as happy with it as the fans are. I've been trying to do it as Roy would, but it's going to change a little. It's going to be sort of strange in the future." He wasn't kidding!

The Department of Infoomation leads off with the big news that Spider-Man will be joining the Electric Company on television. Do you remember those segments? Of course, this was also the beginning of Spidey Super Stories, the tie-in comics for younger readers. The House of Ideas also announced the advent of Marvel Calendar, and the coming of the momentous Stan Lee book, Origins of Marvel Comics. I'm pretty sure I got both of those items for Christmas that year!

More non-comics news: Aurora Models would be releasing a Captain America model kit! The Hulk and Spidey kits did so well, Cap got the thumbs up. So what character would be next? Well, Marvel asked the members of FOOM: who do you want to see for the next model? Now, I'm certainly no expert on this (although I did have the Hulk and Spidey kits), but I don't recall another Marvel kit being made. Any of you model fans out there, please pipe up if you have any more info.

In magazine news, Marvel announced the launch of a new science fiction magazine called Worlds Unknown - although the final title that reached the newsstand was Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction. Iron Fist, another kung fu magazine was also announced, but I don't recall ever hearing of that one, just the Iron Fist comic. Was there such a mag?

Marvel welcomed new talent such as Chris Claremont ("assistant editor and a fine scripter in his own right"), Bob McLeod, Bill Mantlo, Roger Slifer, and Ron Wilson.

The rest of the news is fairly mundane listings of what's coming up in the multitude of titles being put out. The variety of material is one of the things I loved about the 70s! Super-heroes, monsters, barbarians, sci fi...something for everyone.

There's a two-page article written by Roy Thomas on "the Man-Gods from Beyond the Stars," the feature story of the first issue of Marvel Preview magazine. Thomas pretty much admits that the concept was to capitalize on the Erich Von Daniken Chariots of the Gods craze. He credits this idea to Stan Lee. I never read this but it seems to me the concept was played out already. Of course, when Kirby returned to Marvel a few years later he would revive it in The Eternals.

The ish closes out with letters, and a photo from FOOMer Patrick Robinson of Thunder Bay, Ontario, standing in his bedroom where he and his brothers painted an enormous, ceiling-spanning portrait of the Green Goblin! They really must have dug the Goblin. The back cover features an odd drawing of Tigra -perhaps by Ed Hannigan? The initials "EJH" are visible. Youngsters will not understand the "Put a Tigra in your tank" phrase -but oldsters like me recall the Exxon (or Esso, depending on where you lived) gas commercials.

FOOM Fridays: FOOM #5

FOOM #5 (Spring 1974)

Karen: Hey kids, ready for some more foomtastic fun? I'm back with a nostalgic look at issue #5, which sports a sensational Rich Buckler/Joe Sinnott Thing cover. This issue we discover that editor Jim Sternako is gone, replaced by Tony Isabella. Isabella was a Marvel mainstay in the 70s; you'd recall him from an assortment of titles, including Champions. Looking at the credits, you'll also notice John Byrne's name. This may have been his earliest work for Marvel.

Since this issue sports a Thing cover, you won't be surprised to find out that the lead-off feature of the issue is an overview of the Thing's career. There's not a lot of substance to it, but there are a few nice quotes from different creators.

Next we get bullpen profiles of Buckler and Steve Gerber, complete with Marie Severin caricatures. Buckler mentions how he wants to be a writer. Gerber held a number of jobs before coming to Marvel -he worked as a used car salesman, and at a radio station and an ad agency. Gerber says he would like to write films. I'm not sure if he ever did, although I do know he got into animation.

We get a contest -pick out the cover for Giant-Size Avengers #1 - and some cartoons before reaching the news section, the Department of Infoomation. This is always my favorite part of these magazines. It's fun to read what was happening -especially when some of the news items never saw the light of day, or changed significantly. First up is a couple of pages on giant-size comics. "Marvel might just come up the winner in the current paper shortage [There was a paper shortage?]...we've finally firmed up our plans to release a full line of 68 page, full color comics." Ah yes, the giant-size books! How I loved them. Fans would be able to get giant-size issues of favorites like Avengers, Conan, Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, Defenders, Dracula, and even Man-Thing (yes, the infamous giant-size Man-Thing), Shang-Chi, and Werewolf by Night. I have to say, when these books had all-new material, they were great. But later on, it seemed like they were mostly crammed with reprints -in some cases, the entire book was a reprint -and they lost some luster for me. Side note: the writer for G-S Dracula is "neo-scripter Chris Claremont" ! Another couple of years and everyone would know his name.

