Featuring an exclusive chat with Editori-Al, AL MILGROM!

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Volume 1,
Number 96
June 2017

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Michael Eury

PUBLISHER Comics’ Bronze Age and Beyond!

John Morrow

DESIGNER
Rich Fowlks TM

COVER ARTIST
Sandy Plunkett
(Originally the back cover
of Marvel Fanfare #58,
Aug. 1991. Original art
scan courtesy of Heritage
Comics Auctions.)

COVER COLORIST
Glenn Whitmore

COVER DESIGNER
Michael Kronenberg BACK SEAT DRIVER: Editorial by Michael Eury . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
PROOFREADER John Kirk INTERVIEW: Marvel Fanfare’s Editori-Al, Al Milgrom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Rob Smentek James Heath Lantz
Rick Leonardi
SPECIAL THANKS Ralph Macchio INTERVIEW: Chris Claremont’s Marvel Fanfare Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Arthur Adams Andy Mangels
Roger Ash Michael Mantlo FLASHBACK: The Doctor (Strange) Is/Was In . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Terry Austin Brian Martin
Chris Brennaman Franck Martini FLASHBACK: The Black Widow Stings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Norm Breyfogle Marvel Comics
Pat Broderick David Mazzucchelli
Marc Buxton Roger McKenzie INTERVIEW: Roger McKenzie’s Marvel Fanfare Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
John Byrne Doug Moench
Shaun Clancy Brian K. Morris BEYOND CAPES: The Jungle Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Chris Claremont Ann Nocenti
ComicVine Luigi Novi BEYOND CAPES: Sky-Wolf: A Love Letter to Blackhawk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Daniel DeAngelo Sandy Plunkett
Steve Englehart P. Craig Russell ONE-HIT WONDERS: Captain America in “Home Fires!” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Mike Friedrich Tony Salmons
Stephan Friedt Andy Smith
Russ Garwood Ken Steacy INTERVIEW: Ken Steacy’s Marvel Fanfare Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Dave Gibbons Roger Stern
Peter B. Gillis Dan Tandarich FLASHBACK: Fanfare for Bill Mantlo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Michael Golden Steven Thompson
Grand Comics John Trumbull ONE-HIT WONDERS: John Byrne’s All-Splash-Page Hulk Issue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Database Alan Weiss
Steven Grant Mark Wheatley GREATEST STORIES NEVER TOLD: Norm Breyfogle’s Batman/Captain America Makeover . . 51
Robert Greenberger Steven Wilber
Craig Hamilton Marv Wolfman
Heritage Comics Dwight Jon FLASHBACK: The Adventures of the Warriors Three . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Auctions Zimmerman
Douglas R. Kelly BEYOND CAPES: WeirdWorld . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Susan Flaxman VERY SPECIAL THANKS
Kennedy Allen Milgrom PINUP: Marvel Fanfare pinup in Original Art Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

If you’re viewing a Digital ONE-HIT WONDERS: Fallen Angels and Stormy Weather . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Edition of this publication,
ONE-HIT WONDERS: Spotlight on the She-Hulk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
PLEASE READ THIS:
This is copyrighted material, NOT intended ONE-HIT WONDERS: The Startling Saga of the (Alternate Reality) Silver Surfer . . . . . 69
for downloading anywhere except our
website or Apps. If you downloaded it from INTERVIEW: Steven Grant’s Black Knight Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
another website or torrent, go ahead and
read it, and if you decide to keep it, DO
THE RIGHT THING and buy a legal down- BEYOND CAPES: Shanna the She-Devil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
load, or a printed copy. Otherwise, DELETE
IT FROM YOUR DEVICE and DO NOT BACK TALK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
SHARE IT WITH FRIENDS OR POST IT
ANYWHERE. If you enjoy our publications
enough to download them, please pay for BACK ISSUE™ is published 8 times a year by TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh,
them so we can keep producing ones like NC 27614. Michael Eury, Editor-in-Chief. John Morrow, Publisher. Editorial Office: BACK ISSUE, c/o Michael Eury,
this. Our digital editions should ONLY be Editor-in-Chief, 118 Edgewood Avenue NE, Concord, NC 28025. Email: euryman@[Link]. Eight-issue
downloaded within our Apps and at subscriptions: $73 Economy US, $88 Expedited US, $116 International. Please send subscription orders and
[Link] funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial office. Cover art by Sandy Plunkett. The Vision and the Scarlet
Witch TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. All characters are © their respective companies.
All material © their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © 2017 Michael Eury and TwoMorrows
Publishing. ISSN 1932-6904. Printed in China. FIRST PRINTING.

Marvel Fanfare Issue • BACK ISSUE • 1

 by Michael Eury
This issue we devote our entire contents
(save the “Back Talk” lettercol) to a
single series: Marvel Fanfare. Can you
blame us? For 60 issues beginning
with a March 1982 cover-dated first
issue and spanning nearly a decade,
Marvel Fanfare presented some of
the industry’s best talent and up-and-
coming newbies on short stories
starring many of Marvel’s mightiest…
and on a handful of occasions, Fanfare
featured non-traditional material
you normally wouldn’t find in a
Marvel comic.

Michael Golden art from Marvel Fanfare #1’s cover graced this promo poster for the series. Poster courtesy of Russ Garwood. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.
This bimonthly anthology was
something special, as evidenced by
its upscale production values and
crisp, white paper stock, which were
miles above the standard newsprint
comics of the day. Through its pages
paraded A-listers, many of them
Marvel stalwarts and fan-favorites,
as well as artists you might find in
the independents. From venerated
headliners like Spider-Man to under-
rated minor leaguers like the Black
Knight to unexpected newcomers
like Sky-Wolf, Marvel Fanfare hosted
an ever-changing lineup. Pinups and
art galleries were staples, allowing
readers to ogle the craftsmanship of
their favorite illustrators and discover
the work of artists they had not
previously encountered.
There was one constant, however,
in the phantasmagoria found on the
pages of Marvel Fanfare: its editor,
Allen Milgrom, better known to most
of you as Al Milgrom, and known
to Fanfare readers as Editori-Al.
His recollections of the series are
captured in the new, exclusive
interview following.
Complementing our chat with
Editori-Al is a selection of interviews
and articles exploring many of the
individual issues and story arcs
comprising Marvel Fanfare’s 60 issues,
with numerous writers and artists
sharing their perspectives on their
stories. Not every creator who
produced Marvel Fanfare stories is
included, but overall in the pages
that follow you’ll gain a deeper
appreciation for one of the most
inventive series of the Bronze Age.

2 • BACK ISSUE • Marvel Fanfare Issue

 AL MILGROM: You’re doing an article on Marvel Fanfare?
SHAUN CLANCY: Yes… BACK ISSUE is doing an issue
on the series. I noticed you were involved in Marvel
Fanfare at the beginning, but I’m not sure if you were
there for the end.
MILGROM: The original run of the series ran 60 issues,
and I was the editor on all 60. In fact, the idea for the
book was mine.
CLANCY: How did the idea come about? The first issue
was a Spider-Man and Angel of the X-Men team-up.
MILGROM: Right. Michael Golden worked on that,
and it was originally slated for a Marvel Team-Up issue
that I was in the process of editing. When we decided
to do Fanfare, I co-opted it for that book.
The way the title came about was… [Marvel editor-
in-chief] Jim Shooter had explained to me at one time
or another that we didn’t actually make money on our
by S h a u n C l a n c y advertising—which sounds counterintuitive, I know—but it
tember 9, 2016 wasn’t so much that we made profits on the advertising,
interview conducted Sep
but we did get paid for them, and we didn’t have to pay
any editorial costs, writing, penciling, inking, lettering,
or coloring for those pages. Plus another thing that made
the ads cheap to produce in the regular books was that
they could print the ad pages in the same spot usually
in the folios of the pages of the books in all the Marvel
titles that they appeared in all at once.
Although it wasn’t profitable, per se, it did cut down
the costs of producing the comics. That stayed with me
for a couple of years, as I don’t remember when Jim first
brought that up, but I always thought in the back of my
mind, “Why run ads if they’re not profitable?” I guess it
depends on your definition or the semantics, because if
you’re spending less money and making money on the
sales of the comics then in some ways it makes it more
profitable. Most commercial magazines would make the
majority of their profits from the advertising. Not so much
from the cover price of the magazines to subscribers or
from people who buy them at the newsstands. Subscribers
would always get a deep discount off the newsstand’s
price, and that was partly due to the publisher wanting
their circulation numbers to be as high as possible so that
they could charge their advertisers more. Newspapers
worked that way, too.
The bottom line is that I said to myself, “If these aren’t
profitable, then why don’t we do a comic book that has
no ads? The readers don’t like the ads, so why don’t we
do a book where the cover price is high enough that if
it sells well, then it would be profitable based strictly on
the size of the circulation and we could do stuff that
would be fan-specific.” Stuff that we thought the fans
would really like and buy it in droves but priced higher
than the newsstand stuff. If they liked it enough and
were willing to pay the extra money, then we could do
it on better paper stock instead of on the cheap, crappy
newsprint that comics had been traditionally printed on.
This would be a win-win. We could produce a high-quality
book, charge more for it, the fans would get high-quality
material, pay more for it, and get 32 pages of sheer
enjoyment, hopefully… and Marvel would make profits
hopefully, which, of course, was the goal.
Shooter took the idea to whomever he took it to and
said, “One of the editors has this idea for a different

Editori-Al
Al Milgrom’s self-caricature, as reimagined by
artist Ken Steacy for the cover corner boxes
of Marvel Fanfare #22 and 23. Special thanks
to Ken for the scan.

