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Marvelmania International was
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 oft ...
publisher
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 ...
' authorized but independently operated
fan club A fans club is an organized group of fans, generally of a celebrity. Most fans clubs are run by fans who devote considerable time and resources to support them. There are also "official" fan clubs that are run by someone associated with the per ...
from 1969 to 1971, which absorbed 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 (publisher), Martin Goodman in 1964. History Following tea ...
begun in 1964. It included a six-issue
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 targ ...
, ''Marvelmania Magazine''.


History


Creation

Following teaser promotion in Marvel comic books cover-dated November 1964, Marvel Comics introduced the company's in-house fan club, the Merry Marvel Marching Society, in its February 1965 comics, released in the fall of 1964. Generally abbreviated "M.M.M.S", the club offered readers a $1 membership kit that initially included a welcoming letter; a membership card; a one-sided, 33⅓ rpm record, "The Voices of Marvel"; a scratch pad; a sticker; a pinback button; and a certificate. The company offered permutations of this kit, plus additional promotional merchandise such as posters and sweatshirts, through comics cover-dated October 1969.Ballman, J. ''The Full-Color Guide to Marvel Silver Age Collectibles from M.M.M.S. to Marvelmania'', p. 80. (Totalmojo Productions, 2007) In those same October 1969 issues, Marvel announced in its promotional Bullpen Bulletins page that it had contracted with an unnamed "
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
executive" to create a new fan club, and that "the M.M.M.S. will be incorporated into a fabulous parent organization named Marvelmania International". The new company, the announcement continued, would be independent of Marvel. Marvel publisher Martin Goodman had felt that the M.M.M.S. was too expensive to maintain, despite Marvel editor
Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...
arguing that the club was good
public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. P ...
. Goodman's son, Chip Goodman, told Lee an executive from California would pay $10,000 to license every Marvel character and produce related merchandise, although Marvelmania employee Steve Sherman recalled in the early 2000s that he believed only $5,000 was ever paid. The first of three Marvelmania membership kits was advertised in November and December 1969 comics, such as ''
Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first ...
'' #92-93. Marvelmania operated out of
P.O. Box A post office box (commonly abbreviated as P.O. box, or also known as a postal box) is a uniquely addressable lockable box located on the premises of a post office. In some regions, particularly in Africa, there is no door to door delivery ...
718,
Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most d ...
90230. According to a biography in ''Marvelmania'' #1 (April 1970), company founder Don Wallace was born in
Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
, on July 27, 1940, with twin brother Ron. They and an older sister, Jerrie, grew up there and in
Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In ...
, and
St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...
, before the family settled in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
,
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
. Wallace spent three years in the
U.S. Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary warfare, exped ...
, where his service included
judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...
instruction at
Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton is the major West Coast base of the United States Marine Corps and is one of the largest Marine Corps bases in the United States. It is on the Southern California coast in San Diego County and is bordered by Oc ...
in California. Working as "manufacturer's representative in a clothing business", he attended college at night and later entered law school. During this time he worked for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Juvenile Division, Vice Squad. He went on to form a company manufacturing "plastic advertising specialties" and another producing "three-dimensional photographs" before founding Marvelmania International. At the time of the biography, he was married to Jana Wallace and had a nine-month daughter, Desiree.