We're on to the Marvel magazines next. Marvel was really expanding in this area: "In addition to our 75c line, we're now preparing five $1 magazines." Man, a whole dollar! These new additions included Monsters of the Movies, which I grabbed as soon as I saw it! It had an article on the TV movie The Night Stalker, one of my favorites back then. Another favorite magazine was Planet of the Apes. For some reason I only had a few of these, but they included adaptations of the films, original comic stories, and articles and photos from the movies.

Marvel Previews was a try-out mag. The first issue featured "Chariots of the Man-Gods" - gee, I wonder if Erich von Daniken knew about that? Savage Sword of Conan would be the fourth title, and the most successful. It's predecessor, Savage Tales, would make the switch to the larger $1 format.

There was plenty of news for the 75c line. For Dracula Lives, we find out that "every writer in the bullpen is trying to top the other guy's Dracula story." A lot of mainstream characters would appear in the horror mags, like Blade, Brother Voodoo, and Morbius. These mags were perfect venues for these horror-based characters, allowing for more mature story-telling.

One mag that I don't think ever saw the light of day was a proposed black and white Godzilla title. The news says that Marvel was closing a deal with Toho Studios but I think all we got was the color comic, not a magazine.

As for the regular comics, there was plenty happening. The titles were reviewed alphabetically this time around, which made more sense. Deathlok would be premiering in Astonishing Tales, not Unknown Worlds as stated in FOOM 4. For Captain America, we're told, "The star-spangled Avenger calls it quits...the Falcon fights alone...and Steve Rogers' brand new super-hero identity...face it, Steve Englehart's gone berserk...get it on the excitement now!"

Comments on Incredible Hulk: "Warlock reborn, a prelude to an exciting new series that will be written and drawn by Jim Starlin...exorcism for a Wendigo...the topper: a Canadian super-hero, the Wolverine!" Little did they know that 'Canadian super-hero' would take over their company!

Spidey and the Torch were still sharing the starring role in Marvel Team-Up. Funny to think that Spidey wasn't always the star! Speaking of Spidey, over in his own title he was dealing with the Jackal and the Punisher - those were fun times! And you know, the Torch even had his own title -although it was all Strange Tales and Golden Age reprints! I know, because I actually bought a few issues.

It's amazing the kind of variety in the books published at that time. Even as late as 1974, Marvel was still publishing War is Hell. The western books were all gone I think, their places taken by the explosion in the horror/monster titles. But that one war book was hanging on. I wonder if it will still be around by the time I get to FOOM #6?

There's a short preview of Deathlok, which really doesn't say much, but boy did I dig that drawing of the cyborg! Excuse my tracing, please. The FOOM fan art gallery had drawings by Ken Steacy and John Byrne and Duffy Vohland. I guess they actually were still fans, although Byrne would be drawing Marvel titles by the next year. Byrne and Vohland also provide the back cover, a shot of Mantis.

Towards the back of the issue is a ballot for the Irving Forbush Awards. I see that I chose Hulk as my favorite comic - which surprises me now, as I almost never re-read my old Hulks. I guess they had more appeal to a 9 or 10 year old! My favorite Marvel star was Spider-Man. Roy Thomas and John Buscema were my picks for writer and artist. Now that's not surprising!

FOOM Fridays: FOOM #4

Karen: I'm back with a look at issue 4 of FOOM magazine, originally published in winter of 1973. This issue features the infamous Doctor Doom, with very dramatic Kirby cover -unfortunately mine has lost the bottom corner, AND it has smoke marks from when we had a house fire. Believe me, if you're planning to have a house fire, you want to put all your comics away in bags first! But on to the contents.

This time the bullpen bio is of editor Jim Steranko, and the accompanying photo looks a lot like Elvis in his later Vegas years! He really toots his own horn here, discussing all of his various accomplishments.

