''Marvel Fanfare'' was an

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...

comic book series published by American company Marvel Comics. It was a showcase title featuring a variety of characters from the Marvel universe.

Volume one

''Marvel Fanfare'' featured characters and settings from throughout the

Marvel Universe The Marvel Universe is a fictional shared universe where the stories in most American comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Comics take place. Super-teams such as the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Guardians of ...

, and included stories of varying lengths by a vast array of different creators. The title was published every two months and ran for 60 issues,

cover dated The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unusu ...

from March 1982 to December 1991. It was edited throughout its run by Al Milgrom, who also wrote and drew an illustrated column in most issues, entitled "Editori-Al". ''Marvel Fanfare''s original working title was ''Marvel Universe'', which was later appropriated by Marvel editor-in-chief Jim Shooter for the encyclopedia series '' The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe''. The series began with a

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 ...

/ Angel team-up story by

Chris Claremont Christopher S. Claremont (; born November 25, 1950) is a British-born American comic book writer and novelist, known for his 17-year stint on ''Uncanny X-Men'' from 1975 to 1991, far longer than that of any other writer,Claremont, Chris. ''Marvel ...

and Michael Golden. Other Spider-Man appearances in the title included team-ups with the Scarlet Witch in issue #6 (Jan. 1983) and the

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' ...

in issue #47 (Nov. 1989). Several characters appeared in multiple issues including

Doctor Strange Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as Sorce ...

, Weirdworld, the Warriors Three, the Black Knight, and

Shanna the She-Devil Shanna the She-Devil (Shanna O'Hara, Lady Plunder) is a fictional jungle adventurer superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Carole Seuling and penciller George Tuska, she made her first appearance ...

. Writer Roger McKenzie wrote several stories for ''Marvel Fanfare'' including a two-part

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...

vs. Doctor Octopus tale drawn by Ken Steacy. A

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 ...

backup story in issue #29 (Nov. 1986) featured early work by artist

Norm Breyfogle Norman Keith Breyfogle (; February 27, 1960 – September 24, 2018) was an American artist, best known for his comic book art on DC Comics' Batman franchise from 1987 to 1995. During this time, he co-created the villains Ventriloquist and Ratcat ...

. ''Marvel Fanfare'' was envisioned as a showcase of the comics industry's best talent. Each issue featured 36 pages of material with no advertisements and it was printed on magazine-style slick paper. It was more than twice as expensive as standard comic books ($1.25 in 1982 when most titles were 60 cents and $2.25 in 1991 when most were $1). Editor Milgrom wrote of his experience with the series: Inventory stories which saw publication in ''Marvel Fanfare'' include a comics adaptation of '' The Jungle Book'' in issues #8–11, the

Black Widow Black widow may refer to: Spiders * Black widow spider, a common name for some species of spiders in the genus ''Latrodectus'' American species * ''Latrodectus apicalis'', the Galapagos black widow * ''Latrodectus curacaviensis'', the South Amer ...

serial in #10–13, the Hulk story in #29, and the Silver Surfer story by Steve Englehart and

John Buscema John Buscema (; ; born Giovanni Natale Buscema, December 11, 1927 – January 10, 2002)Social Se ...

in #51.

Stories in Volume 1

Volume two

''Marvel Fanfare'' volume two was published monthly for six issues, dated September 1996 to February 1997. This version of the title was edited by James Felder. Like the first volume, the title featured different creative teams in each issue and starred different characters from around the Marvel universe. However, the talent were mostly newcomers, the paper was cheap and it cost half the price of most other comics (99 cents when most comics cost $1.95). The title features the early work of writer Joe Kelly and penciller Scott Kolins.

Stories in Volume 2

Collected editions

* '' X-Men: In the Savage Land'' collects ''Marvel Fanfare'' #1–4, 96 pages, June 1988, * ''Marvel Fanfare: Strange Tales'' collects ''Marvel Fanfare'' #1–7, 244 pages, April 2008, * '' The Jungle Book'' includes material from ''Marvel Fanfare'' #8–11, 64 pages, April 2007 * ''

: Web of Intrigue'' collects ''Marvel Fanfare'' #10–13, 176 pages, April 2010, * ''Thor: The Warriors Three'' collects Warriors Three stories from ''Marvel Fanfare'' #13 and #34–37, 136 pages, September 2010, * ''

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 ...

: Triumph & Torment'' includes Namor the Sub-Mariner stories from ''Marvel Fanfare'' #16 and #43, 160 pages, 2013, * '' Cloak & Dagger: Crime and Punishment'' includes ''Marvel Fanfare'' #19, 264 pages, June 2012, * '' Weirdworld'' includes ''Marvel Fanfare'' #24–26, 312 pages, April 2015, * '' The Incredible Hulk Visionaries — John Byrne'' includes the Hulk story from ''Marvel Fanfare'' #29, 208 pages, June 2008, * '' Essential Moon Knight'' vol. 3 includes

Moon Knight Moon Knight is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Doug Moench and artist Don Perlin, the character first appeared in ''Werewolf by Night'' #32 (August 1975). The son of a rabb ...

stories from ''Marvel Fanfare'' #30 and 38–39, 528 pages, November 2009, * ''Essential Silver Surfer'' vol. 2 includes ''Marvel Fanfare'' #51, 600 pages, June 2007, * ''Women of Marvel: Celebrating Seven Decades'' includes Hellcat story from ''Marvel Fanfare'' #59, 1,160 pages, January 2011, * ''Uncanny X-Men Omnibus Volume 2'' includes the Savage Land story from ''Marvel Fanfare'' #1–4, 912 pages, April 2014,

References

External links

* * {{Jim Starlin 1982 comics debuts 1991 comics endings 1996 comics debuts 1997 comics endings Comics anthologies Comics by Chris Claremont Comics by Doug Moench Comics by George Pérez Comics by Jim Starlin Comics by John Byrne (comics) Comics by Marv Wolfman Comics by Steve Englehart Defunct American comics Marvel Comics titles