Marvel Fanfare Issue • BACK ISSUE • 3

 title. How many would it have to sell in order to be CLANCY: That’s correct.
Golden Avenger profitable? What kind of cover price would we need MILGROM: I only remember that because Paul’s super-
to charge without gouging people but at the same talented and I liked his stuff. He sent in samples and
Original art from the time making it a profitable venture?” And they said, someone shuffled them over to me and said, “Here.
Iron Man back-up “A regular 32-page comic book plus covers would need Some guy’s sending in samples and they look okay.”
to be $1.25.” This was around 1982, and I don’t recall So I looked at them and his drawing was very good but
from Marvel Fanfare what the price of a regular comic book was at the time… he was an animation guy—I think a storyboard guy, so
#4 (Sept. 1982), but I do know it wasn’t that high. he drew really well. I contacted him and told him I liked
CLANCY: I think it was 50 cents. his samples but they were mostly just drawings that were
courtesy of Heritage MILGROM: I would have guessed 60 or 75 cents. more like pinups or single-figure drawings. The stuff
Comics Auctions [Editor’s note: The average price of comic books with a looked good but I didn’t have any sense if he could tell
March 1982 cover date was 60 cents.] a story or if he could draw continuity. I told him I’d like
([Link]). Anyways, they gave me the go-ahead, and suddenly to get him to do a few sample pages and he said, “Look.
Signed by its penciler, I had to produce, so I co-opted that Michael Golden I’m a professional, so instead of that why not send me
and Chris Claremont Marvel Team-Up story. Golden a script and I’ll do the story and if it’s acceptable then
Michael Golden. Story was already a fan-favorite at the time and the trick you can publish it?” I don’t remember if he did the whole
by David Winn and was… the story was never completed. I think he did story or just a few pages initially, but the stuff came
the first two issues and then we had to find other in and it looked fine. But I probably gave him a couple
David Michelinie, people to do the rest of the storyline, which we did. of tips, hints, or a little instruction about storytelling
Dave Cockrum [Marvel Fanfare #3] and Paul Smith techniques, because although storyboarding is similar,
inks by Dan Green.
[issue #4] finished it. Paul’s first comic-book work was it’s not exactly the same as comics. Apparently I may
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. in issue #1. It was a Daredevil back-up story…? have offended him… [laughs]
I’m really very mild when I give people a critique of
their portfolio. I’m usually very reasonable about it. I never
say, “Oh, my God, this sucks! You need to go home and
learn how to cook hamburgers. Don’t ever darken our
doorway again.” There are guys who do that. Neal Adams
and Larry Hama used to be very harsh with these guys.
Larry’s attitude was, “Look. If they can’t take the criticism,
then they shouldn’t be trying to get into this business
because it’s not easy.” I would tell Larry, “I know, Larry,
but you don’t have to crush their spirits.”
So I told Paul some stuff and he listened and would
say, “I get it. I know what you’re saying.” I would tell
him he didn’t even need to change anything in this
instance, but just be aware of it in the future. I wasn’t
looking to bust his chops.
About a year later he was getting regular work other
than from me, and he came into the office visiting from
the West Coast and said, “I sure miss you busting my
balls over this stuff.” And I said, “Huh?!” Believe me, I did
nothing that would remotely resemble ball-busting.
I just gave him some advice that I thought was worthwhile
to give, but he apparently thought every little suggestion
was a sting. He did say that I gave good advice and that
he really missed that. I told him that he probably took
what I suggested to heart and that there probably
was no need for anyone else to give him any more grief,
so it’s not that the other editors were going easy on him.
I told him that he was good, which he appreciated.
So anyways, I’m pretty sure that Daredevil story was his
first published comic-book work.
CLANCY: Roger McKenzie wrote it.
MILGROM: Right, and Terry Austin inked it. Terry was
my go-to guy to work on someone who hadn’t really
been inked before. Everyone loved Terry’s work. He was
one of those guys who had such a strong style that he
would do a nice, solid, detailed job and make the stuff
look great pretty much no matter who penciled it.
I think Terry was the first person to ink over Kevin
Nowlan. Kevin had a very nice, detailed style, kinda like
the Wally Wood/Frazetta-looking style. He had originally
gotten ahold of Terry and sent him samples. Terry showed
them to me and I liked the samples and ended up giving
Kevin an issue of Dr. Strange [#57], with Terry inking it.
He then started inking his own stuff, but he didn’t do a
lot of work. He actually was working for a sign company.
One of the first samples I saw of his work was a Spider-
Man story that was done in thumbnails, but in a very
detailed way. They were so good, in fact, that I wanted
to get him to tighten them up even in the small size,

4 • BACK ISSUE • Marvel Fanfare Issue

which he probably did on typing paper, and told him I’d publish it Moonlighting
because it was just that good. I really liked his stuff and I pretty much Editori-Al drew this swingin’ pinup of Black Widow that
guaranteed I could give him as much work as he could handle, which
was not a lot of work because he wasn’t fast. In fact, that issue of appeared on the back cover of MF #9 to promote the
Dr. Strange was bimonthly, and I think I gave him that plot to do and
character’s appearance in the following issue.
I remember reading an interview somewhere where he said, “I got this
Dr. Strange story that was my first job and Al Milgrom kept calling TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.
me up and hounding me for the job and it was terrible,” acting like I
was some sort of evil taskmaster.
But I gave the job to him with when Shooter told me we had
several months lead-in time the go-ahead for Fanfare and that
and it was bimonthly anyways we had to start getting the issues
so he probably had at least two out. I probably pulled that Michael
months to draw it, and I’m Golden story out to show to
guessing I gave it to him with Shooter, which he liked. I then
more lead time than that and asked Golden if he’d be able to
probably closer to four months, do the other two parts and he
and here he was bitching I was said no. So I thought since it had
being unnecessarily cruel to the X-Men involved, then why
get him to turn in the damn not get Dave Cockrum who was
thing [both laugh]. In my mind the artist when the new X-Men
I was giving him all the time came out? Paul Smith was just a
in the world, but in his mind I lucky late discovery that did a
was pressuring him with a nice job in Fanfare #1, so I put
ridiculously tight deadline. All in him to work on Fanfare #4.
the perception. I would then start to exper-
CLANCY: The title for the series, iment a little. I would try new
Marvel Fanfare—how’d that artists I stumbled onto or
come about? possibly team up pencilers and
MILGROM: I tend to have a punny inkers that would make it as
sense of humor and I come by it interesting as possible. Because
honestly. I worked for Murphy we had the good paper stock
Anderson, who was an inveterate and were charging the public
punster. He’d get this kind of a premium price, I convinced
goofy smile on his face over them to let us do more ornate
some bad joke… there was this coloring, which allowed us to
old joke about Tarzan and the also get some air-brushing, but
punchline was, “Tarzan stripes nothing too elaborate like they
forever.” Like “Stars and stripes do today… but this was before
forever,” but had to do with computer coloring.
Tarzan painting the stripes on There was at least one issue
the leopards, tigers, and zebras that Murphy Anderson and
in the jungle or something like company did the color separations
that. My good friend Jack Abel on. He had started a company—
was also a big punster. and remember, Murphy was
So I said it’s gonna be for kind of my mentor my first year
the fans and it’s gonna be fare in the business and I inked back-
for the fans, the kind of stuff grounds for him—he had started
that the fans will go for, and a company that did color seps,
that’s how I came up with he and his son. They hired a
“Marvel Fan Fare.” few more people and used the
This isn’t well known, but old-fashioned Rubylith approach
the logo was actually designed where you would have each
by Ed Hannigan. He submitted page with Rubylith page cut-outs.
one or two ideas and one had an ornate design with scrolls and I’m not up on the technique, but there were these translucent red
trumpets because a fanfare was played by trumpets, which I thought sheets and you would cut them out to the shapes, and I don’t know
might be a little over the top. Ed was a good cover designer and if you had to do a Rubylith for every color grade… I’m not sure how
obviously had some logo design talent. that worked. Instead of using coloring brushes you would use these
CLANCY: He also did coloring on some titles, too. sheets that had adhesive backing and cut them out and cover the
MILGROM: I know he would suggest colors for some of the covers he area where the color was supposed to go. There’d be a sheet for red,
did, and did do some coloring on a few of his own covers, which were blue, and yellow, each of the primary colors, and then different degrees
good. I remember on at least one cover of the Peter Parker title where of those colors. They also probably had the capacity to do gray tones,
he did full “painted” colors where Spidey’s under water, and I think also. I think that on the first job [Murphy] did, I requested a lot of
Doc Ock was involved. Ed’s a very talented guy. changes which he said he didn’t think he’d make a profit with all the
So, back to the Marvel Fanfare series. I got the go-ahead to put issues change requests, which I understood, and toned that one issue down
together. Fans who love to be critical would start to say that we were a bit but decided not to use them again.
just taking a bunch of inventory junk and throwing it in a magazine So we had elaborate colors, and I tried to get good writers. I did
and calling it “Fanfare.” That wasn’t quite the truth, but remember honestly snag inventory stories if I thought they were worthy of the
that initial Fanfare story was originally designated for Marvel Team-Up title, but I’m pretty sure that the vast majority of stuff that went into
and not exactly inventory, just a long time in the making. I think I was the book was material that I commissioned for the book. At the time,
having trouble getting Golden to do the rest of the story and finally it was early on and they weren’t paying royalties yet on the sales,