First membership kit

The first Marvelmania International membership kits included eight items for $1.75 plus 25¢ shipping: * Membership card * Two-foot × three-foot
Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...
poster ("Cap Goes Wild!"), adapted from the cover of ''Captain America'' #106 (Oct. 1968) * One of four different 12-inch × decal sheets, randomly chosen * Six-inch (152 mm) high
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 (comic book), The Incredible Hulk' ...
decal (advertised as eight-inch) * 16-page merchandise catalog with an original Jack Kirby-drawn cover * Return envelope with image of
Doctor Doom Doctor Victor Von Doom is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, and first appeared in ''The Fantastic Four'' #5 in July 1962. The monarch of the fi ...
* "Mad Money" 42-cent coupon with image of
Doctor Doom Doctor Victor Von Doom is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, and first appeared in ''The Fantastic Four'' #5 in July 1962. The monarch of the fi ...
, and either * ''Marvelmania Magazine'' #1 test issue (Oct. 1969), mailed with first 5,000 kits, or * ''Marvelmania'' newsletter, a.k.a. ''Marvelmania'' flyer ''Marvelmania Magazine'' #1 listed Don Wallace as publisher and
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 bl ...
as editor, with articles by Evanier,
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 ...
, Bruce Schweiger and Ed Noonchester. The black-and-white front cover featured Captain America,
penciled A penciller (or penciler) is an artist who works on the creation of comic books, graphic novels, and similar visual art forms, with a focus on the initial pencil illustrations, usually in collaboration with other artists, who provide inks, colors ...
and inked by Jack Kirby. The back cover featured
Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...
penciled and inked by
Jim Steranko James F. Steranko (; born November 5, 1938) is an American graphic artist, comic book writer/artist, comics historian, magician, publisher and film production illustrator. His most famous comic book work was with the 1960s superspy feature " ...
.


''Marvelmania Magazine''

A six-issue
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 targ ...
, titled ''Marvelmania Magazine'' on its covers and ''Marvelmania Monthly Magazine'' in its copyright indicia, followed the test issue and newsletter. The first issue was dated April 1970 in its indicia; the last issue, undated, was released in early 1971 and carried a 1970 copyright.Ballman, p. 88 Additionally, Marvelmania published a variant issue #4 with a blue-tinted cover and some different articles. A newsletter, ''Marvelmania Messenger'', released between issues #1 and #2. The magazine was copyrighted by Dimensional Industries, Inc., with issues #2-6 specifying that Marvelmania International was "a division of" that corporation. As with the test magazine, Don Wallace is listed as publisher, and Mark Evanier as editor through issue #3. Keyword search: "Marvelmania" The fourth issue was released in two variant printings following Evanier's departure with Bruce Schweiger and Jonathan Yost listed as "Co-editors". Issues #5-6 lists Schweiger, Yost and Gary Lowenthal as "Editors". Evanier wrote in 2002, "The fellow who operated Marvelmania was not the most honest guy in the world. I worked there a while and quit when the full magnitude of his duplicity became apparent. Many of us were either never paid, or paid way less than we were owed". The black-and-white covers' subjects were: * #1 — Black Bolt: signed, 1970 Jack Kirby pencil art (April 1970) * #2 —
Conan the Barbarian Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero who originated in pulp magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, films (including '' Conan the Barbarian'' and '' Conan the Destroyer'') ...
: Barry Smith pencil art, cover of ''Conan the Barbarian'' #1 (Oct. 1970) * #3 — Starhawk: Dan Adkins art; signed * #4 — Sub-Mariner: unspecified artist pencil art * #5 —
Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...
: Jack Kirby pencil art * #6 —
Neal Adams Neal Adams (June 15, 1941 – April 28, 2022) was an American comic book artist. He was the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates, and was a creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and recognition for Supe ...
pencil art; signed


Later membership kits

Two membership kits followed the initial offering. Membership kit two was identical to the first but with the "Cap Goes Wild!" poster replaced by one of eight color Marvelmania posters (see below), randomly chosen, and a copy of ''Marvelmania Monthly Magazine'' #1 (April 1970).Ballman, p. 87 The third and final membership kit contained a different membership card, a membership certificate, ''Marvelmania Magazine'' #3, ''Marvelmania Catalog'' #2, and six × 11-inch, black-and-white "Marvel Art Masterpieces" pinups.