There's a follow-up on the Marvel character contest, with a picture of winner Michael Barreiro and some comments from him, including the fact that Barry Smith is his favorite artist. There's also a list of people who entered the contest, and I'm pleased to say my own name is on it. I have no idea what I sent in, but knowing my brain at that age, it probably had something to do with apes. There are 2 pages of pictures of more entries too. There's an amazing variety to them -some serious, some humorous, with varying degrees of talent. You can tell by looking at some of them that their creator had come up with a whole story for the character. Note artist Doug Hazlewood's very slick 'Deathwatch' character -I love that he drew a logo too!

Next up is a funny article, "Quotations from Chairman Doom". It's as if someone from the future were writing a thesis paper on the monarch of Latveria. After explaining that the doctor was not a villain but misunderstood, it goes on to illustrate this with dozens of quotes from Doom himself. I think my favorite is from Fantastic Four 17: "Actually my terms are modest for one as powerful as I! All I insist upon is a post in the President's cabinet!" Obviously this was a very different Doom.

After some puzzles and limericks, we reach my favorite part: Far-Out Fanfare and Infoomation! So what was going on with Marvel at the end of 1973, you might ask? For one thing, Savage Tales is back. Turns out the sales figures have been good, so the mag has been given another chance. Marvel will also be launching a new mag, Deadly Hands of Kung Fu, in 1974.

The biggest news however, might be the impending price increase. Yep, unfortunately the regular books will be going from 20c to 25c. Outrageous!

Marvel will also put out some 35c titles, but these will be books with more pages. Each will be called "Giant Size". Remember when Doug and I reviewed some of the giant size titles some time back?(If you missed it, you can find it here.) As we said back then, the plan was to have a couple of giant sized titles coming out, with Giant-Size Superstars first, then Giant-Size Chillers. Each title would have a rotating cast of characters spotlighted. Of course, after those first issues, they gave up that idea, and we had Giant-Size Fantastic Four, Giant-Size Spider-Man, Giant-Size Conan, etc.

One little sentence declares that the Unknown Worlds title will soon feature the debut of a character from Doug Moench and Rick Buckler called Cyborg. Obviously that underwent some changes, as we eventually got Deathlok, not Cyborg, in Astonishing Tales.

Unfortunately for all of us readers, we're informed that Jim Starlin had penciled a complete Conan adventure, only to have it stolen when he left it in the hallway of his apartment building for a few minutes! I wonder what ever became of that original art? Sure would love to see it.

The master of the mystic arts, Dr. Strange, will once again receive his own title. Poor Doc. Seems like he's never been able to keep a title of his own for long. Another character like that would be the Sub-Mariner. Anyone care to speculate why?

There's an interesting one page article on a Spider-Man movie made by NYU student Bruce Cardozo. He and his classmates were in the process of making a half-hour, live action Spidey film, based primarily on Amazing Spider-Man 15, with Kraven the Hunter as the villain. There's some photos of Spidey, Peter, and J. Jonah Jameson that look pretty good. Apparently they did finish it, because I've read that it was to be shown at the Comic Book and Science Fiction Convention in Los Angeles in 2005. But another site says Cardozo refuses to put the film online. Has anyone out there seen it?

This issue, like the others, also includes a lot of puzzles and quizzes. I haven't spent much time on these, partly because it's difficult to really present them well, and partly because I filled in the blanks on most of them! But I like this crazy quiz, featuring a villain who is an odd amalgam of about 11 of Marvel's bad guys! It's up to you to figure out what article of clothing belongs to which villain -although the clues down in the bottom left corner give a lot away!

The last thing I'll discuss is the FOOM Forum. Here, faithful FOOM-ites write in and cut loose on any subject they please. There's a short letter by future comics writer Ralph Macchio, who is dismayed about the spotty distribution of comics. Of course, this was years before the age of the direct market. But I can understand where he's coming from. There were times where I might go to 4 or 5 different stores -mostly convenience stores and mom and pop groceries - to find a particular issue. Sometimes I never found it. You had to work hard back then to be a fan!

There's also a very long letter from a Paul Wishinsky, where he dissects what's right and wrong with every Marvel title. He says he buys sixteen titles but considers only two of them to be original concepts. He has harsh words for many titles but particularly for Ghost Rider ("the most ridiculous mag Marvel has ever come up with") and Tomb of Dracula. He feels that many books are ruined by having to appeal to youngsters. The one title he feels overcomes this problem is Hero For Hire. He feels the title breaks Marvel traditions, which he finds refreshing. He sums up his feelings by saying that, "...for the most part they (Marvel) are still in that sixties age, while I have moved on to the seventies." Hey Paul, how you like 'em now?