Marvel Fanfare Issue • BACK ISSUE • 5

 you want to be an inker? No one wants to be an inker.
Inkers are guys who want to be pencilers and for
whatever reason they’re not quite good enough or not
fast enough or not quite dynamic enough… there’s
drawbacks. There’s things that keep them from being
a successful penciler. I don’t think anyone starts out
wanting to be an inker.” Certainly I didn’t. I wanted to
pencil ultimately, and I like inking and enjoy it. It’s one
of the few things you can do artistically to collaborate
with another artist. I like trying to come up with the
best approach to inking different pencilers and I like
putting different pencilers with different inkers where
I think they’d be a good match. Most of the time it
didn’t work, but a few times it did.
Getting back to Mike, he got a little bit of inking
work, but his inking wasn’t great. It was okay. I think
the first thing I saw was a Don Perlin [Defenders] job
and I said to Mike, “Your inks look much better on your
pencils and your pencils are very good, so why are you
trying to be an inker?” He said he didn’t know if he
could do penciling and that he thought penciling was
hard. I asked him to draw something for me and if he
wanted to, he could ink it as well. Then he said he
didn’t really like to draw superheroes, which I had a
laugh over. This is what Marvel did—superheroes. But
I asked him if there was any character he wanted to
draw? He said he liked Sub-Mariner and thought he
was pretty cool. I said okay and asked if there was
anything particular he’d like to have in the story that
he’d like to draw and he said, “Well, I like drawing
animals.” [both laugh] Here’s a character that’s in the
ocean all the time and he wanted to draw in animals.
So I then called Bill Mantlo, who was one of my go-to
guys because Bill was real cooperative, always eager and
always happy to do stuff, so I told him I had a new guy
here and that he had a lot of talent. He likes Sub-Mariner
but he also says he wants to draw animals. Can you
come up with some story that has Sub-Mariner and
animals in it? Bill wrote this really nice little story, which
was a back-up story for Fanfare, where Sub-Mariner is
swimming around the ocean and there’s a ship that has
these beautiful Arabian stallions on board and he admires
their great beauty [in Marvel Fanfare #16, Sept. 1984].
Somehow, there’s a big storm—maybe Neptune causes
it… Mike also liked the supernatural elements—the ship
is wrecked and sinking with all the horses struggling in
the water and are going to drown, so Sub-Mariner prays
to Neptune or maybe it was Poseidon, I don’t remember
which one [it was Neptune—ed.], and he says, “Please,
oh, great Neptune, can you spare these lovely creatures?
A Flair for Fans so I convinced them that if we were gonna make Can you save them for me?” Neptune changes them
(top) Lettercol money on the sale of the book then I needed to give into sea horses. It was a sweet little cool story and I don’t
talent some incentive to want to work on this book. think Sub-Mariner saved any of the humans [both laugh],
header for MF’s At the time we came up with a formula that we would but the horses were transformed and saved.
pay everyone involved rate and a half of what they So Mike turned in the pencils on this story and I asked
“Marvel Fan Flair” would normally get. That made it quite a good deal him if he wanted to ink it. He said, “No, I’d feel like I’d
readers’ forum. for the freelancers, which meant I could pick some of be repeating myself.” I said okay and then thought,
the best guys to work on the title because they were “Who’d be a good match for him?” I thought Craig
(bottom) Milgrom’s gonna get more money for doing it. That went well, Russell might be a good match for this job and so I called
“Editori-Al” from but at some point the bean counters looked at it and him and he said sure. They actually did another Sub-Mariner
said, “We can understand paying more for the writing. job together that had something to do with a female
issue #15 (July 1984). We can understand paying more for the art and the pirate. To this day I get people coming up to me telling
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. coloring, but why the lettering? The lettering’s not me how much they liked the sea horse story. There were
any different or any better and not a big draw, so why some Bill Mantlo detractors who thought Bill was just
are we paying more for the lettering?” So they stopped a hack because of Bill also doing licensed characters.
paying rate-and-a-half for lettering. At the time there was an anti-licensing fan base who
So I got to try new things and I even got Mike Mignola thought Marvel was selling out because they were doing
to pencil an issue. Mike used to come in with samples all this licensed stuff. We were doing a ton of licensed
all the time and they were really good. He would draw stuff during that time period.
stuff and ink it, but for some reason, and I don’t know CLANCY: Wasn’t Bill Mantlo involved in a hit-and-run
why, he wanted to be an inker. I asked him, “Why do accident?

6 • BACK ISSUE • Marvel Fanfare Issue

MILGROM: Yes. I didn’t realize this, as I thought he CLANCY: You would also make fun of some of the
was roller-skating or roller-blading in the street, but people who were working at Marvel at the time in your Editor’s Choice
someone said he was waiting to cross the street when Editori-Als. You’d show Chris Claremont as a big windbag,
a car jumped the curb and hit him. When it happened as an example….
Ye ed’s personal fave
he wasn’t really doing any comics and basically was MILGROM: I love Chris. He’s a good guy, but he is a big issue of Milgrom’s
thinking his career in comics was over and he went windbag [both laugh]. The thing that makes him kind
back to school. He got a law degree and was working of adorable is that he is very easy to deflate. He would Marvel Fanfare was
as a public defender and was having a great time, and come in and make pompous statements about how #15 (July 1984),
then one day, boom. He was hit and badly injured. great X-Men was and how great it was selling, and you’d
CLANCY: Your one-page caricatures in the Marvel Fanfare make some sort of statement and he’d sigh… and I liked cover-featuring
series… was that your first attempt at doing those? that about him. He didn’t take himself too seriously. bashful Benjy Grimm
MILGROM: Yeah, yeah. I hate writing [laughs]. It’s like I would poke fun at Shooter and I poked fun at myself,
a chore to me to sit and write, to write a page-long certainly. I would do these fictionalized interactions in a 19-page story
editorial, and I don’t recall how many typed pages that between myself and some of the talent on the book written, illustrated,
was, but probably at least two. like… another bad pun was where I would occasionally
I went to Shooter and I said, “Instead of doing an run a set of pinup portfolios and there was even one and colored by Barry
editorial, can I do an illustrated editorial?” and he said, issue I did in Fanfare that was all pinups… I would some- Windsor-Smith
“Sure.” So I was trying to think of ideas and I typed out the times pick a person who was better known as an inker
word editorial and I said to myself, “Wait a minute. Editori- to do the drawings and they’d do five or six pinups, wherein… the Thing
Al! So there’s my pun and distinctive idea because it fit. which I called the inker’s corner. I did a joke about the
grows a beard!
People have asked me if I was a big Kurtzman fan inker coming in and begging me, “Please, Al. Don’t send
based on the way I drew that first one and I’ve said, me to the inker’s coroner!”, implying that I was going TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.
“I’m aware of Kurtzman but I never really read any
of his stuff.” If it resembles his stuff, I guess that’s a
compliment because he’s considered a top talent, but
I wasn’t well aware of his stuff then. After that I used
that approach for any of my editorials.
I edited a Captain Marvel reprint series of all Starlin’s
stuff and I did Editori-Als for that… The funny thing
about doing those was that people would come up
to me at conventions and say, “You must be Archie
Goodwin.” Archie used to do little caricatures of
himself for the Epic stuff and I would do mine for my
stuff and for some reason they would mix us up, but
Archie’s character had hair, so I don’t know how they
could mistake the two of us [both laugh]. I guess it
was because they were both caricatures of ourselves
and they couldn’t tell the difference.

Marvel Fanfare Issue • BACK ISSUE • 7

 to kill them. That’s an example of one of my awful puns and I had fun with it.
I always felt that if I was enjoying it, the fans would, too.
CLANCY: How were the sales on the series?
MILGROM: The sales weren’t off the charts but they were very strong. I don’t
remember how high. Certainly the first issue did great, and I think it was selling
in the 200,000 range but possibly in the 150,000 range. It was selling very
respectably, especially at the inflated cover price.
CLANCY: And selling that high in the direct market, which had no returns.
MILGROM: Yeah, and that was part of the reason why it made it viable in the
first place was that there would be no returns. That was one of the advantages
of the direct market, and the dealers got a bigger discount. Another win-win.
CLANCY: Was the decision to go to the direct market in part to try and avoid
the Comics Code?
MILGROM: No. It really had nothing to do with the Code. The vast majority of
the stuff that we did was still going out on newsstands. The whole point of the
direct market was… I believe it was Phil Seuling who was the guy who used to
run conventions back in the very early days, in the early 1970s… I don’t remember
if he had a comic shop or shops, but it became a way for him to become a
distributor to the local comic-book shops that were starting to spring up. As a
result of that he said, “I’ll take this many comics but give me a bigger discount
and I won’t do returns.” The publishers agreed and probably looked at it as a
side thing, but during this time comic shops started growing and springing up
all over the place. It started to be a bigger and bigger percentage of the overall
sales and much more profitable because the newsstand sales kept falling,
which could have been because of the direct market eating up a portion of the
newsstand sales. You’d send 100 comics to a newsstand dealer and they’d return
70 of them, and the weird thing is… in the old days, they used to tear off the
cover or the title logo of the comic and return it for credit and that’s how they’d
prove they didn’t sell that issue. At some point they decided it was a lot of extra
work and didn’t want to do it that way anymore, so they changed it to the
honor system. When you do stuff on the honor system, there’s gonna be people
who are gonna cheat. I guess the companies were thinking that as long as they
didn’t cheat us too much and as long as we are still making a profit then they’d
put up with it. But at some point, the direct market essentially became the only
market and the newsstand sales were selling in the 20% sales range, sharing
shelf space with little profit to the newsstand dealer.
I remember when the company wanted to completely do away with newsstand
sales, Tom DeFalco said, “It’s a bad idea. Where is the next generation of readers
going to come from?” and all the people upstairs were saying, “We’re only
making a little profit on the newsstand sales and doing much better on the
direct market, so why keep doing the newsstand sales?”
CLANCY: Toward the end of Marvel Fanfare, did you see the end coming?
MILGROM: Yes. There were a few factors. I was no longer on staff but it was one
of the books I kept on editing on a freelance basis. I don’t remember what they
were paying me but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t enough. By this time, I don’t remember
exactly when it went into effect, they started paying the royalty incentives.
DC had cleverly come up with the idea of paying a royalty depending on sales
and Shooter heard about it—we all heard about it—and he went up to Jim Galton,
who was the head of Marvel at the time, and said that this gives all the freelancers
an opportunity to go over to DC and make a lot more money and we’d lose all
the best talent. Marvel was number one for quite awhile, but once DC has all the
best creators they’d be liable to get all the better sales. I think initially there was
some resistance because the publishers thought they had the better characters
and Marvel’s fan base was very loyal, but Jim convinced them by some miracle
that it was the material and DC would have the better material and eventually
beat Marvel. Jim finally convinced them and Marvel matched the DC deal.
Jim was a very good advocate for freelancers. He wanted them to get the royalty.
He also wanted to make sure if the characters were picked up for any licensing
that the creators would be compensated because he didn’t think it was fair that
Kirby, Ditko, Siegel and Shuster… that a lot of the guys who created these incredibly
successful characters never got to share in any of the profits from them.