Posters

In 1969, Marvelmania produced 11 two-foot × three-foot posters, all but one in color: *
Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...
("Cap Goes Wild!"), adapted from the cover of ''Captain America'' #106 (Oct. 1968) *
Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred groves ...
, Captain America and Spider-Man ("Be a Super-Hero! Give Toys for Tots") public-service promotion for the
U.S. Marine Corps Reserve The Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES or MFR), also known as the United States Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) and the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve, is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. It is the largest command, by assigned pe ...
" Toys for Tots" program, penciled and inked by Jack Kirby * Spider-Man by Jack Kirby, replaced by * Spider-Man by
John Romita Sr. John V. Romita (; born January 24, 1930) is an American comic book artist best known for his work on Marvel Comics' ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' and for co-creating characters including the Punisher and Wolverine (character), Wolverine. He was indu ...
*
Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first ...
by Jack Kirby * Black Knight *
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 (comic book), The Incredible Hulk' ...
by Herb Trimpe, based on a Jack Kirby design * Captain America by
Jim Steranko James F. Steranko (; born November 5, 1938) is an American graphic artist, comic book writer/artist, comics historian, magician, publisher and film production illustrator. His most famous comic book work was with the 1960s superspy feature " ...
*
Galactus Galactus () is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Formerly a mortal man, Galactus is a cosmic entity who consumes planets to sustain his life force, and serves a functional role in the upkeep of ...
and the Silver Surfer by Jack Kirby * Thor by Jack Kirby *
Doctor Doom Doctor Victor Von Doom is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, and first appeared in ''The Fantastic Four'' #5 in July 1962. The monarch of the fi ...
by Jack Kirby Regarding the art's provenance, ''Marvelmania Magazine'' editor and comics historian Mark Evanier wrote in 2002,


Other merchandise

Additional Marvelmania merchandise included eight pinback buttons, depicting Captain America, Doctor Doom, the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, the Silver Surfer, Spider-Man, and the Sub-Mariner, all drawn by Jack Kirby; a 12-page "Marvelmania Comics Artist Inking And Coloring Kit" of black-and-white or blue-and-white preexisting images from Marvel Comics; a 12-page "Jack Kirby Portfolio"; and a seven-artist "Self-Portrait Kit" featuring 8½-inch × card-stock self-portraits, plus signature characters, by
John Buscema John Buscema (; ; born Giovanni Natale Buscema, December 11, 1927 – January 10, 2002)Social Se ...
,
Gene Colan Eugene Jules Colan (; September 1, 1926 – June 23, 2011)Eugene Colan
at the Social Security Death Index via ...
, Jack Kirby, John Romita Sr., Marie Severin, Jim Steranko, and Herb Trimpe, with a biography on the reverse of each; a 29-page Spider-Man portfolio; a 27-page
Daredevil Daredevil may refer to: * A stunt performer Arts and media Comics * Daredevil (Lev Gleason Publications), a fictional 1940s superhero popularized by writer-artist Charles Biro * Daredevil (Marvel Comics character), a Marvel comic book superher ...
portfolio; a 12-photograph "Bullpen Photo Portfolio"; two stationery kits; and six small, silver-colored plastic figurines called "Super-Hero Models" that were recast from the 1967 " Marx Super-Heroes" plastic figurines.


Demise

Evanier wrote in 2003 that he discovered Marvelmania "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. But a lot of kids were shamelessly ripped-off and when it became apparent that this was happening, I quit, as did my friend Steve Sherman, who was also working there. A few months later, the guy who owned and operated the company upped and vanished to avoid a legion of creditors, and has not been seen since". Evanier further recalled to historian Marc Flores, who writes under the
pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...
Ronin Ro, that after suspecting business problems, he arrived at the tiny Marvelmania office one day to see original Jack Kirby art, loaned to Marvelmania for reproduction, being given to local comics fans in exchange for mail-room duties. Ro writes, The " Bullpen Bulletins" page in Marvel comics cover-dated December 1971 contained a "Special Notice" reading, "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".''
Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first ...
'' #117 (Dec. 1971) and other Marvel Comics titles that month
The in-house Marvel fanzine ''
FOOM ''FOOM'' was Marvel Comics' self-produced fan magazine of the mid-1970s, following the canceled ''Marvelmania'' and preceding ''Marvel Age''. Running 22 quarterly issues (February 1973 – Fall 1978), it was initially designed and edited by comic ...
'' followed from late 1972 to mid-1978.


References


External links

*{{cite web, url=http://www.teako170.com/mmms.html , title=Merry Marvel Marching Society, publisher=Third Millennium Entertainment (fan site), first=Terrence H., last=Brady, date=n.d., archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719083035/http://www.teako170.com/mmms.html , archivedate=July 19, 2011, url-status=live Publications established in 1969 Magazines disestablished in 1971 Marvel Comics titles Comics zines Defunct magazines published in the United States