''FOOM'' was
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
' self-produced
fan magazine
A fan magazine is a commercially written and published magazine intended for the amusement of fans of the popular culture subject matter which it covers. It is distinguished from a scholarly, literary or trade magazine on the one hand, by the tar ...
of the mid-1970s, following the canceled ''
Marvelmania Marvelmania International was comic-book publisher Marvel Comics' authorized but independently operated fan club from 1969 to 1971, which absorbed the Merry Marvel Marching Society begun in 1964. It included a six-issue fan magazine, ''Marvelmania ...
'' and preceding ''
Marvel Age
''Marvel Age'' was a promotional comic book-sized magazine from Marvel Comics published from 1983 to 1994. Basically a comic-length edition of the Bullpen Bulletins page, ''Marvel Age'' contained previews of upcoming Marvel comics, as well as in ...
''. Running 22 quarterly issues (February 1973 – Fall 1978), it was initially designed and edited by
comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
writer-artist
Jim Steranko.
''FOOM'', though spelled without periods in both indicia and cover treatments, is an acronym for "Friends of Ol' Marvel".
It was relaunched in September 2017.
[News a rama First Look: Marvel's FOOM Revival & LEGACY Launch Party Plans](_blank)
/ref>
Publication history
Steranko, in his first-issue introduction, wrote that he had "dropped in at the Marvel bullpen to rap with ublisher Stan Lee about the current comic scene" and that Lee told him about plans to start an in-house fan club. EC Comics
Entertaining Comics, more commonly known as EC Comics, was an American publisher of comic books, which specialized in horror fiction, crime fiction, satire, military fiction, dark fantasy, and science fiction from the 1940s through the mid-1950 ...
had had its "EC Fan-Addict" club in the 1950s, and Marvel the Merry Marvel Marching Society
Merry Marvel Marching Society (often referred to by the abbreviation "M.M.M.S.") was a fan club for Marvel Comics started by Marvel editor Stan Lee and/or Marvel publisher Martin Goodman in 1964.
History
Following teaser promotion in Marvel c ...
beginning 1964; after the MMMS had run its course by 1969, Marvel licensed a small company in Culver City, California to produce the fanzine/product catalog ''Marvelmania Marvelmania International was comic-book publisher Marvel Comics' authorized but independently operated fan club from 1969 to 1971, which absorbed the Merry Marvel Marching Society begun in 1964. It included a six-issue fan magazine, ''Marvelmania ...
'', which lasted a year. Steranko, writing that he nostalgically "recalled the days of radio
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...
, with all the clubs and super-premiums that were perpetually offered over the air", volunteered "my services as a designer, writer and comic historian". Ken Bruzenak
Ken Bruzenak (born August 30, 1952) is an American comic book letterer, primarily known for his work on Howard Chaykin’s '' American Flagg!'' Bruzenak's lettering and logowork was integral to the comic's futuristic, trademark-littered ambience. ...
served as associate editor, with Marvel editor-in-chief Roy Thomas as consulting editor and Ed Noonchester, Joel Thingvall, and Gary Brown as staff.
A four-issue subscription cost US$3. An additional dollar bought a club membership I.D. card, six decals, and a poster. The membership kit was also available separately for US$2.50.
The premiere contained a foreword by Lee (on cover = p. 1); an introduction by Steranko (pp. 2/3) announcing a contest to design a superhero or supervillain; short biographies (pp. 4/5) of Lee, Thomas, artists John Buscema and Joe Sinnott
Joseph Leonard Sinnott (; October 16, 1926 June 25, 2020) was an American comic book artist. Working primarily as an inker, Sinnott is best known for his long stint on Marvel Comics' '' Fantastic Four'', from 1965 to 1981 (and briefly in the l ...
, and writer Gerry Conway
Gerard Francis Conway Thomas, Roy. "Roy's Rostrum" ("Bullpen Bulletins") in '' Marvel Super-Heroes'' #43 and other Marvel Comics cover-dated May 1974. (born September 10, 1952) is an American comic book writer, comic book editor, screenwriter, t ...
; a crossword
A crossword is a word puzzle that usually takes the form of a square or a rectangular grid of white- and black-shaded squares. The goal is to fill the white squares with letters, forming words or phrases, by solving clues which lead to the ans ...
puzzle (pp. 6/7); a four-page feature (pp. 8–11) on the superhero team the Fantastic Four, accompanied by a two-page title and credits checklist (pp. 12/13); a word-search game (p. 14); an in-house ad for the record album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records col ...
''The Amazing Spider-Man: A Rockomic!'' (p. 15); a two-page board game
Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well.
Many board games feature a co ...