Namor Gives ’Em Hell, Boy!

(top) From the Heritage archives, original art from then-newcomer
Mike Mignola’s Bill Mantlo-scripted Sub-Mariner back-up tale
from Marvel Fanfare #16 (Sept. 1984). (bottom) A Mignola
Subby pinup drawn in 1983 but published in 1984’s MF #16.
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

8 • BACK ISSUE • Marvel Fanfare Issue

CLANCY: But the end of Marvel Fanfare… Paul Smith did kind of a sequel Daredevil story to Clash and Splash
MILGROM: [laughs] I do that sometimes—I digress…. the one he originally did in the first issue. I had
(left) Original art
They installed this new system where you got contacted him and told him that Fanfare was coming
royalties… so suddenly the best talent theoretically who to a close and that I’d like to have something like a (from Heritage) from
were working on the most popular titles, X-Men and bookend here with him doing a DD story for the last
Spider-Man, for example, were now making many times issue. Paul asked if he could write it as well as draw
MF #21 (July 1985),
the usual page rate because of the sales of their titles. it and I agreed. I’m thinking the lead story was an featuring Editori-Al
So now Marvel Fanfare’s rate of 1.5 times the usual unfinished Spider-Man story that Michael Golden had
rate didn’t look that impressive anymore. Essentially, done years ago… but I see here that is was used in inking his old pal
sales started falling because I could no longer lure the issue #47 and not the last issue, #60. Jim Starlin. From the
top fan-faves to work for the book because they were Bill Mantlo wrote the Hulk/Spider-Man story that
busy making a lot more money on their sales. A guy like Michael Golden drew—that was a weird one—because concluding chapter
Frank Miller, who was a brilliant creator, goes over and I wasn’t sure where this story was going to originally be of Starlin’s two-part
revamps Daredevil, and it starts selling fantastically… printed—maybe a Team-Up—but they had started this
CLANCY: I remember a Frank Miller Captain America story and Golden had laid the whole thing out in very Thing/Hulk story.
story of him against an arsonist. light blue pencil. I would periodically call him up and (right) Milgrom’s
MILGROM: I don’t remember that story, but I do say, “Michael, can you finish this story up? I’d love to
remember the cover where Captain America was publish it,” and he’d keep saying that he was busy with “Editori-Al” page
holding an American flag. [Editor’s note: Actually, they’re this and busy with that and he finally said that he wasn’t from MF #29
one and the same: “Home Fires!” from Marvel Fanfare sure if he’d ever get around to finishing it, so he asked
#18, the subject of an article in this issue.] if we could get Vinnie Colletta to ink it. I asked, “Why (Nov. 1986), the
Basically… sales were falling, and I remember the Vinnie?” He said he liked Vinnie’s stuff but I said if the
famous John Byrne
head of the direct-market sales, Carol Kalish, came pencils were real tight maybe, but they were loose
into my office and said that the sales were falling and breakdowns, so I suggested Joe Sinnott. He’s always all-splash Hulk issue.
she had a solution: “Do more X-Men stories,” because good… and Michael said, “I like Sinnott, but I don’t
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.
the X-Men sold better than anything else. I didn’t know.” I told Michael I wasn’t gonna use Vinnie and if
want to make this another X-Men title as that would he didn’t want Sinnott then I didn’t know what we were
defeat the whole purpose of the series, but she said gonna do. I don’t recall if I tried to apply pressure or if
it would sell a lot better. I told her I was sure she was I ignored him long enough that he said, “All right, then,
right but I didn’t want to do that, so I suggested I’ll just ink it myself.” Which he did, and so we got
setting an end issue and called it quits. another beautiful Michael Golden story out of him.

Marvel Fanfare Issue • BACK ISSUE • 9

 There was another issue that was in inventory that Warriors Three story for m,e and Charlie has this beauti-
John Byrne had done, an issue of The Hulk when he was ful old-fashioned style of illustration, which is incred-
doing that title. He had made it an all-splash page issue— ibly detailed and, in fact, I even bought a page from
one panel per page… on every page. I don’t know that issue from him because I thought it looked so
precisely the details, but I think he may have done that great. He did three issues I believe [#34–37]. I re-
sort of without running it by the editor first, who was member Brent Anderson did a Moon Knight story.
Strike a Pose Denny O’Neil. Denny said, “It looks great, but I don’t I had Ken Steacy, a Canadian artist, who did this
feel like there’s enough of a plot there to justify it being very nice blue-line coloring, which was probably some
Wraparound cover a whole issue of The Hulk.” So Denny rejected it and I of the most sophisticated coloring I had in Fanfare. I
for Marvel Fanfare’s think as a result Byrne may have quit The Hulk because remember at the time, he was complaining. I liked his
he was miffed. I’m not positive of any of these details, stuff quite a bit but it had a sort of cartoony quality
pinups issue, #45 but the only detail I am sure of is that I had said I’d to it, and he was trying to get work at Marvel and
(Aug. 1989). Cover take it and put it in Fanfare [#29], and so Byrne got the none of the other editors wanted to use him because
extra half-rate for writing, penciling, and inking the they thought his stuff looked too cartoony. I couldn’t
by John Byrne, with whole thing. As a story, yes, it was a little spare because see condemning a guy because his style was too
Editori-Al caricature instead of 20-some pages of five panels a page, it was cartoony and the overall look of the stuff was nice
20-some pages of one panel a page. It was basically a enough that I was happy to use him.
by Al Milgrom. 20-panel story, which would usually be a four-page CLANCY: Did you have to actively go out looking for
(Note the boot and job. But I thought, Byrne is a fan-fave, and I thought submissions rather than people sending in submissions
it looked nice and impressive and was an interesting to Fanfare?
cape of Superman concept, and so I thought I’d be able to put it in Fanfare MILGROM: I’d get submissions occasionally, and there
and not have to worry about apologizing that the was one job I regret not using. There was this writer
in the lower right
story was a little on the spare side. I thought the art over at DC whose name escapes me right now but it
corner of the more than made up for it. was him and Paris Cullins, who was a talented artist,
CLANCY: You used some artists in Marvel Fanfare who that submitted an idea and I’m thinking it was a
front cover.) weren’t known as Marvel guys… Captain America story… anyways, I didn’t commission
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc., MILGROM: I got the chance to use guys who weren’t this and I never asked them to do it, they just came
except Superman TM & © DC Comics. doing regular stuff for Marvel. Charles Vess did a in with this really elaborate, several-issue storyline

10 • BACK ISSUE • Marvel Fanfare Issue

with all kinds of character sketches, and I don’t recall if he drew
a few pages of continuity or not, but it was basically unsolicited.
I don’t recall if it was because it was a multi-issue thing or if
there was something about it… I don’t remember, but I did
not take them up on it and I kind of regret it because it was
really well thought out and well done. I like Paris’ artwork quite
a bit, but for some reason the story didn’t grab me and so I
told them I wasn’t interested.
There was another story which was going to be an issue of The
Silver Surfer by John Buscema, which Jack Abel was inking and I
think it was slated to be the first issue of a new Silver Surfer title,
but they ultimately did something different and so this was sitting
in a drawer and probably not completely inked for a long time.
I think I booked Jack Abel and told him I wanted him to finish it
up and I’d print it in Fanfare and he would get rate-and-a-half and
in fact we’d give Buscema the extra 50% for the job, too. So we
printed it [issue #51] and I think Steve Englehart wrote it.
CLANCY: Where were the inventory stories stored at the Marvel
offices?
MILGROM: In various flat files. I don’t think people automatically
threw the stuff in my office thinking, “Here, Al, here’s one for
Fanfare.” As a matter of fact, I know the Silver Surfer story was in
a manila envelope near Jack Abel’s desk in the Bullpen. He may
have been working as a proofreader at Marvel at that time.
It was a double-sized issue so there were, like, 39 or so pages,
and I was just surprised no one had lifted it and I hated to see
it just sitting there.
There was also a Black Knight story just sitting in a drawer and
penciled by Scott Hampton that never went any further. I always
liked the Black Knight character and even have some of the old
1950s Marvel comics with him in it.
Overall, I look at the series and I’m pretty happy with it.
I remember using a Gil Kane Mowgli story that I used and had
Craig Russell ink. It was some story that Gil Kane had started but
never finished for some reason and I believe Craig Russell even
finished the next two issues of it.
CLANCY: Did you ever get any negative feedback about Marvel
Fanfare?
MILGROM: The only time I ever got any super-negative reaction
was one guy at a convention I went to, and I had done an issue
early on, probably within the first 15 issues [Close… it was in
#16–17—ed.], it was a Dave Cockrum/Marv Wolfman story about
the Sky-Wolf, I think it was. It was basically something like a
Blackhawk-type of team of military guys and some guy came up
to me and he was a dealer who had a comic shop and he said,
“You know we buy this stuff, and Marvel Fanfare is supposed to Editori-Al’s
be for the fans and is supposed to be so great, but then you do Last Stand
this crap story!” Now, this wasn’t an inventory story… it was
something Dave and Marv had been working on and wanted to (bottom) The final
do together but had only gotten so far on it, so I told them if they
issue of Marvel
wanted to finish it up then I’d publish it in Fanfare and they said
sure so I did. Yes, it wasn’t superheroes, but I thought it was a fun Fanfare, #60
story and Marv was a big shot writing Teen Titans and Dave, of
course, was from The X-Men. So I thought… top talent, did a good
(Dec. 1991).
job, it’s not the standard superhero stuff, but why not? It’s Fanfare, Cover art by
so why can’t I do something a little different? So this guy said,
“Now I’m stuck. I ordered this many copies of it and I’m stuck Denys Cowan and
with them! I’ll never be able to sell them.” I told him I was sorry Walter Simonson.
that he wasn’t happy with the results and if I had really been cool,
which unfortunately I was not, I would have said, “Look. How many (top) A young
do you have? Fifty? I’ll buy your entire overage at what you paid. Jim Lee illo’ed this
I’m not gonna give you a profit on it, but I’ll buy them back and
take them off your hands.” I should have done that and I’m sorry Silver Surfer/
I didn’t, and maybe he would have shut up. Galactus pinup,
CLANCY: Well, he still might have them [both laugh].
MILGROM: It’s quite possible. which appeared
SHAUN CLANCY started collecting comics in 1975 at the age of eight,
in MF #45.
when his father brought home a Charlton horror comic for him to read. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.
Today he owns a heating and air-conditioning company in the Seattle area
and collects original comic art.