No back cover this time friends -it got torn off!

FOOM Fridays: FOOM #3

Karen: It's time to take a look inside the pages of FOOM #3, published in Fall 1973. This issue features Spider-Man, and the cover is a clever "infinity" design, with Spidey reading the latest issue of FOOM, which has Spidey reading FOOM, ad infinitum.

Karen: There's more Bullpen Bios, this time featuring John Romita Jr., Gil Kane, and Frank Giacoia. It's funny how business-like these men look compared to today's comics pros, who all look like over-grown kids - then again, I could say that about myself and most of my peers! Times have changed.

Karen: The winner of the Marvel character contest was announced: "Humus Sapiens" by Michael A. Barreiro. Check out the picture (and please ignore my scribbling/coloring)-doesn't he look very Kirby-inspired? I wondered what happened with this, as I certainly never recalled seeing him show up in a Marvel comic. So I went to that source of all information, Wikipedia to discover that the character finally appeared, in 2001, in Thunderbolts 54! Sounds like an extreme case of the Dreaded Deadline Doom to me.

Karen: On to Far Out Fanfare and Infoomation, my personal favorite section of FOOM. Right up front we get an announcement that Marvel has become the best-selling comic company in the country. I know that I've read in interviews with Roy Thomas and others that this was huge for Marvel. Finally no longer number 2, I'm sure it was very gratifying for all of them. One might wonder though, if being number one sometimes lead to them taking fewer chances, creatively, later on? I've always felt that when Marvel was under Jim Shooter -when they were well-established as number one -that the creativity of the books went down. Anyone care to discuss?

Karen: The black and white titles still seem to be struggling; we are told that the monster books are going onto a quarterly schedule, and Savage Tales will be on hold until the sales figures from the previous issue are in. Crazy, however, seems to be doing fine.

Karen: Over in Amazing Spider-Man, our hero will be having his first encounters with the Punisher and the Jackal. "The Punisher is patterned after the one-man, vigilante 'Mafia-buster' books that are currently popular." Little did they know what they were creating, or how it would so dramatically affect comics for years to come!

Karen: Ka-Zar and the Man-Thing would soon get their own titles, and the Thing would star in Marvel Two in One just as Spidey headlined Marvel Team-Up. Sub-Mariner is said to be starting a "year long quest" for an antidote for his poisoned people in issue 68, however, the book would fold with issue 72.

Karen: The title previously announced in issue 2 as "Fu Manchu" has now been retooled and will be called...Master of Kung-Fu! Well, it will actually appear in "Special Marvel Edition", formerly a reprint book, for a few issues. But it was the beginning of Shang-Chi's adventures.

Karen: Lots of news for Jim Starlin's Captain Marvel, including "the unmasking of Death, a new concept in God, Captain Marvel's battle against the universe, and an alien invasion"!! Starlin never did think small!

Karen: The Spider-Man features in this issue include a full index to Amazing Spider-Man, Spectacular Spider-Man (the magazine), and Marvel Team-Up. There's a three page retrospective of Spidey's life, by Bob Cosgrove and Martin Greim. It's nicely done, just funny to think it stops around the time of Gwen's death! But then again, Spidey was only ten years old...

Karen: The back cover has a very nice drawing of the Avengers, which looks to me to be the work of Sal Buscema. For some reason, I drew Spider-Man and the Hulk in the background. I'd swear I've seen this art before, as a pin-up in an issue of Avengers, but I looked through the annuals and several issues and couldn't find it. The closest I came was the image next to it, from Avenger 71. Anyone got any ideas?






















NOTE: In the comments section, artist Tom Lyle noted that his entry had been posted in this issue. I thought it might be fun to take a look at it. I can see the Barry Smith influence!

FOOM Fridays: FOOM #2

Karen: Back to take a look at the second issue of FOOM -Marvel's mid-70s fan club magazine! This issue was from the summer of '73, and featured a Steranko Hulk on the cover. Steranko's version of the Hulk looks less like a monster and more like an oiled-up Venice Beach muscle man.