, "Moving Target" (pp. 16/17); a six-page "Far-Out Fanfare and Infoomation!" section (pp. 18–23) previewing upcoming Marvel comics; a pinup
A pin-up model (known as a pin-up girl for a female and less commonly male pin-up for a male) is a model whose mass-produced pictures see widespread appeal as part of popular culture. Pin-up models were variously glamour models, fashion models ...
(p. 24) reprinting superheroes from the Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He gre ...
-drawn cover of ''Fantastic Four'' #73 (April 1968); a Dr Doom decoder puzzle (p. 25); a one-page "Recommended Reading" page that featured ''The Steranko History of Comics and Steranko's ''Comixscene'' for two-thirds of the page; a page of sketches of superspy Nick Fury (p. 27), on which fans were encouraged to draw disguises; an in-house ad for b&w mag, "Tales of the Zombie" (p. 28); a one-page humor strip (p. 29), "Fantastic Fear", written by Thomas and Len Brown
Leonard Charles Brown (born 1 October 1956)) is a former mayor of Auckland, New Zealand, and former head of the Auckland Council. He won the 2010 Auckland mayoral election on 9 October 2010 and was sworn in as Mayor of Auckland on 1 Novembe ...
and drawn by Gil Kane
Gil Kane (; born Eli Katz ; April 6, 1926 – January 31, 2000) was a Latvian-born American comics artist whose career spanned the 1940s to the 1990s and virtually every major comics company and character.
Kane co-created the modern-day versio ...
and Wally Wood
Wallace Allan Wood (June 17, 1927 – November 2, 1981) was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, widely known for his work on EC Comics's titles such as '' Weird Science'', '' Weird Fantasy'', and ''MAD Magazine'' fr ...
; an in-house ad for T-shirts
A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt), or tee, is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a ''crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shirts are generall ...
(p. 30); puzzle solutions and in-house coupons (p. 31); Back cover (p. 32) mailing address label/pin-up page Similar fare appeared in subsequent issues.
Steranko, who additionally drew the back cover of issue #1 ( Spider-Man), the cover of #2 (the Hulk), and incidental interior art during his tenure, was succeeded as editor by Tony Isabella
Tony Isabella (born December 22, 1951) is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, artist and critic, known as the creator and writer of Marvel Comics' Black Goliath; DC Comics' first major African-American superhero, Black Lightning; and as ...
with issue #5 (Spring 1974). Ed Hannigan
Ed Hannigan (born August 6, 1951) is an American comics artist, writer, and editor for both Marvel Comics and DC Comics.
Career
Ed Hannigan's first credited comics story was published in Marvel Comics' licensed ''Planet of the Apes'' #5 (Feb. ...
was by now credited for production, with Mark Evanier
Mark Stephen Evanier (; born March 2, 1952) is an American comic book and television writer, known for his work on the animated TV series ''Garfield and Friends'' and on the comic book ''Groo the Wanderer''. He is also known for his columns and b ...
, Jim Salicrup
Jim Salicrup (; born May 29, 1957) is an American comic book editor, known for his tenures at Marvel Comics and Topps Comics. At Marvel, where he worked for twenty years, he edited books such as '' The Uncanny X-Men'', ''Fantastic Four'', '' Aven ...
, and Duffy Vohland Duffy may refer to:
People
*Duffy (surname), people with the surname Duffy or Duffey
*Duffy (nickname)
*Duffy (singer) (born 1984), Welsh singer, born Aimee Ann Duffy
Places
*Duffy, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra
*Duffy, Ohio, ...
as contributing editors. Scott Edelman
Scott Edelman (; born 1955) is an American science fiction, fantasy, and horror writer and editor.
Career
In the 1970s, he worked in American comic books, in particular writing horror comics for both Marvel Comics and DC Comics. For Marvel he ...
took over as editor with #8 (Winter 1974), Vohland with #12 (Dec. 1975), Chris Claremont with #13 (March 1976), and finally Dave Kraft with #15 (Sept. 1976). While previous issues had listed the company's overall editor-in-chief on the masthead, ''FOOM'', also with issue #15, was given its own editor-in-chief, beginning with Ralph Macchio
Ralph George Macchio Jr. ( ; born November 4, 1961) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Daniel LaRusso in three ''Karate Kid'' films and in ''Cobra Kai'', a sequel television series. He also played Johnny Cade in '' The Outsiders' ...
, followed two issues later by Salicrup.
The back cover of #7 (Fall 1974) featured one of Ghost Rider
Ghost Rider is the name of multiple antiheroes and superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Marvel had previously used the name for a Western character whose name was later changed to Phantom Rider.
The first s ...
co-creator Mike Ploog
Michael G. Ploog (; born July 13, 1940 or 1942) is an American storyboard and comic book artist, and a visual designer for films.
In comics, Ploog is best known for his work on Marvel Comics' 1970s ''Man-Thing'' and '' The Monster of Frankenst ...