Marvel Fanfare Issue • BACK ISSUE • 11

Sitting down and chatting with legendary X-Men writer
Chris Claremont is always an enlightening experience.
Chris is a walking cornucopia of ideas and Marvel
Comics’ history; to talk with him about his involvement
with Marvel Fanfare is not only a great way to spend an
afternoon, but also provides great historical insight into
this unique anthology and comics creation.
Considering Marvel Fanfare’s amazing array of story
ideas and printing on high-quality paper—a novel innovation
for the time—we begin by talking to Chris about how
the chance to write the initial issues presented itself.
“Well, Marvel was trying all sorts of experiments in
those days with stories that were by folks who you
wouldn’t normally see with characters that weren’t
regular fare,” Claremont says. “In this instance it was
a great opportunity to put me and Michael [Golden]
together after our work on the Avengers Annual. From
my perspective: way cool.” [Editor’s note: Claremont
and Golden co-produced 1981’s Avengers Annual #10,
which introduced the breakout character Rogue.]
Chris wrote stories for the first five issues of Marvel Fanfare:
a continuing saga set in the Savage Land with Spider-Man,
Angel, and Ka-Zar in issues #1 and 2, with the X-Men joining by John Kirk
in with #3 and 4. Claremont did a Dr. Strange story in #5
and also wrote for issues #24, 33, and 40, including tales
featuring Dr. Strange and various members of the X-Men
and their associates or enemies. Mystique and Destiny
encountered Storm in a very memorable tale in issue #40.
Regarding Marvel Fanfare #1–4, “It was something that
we had thought up for Marvel Team-Up—hence the Spider-
Man involvement, and my memory might be wrong—but
that’s why it never ended up in Team-Up, because my run
ended before Michael finished the story. Rather than drop
it into the regular continuity, Fanfare was seen as a way to
burn off the inventory [of stories] that was around but also
to showcase writers and artists’ stories that wouldn’t fit into
the normal continuity. There was no easy way to put the
Savage Land story in X-Men continuity and there
was no easy way to put it in Spidey continuity.
Fanfare was it. The reason why it kept
going after that was, we had loose ends.
How do we tie up those loose ends?
Well, we fell back on the continuity.
We were left with Sauron still in the
Savage Land—you know, back in the
days when it wasn’t a problem to use a
name like Sauron, because who was ever
going to read Lord of the Rings [laughs]?”
Claremont attributes a great deal of
the comic’s success to the variety of artists
he worked with on each of these issues.
“Who better to draw the X-Men
than Dave [Cockrum]? Dave did one
really cool issue and then we ran into schedule glitches.
But then Paul [Smith] doing the final part of the story was
essentially his showcase that told us that he could draw
the X-Men. Of course, one look at that and we were there.
My only regret with Smitty was if he could have only stuck
around for two years instead of one, we would have hit
the half-million mark then and not ten years later, dang
it.” [Editor’s note: For more on these mutant milestones
of the Bronze Age, see BACK ISSUE #29.]

Does Whatever a Spider Can

Ka-Zar joins the “fun” in Chris Claremont’s
Marvel Fanfare serial. Cover to issue #2
(May 1982) by Michael Golden.
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

12 • BACK ISSUE • Marvel Fanfare Issue

GOLDEN YEARS
These were golden years. Marvel Fanfare’s goal may have
been to showcase a variety of talent, but in order for
it to successfully launch, it needed the tried-and-true
comic appeal of veteran dynamic writers and artists
like Claremont and Cockrum. While Smith was a
relative newcomer at the time, his work was truly
scintillating and as Claremont indicated, his work in
Fanfare only served to confirm his talent and popular
appeal. Of course, the pun notwithstanding, the work
of Michael Golden in these “golden years” was also
impossible to leave out. Claremont is emphatic in stating
that the challenge of working with such an eclectic and
diverse range of artists and characters only added to the
“fun” of this anthology.
“When you work with someone as cinematically
gifted as Michael… I mean, just look at the double-
panel spread of the establishing shot of Angel flying
around over the Grand Canyon and the insert panels
of Candy Southern and Karl Lykos’ girlfriend, Tanya.
The establishment of Warren and Candy Southern—
it’s wonderful. Michael can present the most prosaic
of moments in the most visually enticing and evocative
characterizations to evoke the emotions you need for
the scene and the bonding moments of the characters.
It’s an exaggerated moment of reality that you love
in good television and cinema. It’s wonderful to me
and the character moments with Angel playing with
the falcons, it’s like you wished you had wings so you
could do that too.”
Claremont characterizes Golden’s style as brilliant
and logical with visual storytelling that wisely heeded
all the elements of the story that completely matched
the context. For Golden, everything had to fit
perfectly. Before Step G could be reached, it was
essential to understand everything in Steps
A through F. In comparison to the work
of Cockrum and Smith, Claremont has
this to say:
“Dave knew the characters. For him
it wasn’t about telling who everybody
was—it was more about how best
to present them. What would be the
coolest evocative presentation of the
characters? With Paul, it was getting
to know him as a penciler—what his
strengths and weakness were, what
he liked to draw or how he approached
the responsibility of telling the story.
How much did I need to tell him? All that
stuff got worked out in the first issue. © Luigi Novi /
Wikimedia Commons.
But what was cool was, that enabled
us to do the Japan two-parter [X-Men #172–173] after
the Wolverine miniseries. He hit the ground running and

Bugle Fever
(top) A Claremont story, illustrated by
Golden? No wonder Marvel Fanfare caught
the attention of readers! Signed original
art from issue #1, courtesy of Heritage
([Link]). Note its title stamp, signifying
its original Marvel Team-Up home. (bottom)
Chris loves this Golden-drawn Angel spread
from issue #2—and so do we!
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

Marvel Fanfare Issue • BACK ISSUE • 13

 Wrapper’s Delight came up with visual images that
Wraparound cover art for Marvel Fanfare #3 (top), by Dave Cockrum and just grabbed you.”
The Savage Land holds a special
Bob McLeod, and #4 (bottom), by then-newcomer Paul Smith. significance to Claremont.
“It was fun,” he remarks of
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.
these issues. “But it was a way of
presenting a ‘What if…?’ style of
reality. In was the same rationale
that we used in creating Nova
Roma [New Mutants], putting
it in the Andes. There are no
undiscovered plateaus in the
Andes or at the headwaters of
the Amazon. To have a city
created by exiles fleeing Caesar
was fantastic. Why the heck not?
In 1975, a lot of this was plausible.
There were still unknown parts
of the world, so we could have
Shangri-La in the Himalayas, just
out of reach of what we can
perceive. But today, everything
has been Google-mapped seven
ways from Sunday. Evolution in
technology and perception in
this century really means that
comics need to stay ahead of the
curve—or at least somewhere off
to the left where no one is looking.
Hence an alcove of Antarctica at
the bottom of this plateau is the
Savage Land.”
When asked if this was like
saying goodbye to the age of
Burroughs, Claremont rejects this
notion. “No, it’s finding a new
way of looking at it. Today, we
can say that the doorway to the
Savage Land is in Antarctica, but
the Land itself could be elsewhere.
It’s fun.”
Whether it was working with
a variety of different artists or
switching locales from the Savage
Land to Dr. Strange’s Sanctum
Sanctorum, the one consistent
detail in the conversation with
Chris is the fact that it was all
fun. Despite the different
repercussions on the continuity
or the diverse ways of presenting
the characters, Claremont
manifested a joyful attitude in
recalling these stories.

THE MYSTIQUE OF
MARVEL FANFARE
Courtesy of [Link].

When talking about Marvel Fanfare

#40, Claremont eagerly recalls
the bold way in which Mystique
and Destiny were presented
during this issue that had profound
effects upon the X-Men continuity.
“We weren’t fooling about the
relationship,” he begins.
In this issue, we saw Mystique
manifest her protective mother’s
instinct over Rogue to Storm. It is
a visceral and raw story that
changed the way X-Men readers
viewed this iconic villainess.