Karen: The Hulk is the star of this issue, although that really doesn't mean much; there's a ton of other stuff to be found here. One of the big highlights of this issue was the printing of some of the first entries in the Marvel Character Contest. That's right, one lucky Marvelite would get their creation featured in a Marvel comic! Well, that's what they said, anyway. It's fun to look at the drawings that were submitted. There's some real talent, and then there's, well, people with great enthusiasm! Two future pros got their characters published: "Absorba-Man" by Steve Rude, and "Solar Boy" by Trevor Von Eeden. Oh, and how about "The Wolverine" by Andy Olsen? I bet Andy is still stewing over that one.


Karen: Once again, my favorite feature -retrospectively speaking -is "Far Out Fanfare and Infoomation" -the upcoming comics section. We lead off again with the B&W mags, learning about a new character to premiere in Vampire Tales - Satanna! Roy Thomas and Dick Giordano begin their Dracula adaptation in Dracula Lives, which I believe got shelved for a couple of decades before it was finished! It's funny, the comment reads, "Thomas hopes that, in a few years, the chapters can be collected and released in a larger, higher-priced book, possibly a hardback." I guess dreams do come true -if you wait long enough!

Karen: One paragraph discusses how Marvel is entering the British market, and how, because characters are being introduced at different times, this requires some reworking of the reprints. For example, an issue of Hulk featured the Avengers, but they hadn't been published in Britain yet! They never do explain how they fixed that.
Karen: Mention is made that Conan the Barbarian sales have risen, so that it became a "money maker" with issue 8. Little did they know....

Karen: Some cancellations were noted too: Doc Savage, Warlock, Combat Kelly, and Red Wolf were all axed in order to make room for Dead of Night, Uncanny Tales, and Weird Wonder Tales. Sort of a toss up there. I think those three new titles started out as new material and went to reprints -anyone recall?

Karen: I found this bit of news amusing: Steve Englehart and Jim Starlin would be starting a new series called Fu Manchu! It would feature the further adventures of Nayland Smith against Fu Manchu. Oh, and Fu's rebellious son would also appear! How things changed. "This title is intended as Marvel's contribution to the Kung Fu, Iron Fist genre currently sweeping the country."

Karen: We get to see the cover of Sub-Mariner 67, which featured Namor's (then-) new costume (colored courtesy of my younger self). Hard to believe that blue suit is over 30 years old! The first mention of the Avengers-Defenders War is here; "Would you believe Loki and a villain named Dorney are at the bottom of the entire thing?" Who the heck is Dorney??? Uh, Dormammu maybe?

Karen: We are told that Stan Lee is working on the Marvel Origins book and will hopefully have it ready by Christmas. I was surprised to read that Stan wanted to include the 30's and 40's origins of the Sub-Mariner and Human Torch. Also for Christmas, the hour-long show I mentioned in the first FOOM post is said to be progressing nicely...uh huh.

Karen: After the Infoomation, we get a whole page discussing the return of Savage Tales! Nearly three years would pass between the first issue and this second one, although material had been prepared for issue 2 long before, including a beautiful painted cover by John Buscema, reproduced here in black and white. Roy Thomas says that in order to keep some sense of continuity to Conan, he will only be drawn by Buscema, Barry Smith, and Neal Adams. Gil Kane's barbarian hero, Blackmark, will also get some love, and Marie and John Severin will do some King Kull stories. As an aside, I think I only had one or two issues of Savage Tales. I never had a lot of the black and white magazines, probably due to 1) price (75 cents! What a rip-off!) and 2) they were in black and white -I wanted color! But I will keep an eye out for Savage Tales, Dracula Lives, etc, the next time I go to a convention.


Karen: Rounding out this issue is a nice collection of samples from the various artists who had drawn the Hulk over the years. There are numbers written in pen next to each drawing -I seem to recall rating them when I was a wee child! A text article accompanies the art, describing what books the artists' work appeared in. It's fun seeing so many different interpretations of the same character in one place. I favor a more brutish Hulk myself. I like Kirby, and the Buscema brothers, even though Sal's Hulk often seemed like a teddy bear! That Trimpe sample in the top right looks nice too, although I felt that Trimpe varied a lot in quality, depending on his inker. His early stuff seemed best to me. There's also an index of all Incredible Hulk issues to that point -all 165 of them!



Karen: I don't want to forget the very cool Mike Ploog Frankenstein art which graces the back cover -that guy was the Monster Master!