's earliest sketches of that supernatural motorcyclist
Motorcycling is the act of riding a motorcycle. For some people, motorcycling may be the only affordable form of individual motorized transportation, and small- displacement motorcycles are the most common motor vehicle in the most populous c ...
, introduced two years earlier. Issue #11 (Sept. 1975) was a Jack Kirby tribute commemorating the legendary comic-book artist's prodigal return to Marvel after a four-year sojourn at rival DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
.
John Byrne's earliest work at Marvel, a Frankenstein drawing inked by Duffy Vohland, appeared in issue #5's "Fan Art Gallery."["FOOM Fan Art Gallery," ''FOOM'', April 1974, p.24]
It was relaunched in September 2017.
Character contest
Issue #2 (Summer 1973) presented the first of two double-page spreads of fan art submitted for the character-design contest announced in issue #1. Included were the characters "Absorba-Man" by future comics artist Steve Rude
Steve Rude (born December 31, 1956) is an Americans, American comics artist. He is best known as the co-creator of ''Nexus (comics), Nexus''.
Early life
Steve Rude was born on December 31, 1956, in Madison, Wisconsin. He attended the Milwaukee Sch ...
, "Novaton" by future Marvel art director, writer and editor Mariano Nicieza and Borgo by Kazimieras G. Prapuolenis
Kaz (born Kazimieras Gediminas Prapuolenis; July 31, 1959) is an American cartoonist, animator, writer, storyboard artist, and illustrator. In the 1980s, after attending New York City's School of the Visual Arts, he was a frequent contributor t ...
. A prescient character entry was "The Wolverine" by Andy Olsen, although the character he drew and described was dissimilar from the popular Wolverine
The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for " glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscul ...
character that first appeared a year later in the pages of The Incredible Hulk
The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of '' The Incredible Hulk'' (May 1962). In his comic book a ...
#180.
Issue #3 (Fall 1973) included "Heros" by future ''Marvel Age
''Marvel Age'' was a promotional comic book-sized magazine from Marvel Comics published from 1983 to 1994. Basically a comic-length edition of the Bullpen Bulletins page, ''Marvel Age'' contained previews of upcoming Marvel comics, as well as in ...
'' editor Steve Saffel.
The winner, announced that issue, was Michael A. Barreiro of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
, for the supervillain " Humus Sapiens". Several dozen honorable mentions included future ''The X-Files
''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction drama television series created by Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), who ...
'' comic-book writer Stefan Petrucha, listed among those under "Best Presentation", and Doug Hazlewood
Doug Hazlewood (born September 20, 1954) is an American comic book artist, known primarily for inking.
Hazlewood has primarily worked for DC Comics during his career, often partnering with pencilers Tom Grummett and Nicola Scott, and he occupies a ...
submitting a drawing of a character named Deathwatch, which also later became a dissimilar Marvel character.
Despite the contest's announced prize, Humus Sapiens was never used in a Marvel comic at the time. Creator Barreiro later inquired at Marvel about the character, but received no response. Comics columnist Fred Hembeck
Fred Hembeck (born January 30, 1953) is an American cartoonist best known for his parodies of characters from major American comic book publishers. His work has frequently been published by the firms whose characters he spoofs. His characters are ...
in 1979 wrote in the magazine ''Buyer's Guide to Comic Fandom'' about the contest and Humus Sapiens, but nothing came of it. The character eventually appeared 28 years later in '' Thunderbolts'' #54 (Sept. 2001) and #55 (Oct. 2001), as the fictional mutant Humus Sapien. Barreiro grew up to become a carpenter and a freelance artist living in the Carrick neighborhood, and did a small amount of work for Marvel and Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops know ...
.[
]
See also
* ''The Amazing World of DC Comics
''The Amazing World of DC Comics'' was DC Comics' self-produced fan magazine of the mid-1970s. Running 17 issues, the fanzine featured DC characters and their creators, and was exclusively available through mail order. Primarily text articles, with ...
''
* ''Marvel Age
''Marvel Age'' was a promotional comic book-sized magazine from Marvel Comics published from 1983 to 1994. Basically a comic-length edition of the Bullpen Bulletins page, ''Marvel Age'' contained previews of upcoming Marvel comics, as well as in ...
''
* ''Pizzazz
''Pizzazz'' is the fifth album by American singer Patrice Rushen.
Reception
While she was attacked for leaving the jazz genre, Rushen was able to get a good fan base with an R&B/Pop audience. Rushen's profile in the R&B world continued to incre ...
''
References
External links
* throug
"Issue #22"
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:FOOM
Comics fan clubs
Comics zines
Comics magazines published in the United States
Fanzines
House organs
Magazines established in 1973
Magazines disestablished in 1978
Magazines established in 2017
Marvel Comics titles