14 • BACK ISSUE • Marvel Fanfare Issue

 The Devil Made Me Do It
Splash page to the Claremont/Hamilton Storm
story from MF #40.
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

“It was part of my evolving perception of the characters. The

point for me was not that Mystique and Destiny referred to Rogue
as their foster daughter because she was their foster daughter, but
rather for her protection. Nightcrawler was unfortunately outed
from the get-go. He knew that one of his parents was Mystique.
In my iteration of it, it’s the parental relationship with Mystique
and Destiny in both cases that mattered. And the reason that
Mystique reacted to Kurt so negatively was that she was not comfortable
seeing herself in that way.”
Great fiction comes from when characters are forced to face that
unbearable side of themselves, which is what we see in issue #40.
This is a comic story that not only broke ground with regard to same-
sex relationships but also altered the path of four essential characters
of the X-Men history. [Editor’s note: Artist Craig Hamilton’s recollections
of Marvel Fanfare #40 appear elsewhere in this issue.]
But Marvel Fanfare also had its humorous side as well. Al Milgrom’s
“Editori-Al” segments brought a more relaxed side to the prestige-
laden format of the book. It was a refreshing break that provided
a personal insight into the relationships of the Marvel staffers
and creators.
“That was Al’s soapbox,” Claremont offers. “In the same way that
Archie [Goodwin] did his editorial notes and commentaries in Epic,
and he would toss in his own cartoons where he would make fun of
himself, dressed up in the Phoenix costume—Al was the same way.
The nice thing about comics is the drama or comedy, good or ill—the
only limitations to what you present are your sense of humor and
your ability to put it on paper. How well could you draw and how
clearly can you make the joke work? It was very rare. I enjoy a good
joke. I have a beautiful picture of Dark Phoenix threatening the
X-Men—except it’s me dressed in the Dark Phoenix costume! I was
not what one would call… svelte [chuckles].”
To be the subject of caricature takes a great sense of tolerance and
humor. Upon my comment that I would have paid money to see that,
Chris responds: the visual potential of the industry and of the craft so irresistibly
“Yeah, well—in your dreams, dude! But that’s the key with comics: enticing and so damn cool.”
visual iconography. The gift one has in working with Michael, Dave, In short, Chris remembers Marvel Fanfare as fun. While this may
Smitty is any shot that I can think of, any way of presenting a scene: seem to be an overly simplistic way of describing Claremont’s
they can bring it to life. In fact, they will have a tweak or way that experiences on this comic, it definitely does not diminish them.
will make it better. The challenge is going to John Byrne, Walt After all, if the readers of the time were allowed to see Michael
Simonson, Alan Davis, and getting them excited about your ideas. Golden’s cinematically spectacular work with panoramic views,
They’re the visual presenters—I’m just a guy who can write words or Paul Smith’s stunning depiction of Storm, then certainly that was
on a page. Wow… that’s cool.” fun-filled joy experienced by the reader. Why shouldn’t Claremont
experience some of that joy as well?
MARVEL FUNFARE “I could do anything with any of these artists that Spielberg could
Marvel Fanfare was a spectacular break from the regular stream of do on screen but it would cost him 100 million bucks. All it would cost
Marvel titles. It showcased characters in a way that permitted veteran us is the time it takes to put these stories together. That’s the incredibly
writers like Chris to bring them to the reader in different circumstances great power of comics. That’s the incredibly great power and
or allowed new or unexpected creators represent them in new ways. incredibly great responsibility of coming up with stories and characters
In Chris’ case, it represented the interaction of different heroes like that fulfill all that potential. That’s what makes telling these stories like
Spider-Man with characters he was well versed with, like the X-Men. the two-part Savage Land story so much fun. It’s playtime, but it’s
But it also introduced him to dynamic artists like Paul Smith or reunited playtime with comic-book Michelangelos.”
him with Michael Golden and Dave Cockrum. Moreover, he also Comics are pure imagination. Claremont believes this and as a
expanded the breadth of characters like Mystique and Destiny while result, we see a dynamic interaction of uniquely talented writers
also exploring settings like the Savage Land that would become fixtures and visual artists. There was a greater sense of individuality in
in the Marvel Universe. comic storytelling, and much of the success of the comics in
“I am a writer of stories,” Claremont says. “What I got taught by Claremont’s day stemmed from this. While the readers of these
Stan, Jack, Steve, or Neal is, how can I imagine a scene in a way that comics remember them fondly, for Claremont, this was the source
will ignite the artist and catch the reader’s eye and heart? I want the of the fun that he enjoyed. His joy in telling these stories became
reader to stop and read the book again but look for stuff that is in the our joy in reading them.
background, around the edges; I want them to see what they might
have missed the first time. There’s so much going on in Michael’s JOHN KIRK is a librarian and English teacher with the Toronto District School
Savage Land art. Each of the characters in this comic—Zabu, the Board in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, who incorporates comics and comics history
dinosaurs—are in context, in character, and to me, that’s what makes into his classroom teaching.

Marvel Fanfare Issue • BACK ISSUE • 15

 TM

Stephen Strange probably appreciated the rest. After all,

here was a character that, throughout his career, had
been involved in more than his fair share of extended
storylines.
Early on in Strange’s series in Strange Tales, Stan Lee
and Steve Ditko had the good doctor chased all over
the planet by Baron Mordo. Dr. Strange went to the
ends of the universe and met Eternity, for Pete’s sake!
Steve Englehart and a couple of different artists sent
him all through time, and even had him the only survivor
when the planet Earth was destroyed!!
Then, just a couple of years before arriving in Fanfare,
he was engulfed in the year-long Creator Chronicles.
Extracurricular activities were no better. Over in The by Brian Martin
Defenders, Steve Gerber involved the Sorcerer Supreme
in a year-long storyline involving a gorilla with a human
head and a veritable plethora of bozos!

MAY I HAVE A FANFARE, PLEASE?

Suffice to say, the short, one-issue stories that Dr. Strange
was involved with in Marvel Fanfare surely came as a welcome
respite. And yes, one of those stories spanned two issues,
but that was balanced out by the fact that three of the
tales were short back-up stories of eight or 13 pages.
The series probably also served as an ego boost for
Stephen. His first story appeared in issue #5 (Nov. 1982)
and was cover-featured. This is rather
significant since the four-issue storyline that
preceded it featured heavy-hitter characters
the X-Men and Spider-Man and creators such
as Chris Claremont, Michael Golden, Dave
Cockrum, and Paul Smith. Heady company, indeed.
Dr. Strange was even fortunate enough to
have Mr. Claremont stick around and pen his
first Fanfare adventure. Having recently scribed
issues #38–45 (Dec. 1979–Feb. 1981) of the
Doctor’s own title, Claremont feels the story
in Fanfare was, “If not actually left over, it was
an idea I was playing with.”
The villain of the piece was a sorcerer who
had only previously made one appearance,
and that was in a back-up feature in The Defenders
#53 (Nov. 1977), where he battled Clea alone.
The choice of a minor adversary such as this was,
“I think basically [out of] desperation,” recalls
Claremont. “You go through the list of who is
available, who haven’t we seen in a long time.”
Further to that idea, regarding his run on the
Dr. Strange title, Claremont states, “I was always
trying to come up with new and different ways of
presenting magic and magical-themed antagonists
that ideally hadn’t been seen before.” In this case,
of course, it was a foe who had not encountered
Strange before, but was still a logical adversary.
The fact that Nicodemus battled Clea in his other
appearance lent itself to this story featuring Clea in quite
an active role mystically. After Nicodemus steals Stephen’s
powers, it is up to her to stop their foe and take those
powers back. “It’s a Claremont story,” says the author.
“Women do not generally [play] second fiddle to the men.”

Master of the Marvel Fanfare Arts

Detail from the Dr. Strange pinup from MF #33
(July 1987). Art by Ian Akin and Brian Garvey.
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

16 • BACK ISSUE • Marvel Fanfare Issue

 Marshall Law
(top) Marvel Fanfare
#5’s (Nov. 1982)
wraparound cover,
gorgeously illustrated
and signed by
Marshall Rogers and
incredibly inked by
P. Craig Russell.
Courtesy of Heritage
Comics Auctions
([Link]).
(bottom) Page 10
of Doc’s MF #5
adventure, showing
Marvel Fanfare’s
fascination with
the color hold.
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

Chris continues, believing, “From my perspective, we’re

used to seeing Doc save the day. We’re used to seeing Clea
be the damsel in distress.”
Teamed with Claremont on this story was Marshall
Rogers, an artist fresh off a six-issue run on Strange’s
comic where he was teamed with Roger Stern for issues
#48–53 (Aug. 1981–June 1982). Aware that Marshall
was going to illustrate this issue, Claremont tells
BACK ISSUE, “For me the fun is working with
guys who are that good.” Chris continues
stating his credo for these collaborations:
“What are the neat things I can come up
with that will catch the artist by surprise,
and by extension, the readers.”

EXCUSE ME, BUT YOU LOOK

VERY FAMILIAR
Those readers were in for another surprise
as immediately after that, in issue #6
(Jan. 1983), Strange took a turn as the
back-up story. This entry was written by roger stern
the aforementioned Roger Stern, who was
still authoring the doctor’s regular book at the
time, with Charles Vess tapped to illustrate it. Why have a story
end up in Fanfare when you’re writing the regular book? “As I recall,”
begins Roger Stern, “Allen Milgrom asked me to write a Dr. Strange
story specifically for Marvel Fanfare. Of course, at the time, I didn’t know
in what issue of Fanfare the story would appear. I just knew that Al would
slot it in where it would best fit.”
This story concerned a young gun who showed up intent on wresting
the title of Sorcerer Supreme away from Strange. “It was an idea I had about
Doc in general,” Stern reveals. “If other mystics considered him the Sorcerer
Supreme, it just stood to reason that some would occasionally challenge him
and try to move up in the mystic world.”
Strange proceeds to school the youngster in magic and the perils
involved in being the top gun. “The story is about the brash young
stranger coming to town to ‘out-gun’ the established master,” recounts

Marvel Fanfare Issue • BACK ISSUE • 17

 Stern. “I watched a lot of Westerns when I was growing
up. So, while working on the plot, I immediately saw
a number of parallels between Doc’s position in the
mystic world and that of a gunslinger in the Old West.”
(Remember that Old West remark; we might see its
like again.)

THREE OUT OF FOUR AIN’T BAD

Stephen Strange must have begun to think of Fanfare
as his second home when he appeared again in issue
#8 (May 1983). Cover-featured, his story within was
penned by Peter B. Gillis and drawn by Carmine
Infantino and P. Craig Russell. “The Dr. Strange story
was an inventory plot,” Gillis remembers. “When I wrote
the plot I had no idea who would draw it—or even if
[it would be produced]. I did it in something like 1979
or ’80. I was ecstatic to learn that Carmine would draw it.
My favorite book as a kid—before Marvel even existed—
was Mystery in Space. And Carmine Infantino/Craig
Russell? Be still, my heart.” [Editor’s note: In the Silver
Age, Carmine Infantino drew the Adam Strange feature
in DC’s Mystery in Space.]
The story centers on a neophyte named James
Mandarin, who had appeared in issues #15–17 (June–
Aug. 1976) of Dr. Strange’s book. Gillis’ reason for using
him? “I wanted to rehabilitate James Mandarin, who I
thought had been given a raw deal (even though I knew
Steve Englehart had envisioned him as a Charles Manson

Say Yes to Vess!

A moody Sanctum Sanctorum splash (below)
from the Roger Stern/Charles Vess Dr. Strange
tale in Marvel Fanfare #6 (Jan. 1982), and
(left) Vess’ back cover pinup to that issue.
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

18 • BACK ISSUE • Marvel Fanfare Issue

clone). He dates back to the Englehart/Colan days, which LET’S YOU AND HIM FIGHT Arcane Infantino
was when I was writing letters to the book.” Our hero was then given some time off before appearing Legendary Flash
In one of those coincidences that seem too bizarre again. The layoff was offset by having the tale span two
to be true, the character appeared in another story right issues. Marvel Fanfare issues #20–21 (May–July 1985) artist Carmine
around the same time. Dr. Strange #57 (Feb. 1983) involve Doc with his old foe Xandu in a tale crafted by
Infantino’s rendition
featured the return, albeit brief, of Mandarin. Since his that master of cosmic adventure, Jim Starlin.
story was penned much earlier, Gillis says, “Any timing The Thing is walking the streets, minding his own of Marvel’s Sorcerer
issues are mainly accident-Al. (Sorry.)” business, when an image of Dr. Strange summons him to
The author of Dr. Strange #57, Roger Stern, concurs. another dimension to aid him. Ben Grimm arrives to find
Supreme: (left)
“Our stories were probably written several months Doc crucified and surrounded by demons. It seems Xandu Original art (inked
apart. It was just a fluke of scheduling that they has discovered the Ruby of Domination, which allowed
appeared close together.” him to control one of Strange’s allies in the Defenders. by Terry Austin)
Fanfare’s story depicts Mandarin getting himself into This ally delivered Strange into Xandu’s clutches since the to the cover of
some trouble that only Doc can get him out of. With a evil mage needs to utilize Doc’s Eye of Agamatto to expand
little help from Mandarin’s lady love Meredith they the Ruby’s power to encompass the entire Earth. Marvel Fanfare #8,
combine love, imagination, and magic to empower Thing frees Strange, and the two track Xandu and that courtesy of Heritage,
Mandarin to win his own battle. “The themes in the Defender still in his thrall to Strange’s Sanctum. Much to
story are ones I picked up on when I took over the Ben’s chagrin, that Defender is the Incredible Hulk. and (right) that
regular book,” reveals Gillis. “I had this issue of Dr. Strange As befits a story titled “Clash,” the Thing and the issue’s splash, with
with Morgana Blessing in Doc’s costume—and in a Hulk begin an epic battle through the streets of New
way, my whole tenure on the book was about Strange’s York while Strange battles Xandu. Once Strange realizes Infantino inked by
problems with love—and Clea. Even before the breakup his foe’s true plan, he leads Grimm back to his home P. Craig Russell.
it was pretty dysfunctional.” The breakup he is referring and has him destroy the Ruby, traumatizing Xandu and
to is the end of the Strange/Clea romance that had just allowing him to be easily beaten. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.
occurred in the regular book. On the humorous side, Ben is mainly able to hold his
One final note on this issue: An alternate cover for the own against the Hulk because he grows tired of the Jade
issue was used as a pinup in the back of issue #11. The Giant referring to him as “Rockman.”
illustration is by P. Craig Russell, and is basically another Just to tie a neat bow on the tale, Strange offers to
version of the scene that adorns the cover of issue #8. return Ben to the Baxter Building and the Hulk to the

Marvel Fanfare Issue • BACK ISSUE • 19

 middle of the desert. A little battle weary, the mage switches the two destinations.
This may have been a bit of an inside joke to long-term fans, as Starlin had
illustrated a Thing/Hulk clash in Marvel Feature #11 (Sept. 1973) that took
place in, and left Ben stranded in… the middle of the desert.

IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE

Dr. Strange had a bit of time to recover after that episode. He did
not reappear until issue #31 (Mar. 1987), and this story added an
extra breather as well: His body actually rests for most of the
story, letting his astral self do the heavy lifting.
In an eight-page tale written and drawn by Mark Wheatley,
Stephen’s astral self encounters a young boy named Owl who lives
on the banks of the Amazon and is practicing to be a mystic himself.
But like many young people, he is refusing to follow the guidance
of an elder. Strange proceeds to show him what his life could be
like if he follows a path similar to the one Strange did.
“I started out with a huge fanboy love for Dr. Strange and
Steve Ditko,” reveals Wheatley. “Al Milgrom asked me what
favorite Marvel character would I want to do a story for—and Dr. Strange was at
the top of my list.”
From there Wheatley had to deal with a matter that probably plagued a lot of
Fanfare creators. “The tricky part in all this, as Al warned me, was to avoid getting
my story tangled into current Marvel continuity,” he recalls. “I needed a story that
featured Dr. Strange, but did not create any problems for continuity. So I had the
idea of telling a mirror version of his origin by showing how another magician
might have made the wrong choices.”
Of course, when you only have eight pages, you have to get a little creative to
sneak a tribute in. Mark tells how he managed it. “Al Milgrom was one of those
exceptional editors. When I named the new character Dr. Owl, I was making a
nod to Dr. Al Milgrom.”

THAT’S LIFE IN THE BIG CITY

Dr. Strange’s next appearance is in issue #41 (Dec. 1988), and he returns with
a couple of heavy hitters in tow creator-wise. With Walter Simonson on script
and Dave Gibbons illustrating and coloring, Strange faces a foe of almost
unimaginable power: a sentient city.
When asked how the creative pairing came about, Dave Gibbons tells BACK
ISSUE, “I think the reason I did the story was I wanted to collaborate with Walt
Simonson, who had been a friend of mine for a long time.”
As for the reason Strange got the starring role, Gibbons
continues, “I loved the Lee/Ditko stories when they came out.
They had a completely different flavor than most of the Marvel
superheroes at the time. I think this is one of the first things I
did after doing Watchmen, so it’s a complete change of pace
in that Walter just gave me a plot to work from and it was a
fairly weird and wonderful story where I could go in all sorts
of directions and do some quite hallucinatory page layouts.”
As mentioned, the antagonist of the story was a sentient
city, though this fantastic being was asleep through most of
the story. That being the case, it is manifestations from the
creature’s dreams that Doc confronts.
Two of those beings are old Dr. Strange acquaintances
Nightmare and Eternity, one of which held a special attraction
for Gibbons. “I loved Eternity,” he begins, “the way in which
he was literally just this black shape that had all of these kinds
of cosmic objects floating around inside him. So I made the
most of what I could do with him in a graphic sense.”
Staying with the graphic-design angle, coming up with
the visuals for a character who literally embodies a city surely required a bit of
thought. Gibbons lets us in on the process. “I just wanted to have it look like sort
of Eastern magic. A kind of Indian-style city. A lot of the ancient buildings, temples

From Here to Eternity

(top) Mark Wheatley’s rendition of the good doctor, from
Marvel Fanfare #31 (Mar. 1987). Scan courtesy of Brian Martin.
(inset) Dave Gibbons’ cover for MF #41 (Dec. 1988). (bottom) A
jaw-dropping Eternity reveal from that issue.
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

20 • BACK ISSUE • Marvel Fanfare Issue

 Old West Avengers
Just for fun, Alan Weiss
shares with BACK ISSUE his
Old West Avengers, a
commission inked by Joe
Rubinstein. “I was particularly
tickled by my angle on what
to do to make Iron Man
Western,” Alan says. “Didn’t
want to make him look like a
steam engine or the Oz Tin
Man, so the Iron Gambler,
still a little steampunk,
seemed an apt solution.”
(inset) Marvel Fanfare #49
(Feb. 1990) featured Alan
Weiss’ surreal real-deal of a
Dr. Strange Western.
Avengers characters TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

and things with a kind of Buddhist/Tibetan comments Alan. “It was mostly for show in any case. Like the rest of
feeling to them.” Dave felt this was the the Marvel cowboy Kids, he never kills anybody with his gun.”
angle to take since “Dr. Strange’s magic Strange does use the gun, however, and a special gold bullet
essentially came from the Far East, so that which disrupts his foe’s aura, ending the threat. “This was a superhero
was really what we had in mind.” supernatural fantasy spaghetti Western,” comments Alan. “Doc was
Appropriately enough, Strange escapes the American sorcerer versus the Native-American sorcerer.”
the creature by casting a spell that As a final caveat he adds, “I may have had the ‘Strange on the range’
makes it seem that he himself is only title in mind, but I’d always wanted a crack at the character. So I
a dream this immense being gave him a gun, boots, and spurs, changed his cape to a
is having. poncho, and off to the Wild West he went.”

IS THAT A GUN IN YOUR POCKET… FOR MY FINAL TRICK…

The good doctor’s final cover feature was issue #49 Dr. Strange materializes again in Fanfare with an eight-page
(Feb. 1990), and you could be forgiven for missing it. back-up tale in issue #52 (Aug. 1990). Legendary Strange
The shirt and cape are there, but Strange is wearing artist Gene Colan is on hand, penciling a tale scribed
cowboy boots and a cowboy hat, and wielding a gun by Dean Allan Schreck and inked by Al Williamson.
in his hand. The story inside is the work of Alan Weiss, Interestingly, the three had collaborated the issue before
and it guest-stars Nick Fury and Dum-Dum Dugan. on a short tale that centered on Doc’s frequent foe Nightmare.
When asked how this particular setting came about, In this tale, Strange receives a psychic distress call
Weiss tells BACK ISSUE, “I’d just finished a miniseries from an old friend. This leads him to another dimension,
and wanted to do something unusual and fun. Maybe where his friend’s hubris has caused him to be trapped
a Marvel Western. Of course, Westerns don’t sell, as by the very forces he was trying to contact. Our good
we’ve been continually told. Always looking to slip doctor is unable to save his friend but is able to free
one in anyway whenever possible, a superpowered Courtesy of [Link]. his soul, destroying his physical body in the process.
fantasy horse-opera seemed worth a shot.” With that, Stephen Strange bows out of Marvel Fanfare. The title
This tale begins with Doc summoning the two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents ended not too long afterwards, so in the end it probably didn’t
to assist him in preventing a calamity in the Old West. Strange needs adversely affect his average appearance rate.
their assistance, having detected a “tear” in the fabric of time. A medicine The stereotype is that doctors go golfing on Wednesday afternoons.
man of the Apache plans to bestow magical powers on a number of So let’s just consign all these stories to that particular day and time,
young braves, thereby prolonging the Indian Wars, costing many more and presume that on these Wednesdays, Dr. Strange went off and met
lives and changing the course of history. Al Milgrom to star in Marvel Fanfare.
Why include the back-up characters for Strange? “I thought Fury
and Dugan would be great support and would look good in US Thanks to Chris Claremont, Dave Gibbons, Peter Gillis, Roger Stern, Alan Weiss,
Calvary uniforms,” Weiss recalls. “Since he’s not an actual gunman, Mark Wheatley, plus John Kirk and Thomas Powers, and, of course, Michael Eury.
Strange figured it might be a good idea to have, in the Old West,
BRIAN MARTIN lives in Oakville, Ontario, Canada. He began loving comics
a couple of trusted fellows with extensive firearm experience.”
even before he could read, and is told he learned to read from them.
Of course, Strange himself did sport a firearm on the cover and within
This has lead to him reading just about everything, and he shows no signs
the story as well. “It’s against type, while looking cooler and more cowboy,” of slowing down.

Marvel Fanfare Issue • BACK ISSUE • 21

Of all the issues of Marvel Fanfare, some of the most
reprinted have been #10–13 (Aug. 1983–Mar. 1984), a
four-part Black Widow story written by Ralph Macchio
and largely illustrated by George Pérez. The story is full
of flashy costumes and international travels, and pushed
adult boundaries, ramping up the twisted history of
Marvel’s redheaded femme fatal. But what is the actual
history of the story itself? Top secret files were declassified,
and writer Macchio (pronounced Mack-eo) unleashes
the truth in the confession that follows…

TWISTING TENDRILS
The cover of Tales of Suspense #52 (Apr. 1964) headlined
“Introducing the gorgeous new menace of… the Black
TM
Widow!” and saw the Armored Avenger facing down
the equally armored Crimson Dynamo while a purple-
clad, fur-wearing woman gestured imperiously. The
story inside, plotted by Stan Lee, scripted by “N. Korok”
(a pseudonym for Don Rico), and illustrated by Don
by Andy Mangels
Heck, introduced the Russian spy-seductress Madame
Natasha Romanoff, who was sent to Stark Industries to
retrieve—or kill—the defecting scientist Ivan Vanko, as
well as Iron Man. Although failing in her first mission,
Widow stuck around in the States to steal Stark’s anti-
gravity ray in the very next issue.
Natasha would appear in several further Iron Man
stories, duping Hawkeye into battling the armored hero,
receiving a black-and-blue costume replete with fishnets,
suction boots, and weaponized bracelets, and vacillating
between her harsh masters in Russia and a desire to lead
a freer life in America. Defecting to the US, she would
encounter the Avengers and work alongside Nick Fury
and S.H.I.E.L.D., as well as watch her husband die in the
costume of the Red Guardian, but in Amazing Spider-Man
#86 (July 1970), the displaced spy would make another
fateful choice to forge her own destiny. A part of her
decision involved designing her own new costume (aided
by John Romita, Sr. and Jim Mooney), which, as she says,
“will be more in keeping with the swingy seventies!
And with the modern image of the new Black Widow!”
Over the following decade, Black Widow would headline
her own stories in Amazing Adventures, join the Avengers
as its 16th member, move to San Francisco to share title
billing with Daredevil, and become a founding member
of the misfit superhero team the Champions. Through
it all, tiny bits of her origins were teased out, but much
of her past remained a Cold War mystery.

BLACK WIDOW… IN BLACK AND WHITE

The magazine series Bizarre Adventures was Marvel’s bid
at an older audience, allowing creators to work outside
the Comics Code, like the sexier and darker Warren
magazines of the day. Bizarre Adventures #25 (Mar. 1981)
was subtitled “Lethal Ladies,” and its contents including
the Daughters of the Dragon, Lady Daemon, and the
Black Widow. The Widow story was by writer Ralph
Macchio and artist Paul Gulacy, with Natasha receiving a
S.H.I.E.L.D. assignment to infiltrate a Soviet arms depot in

Web of Intrigue
George Pérez’s cover to Marvel Fanfare #10
(Aug. 1983), launching a Black Widow story
arc originally planned for Marvel Premiere.
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

22 • BACK ISSUE • Marvel Fanfare Issue

South Africa and stop its commander, Irma Klausvichnova—
the very woman who had trained Natasha!
Macchio recalls of the story that he wanted to deviate
from a James Bondian spy story and instead do a twisty
“John LeCarre thing where you really didn’t know who
were the good guys and the bad guys. Even in the names
of the people in there I wanted to be a little bit off-putting.
There’s a bishop character. The idea with the bishop is
that he doesn’t move in a straight line. A bishop moves
diagonally. And Langley, of course, Langley being where
the CIA is headquartered. The whole thing that occurs at
the end, where you think you know what’s going on in the
story and all of a sudden, the Langley character pops up—
who looks just like Humphrey Bogart—and he basically
schools the Black Widow. He says, ‘You know, you just
knew this, but this was what was really going on.’ Then
she goes, ‘How do I know if that’s what’s really going
on?’ And he basically tells her, ‘You don’t.’
“I wanted the story to be very bizarre, fitting with
Bizarre Adventures. I wanted it to be something where
you got to the end and went, ‘Wow! This is really strange.
What happened here?’
“That story took me longer to write than I think anything
else I’ve ever written,” says Macchio. “I really worked very
hard because every line, every word, had to be precise and
had to lead toward these few concluding pages. I didn’t
want anything in there to be extraneous. I wanted it to be
as stripped down and as tight as I could possibly make it,
just as Gulacy’s art was the perfect complement to that.
I didn’t want it to be like any other Black Widow story that
you’d read with just a lot of fight scenes and then you get
to the end and you know this is the bad guy and this is
how it happened. I wanted it to be very murky and very...
Spy Who Came in from the Cold-kind of thing at the end.”

THE MARVEL PREMIERE STORY THAT WASN’T

The Bizarre Adventures story wasn’t the first time Macchio
had worked on Black Widow, but it was the first to
see print. In the Marvel fanzine FOOM #22 (1979),
Macchio was interviewed about his upcoming
work, which was to include a three-part
Widow story for Marvel Premiere, with art
by George Pérez. The writer noted at
that point that Pérez had drawn six
pages, and a cover from 1978—inked
by Bob Layton—was printed, showing
explosions, technology, underwater
fighting, Nick Fury, and an international
group of bad guys, all surrounding an We talked for almost two hours and then I Freefalling
angry Natasha. Later that year, in Marvel realized that the tape recorder had not been Title page of issue
Spotlight vol. 2 #3 (Nov. 1979), the on record! George was such a nice guy;
letters page promised that the Widow he sat there with me and we redid the #10’s Chapter Two,
story would be in Spotlight instead. entire thing! As friends, we discussed if
with art by Bob
It would be another half-decade, time ever opens and the opportunity
though, until the Widow story was © Marvel. comes up, what would you like to work Layton and Luke
actually completed and appeared in its eventual home, on? And eventually it led to the Black Widow.”
Marvel Fanfare, in 1984. And now, instead of three issues, The story would be one of the first where Pérez would
McDonnell.
it was a four-parter, but half of one issue—and a cover— be credited as co-plotter. “I don’t remember exactly TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.
weren’t drawn by Pérez! How did this all come about? what the division of labor was,” says Macchio. “I’m sure
Macchio had begun working at Marvel in the mid-1970s, it was basically George came up with the original idea and
about the same time as Pérez. “I remember being up there then we sat down and probably discussed the various
just about the time he was starting,” Ralph recalls. “He lived story points along the way. We all know that George is
in the Bronx—and he was always up at Marvel and an excellent plotter! He wants to be involved with the
I remember him bringing in pages that were going to the story. I’m sure that he jumped in here and had an awful
inker for ‘The Sons of the Tiger’ [in the magazine Deadly lot to do with the direction of the storyline. In terms of
Hands of Kung Fu], and he just really continued to improve scripting, I’m sure that I did all the scripting on that.”
on that. We got to be friends, and at one point, I remember As noted, the original three-part story would eventually
going to his house and doing an interview with him, for be published as a four-parter, with the first issue (published
a portfolio called Pérez—Accent On the First ‘E.’ What was as Marvel Fanfare #10) grafted on to the beginning to
interesting about it was, I had the tape recorder there and basically fill readers in on the “known” backstory of Black
I had it on and George was talking and I had the tape in. Widow. Nick Fury and his S.H.I.E.L.D team discuss the

Marvel Fanfare Issue • BACK ISSUE • 23

 history of Natasha, while the Widow herself exits a luxurious shower to face down a
cadre of masked goons in her penthouse. Once she defeats them, she learns that they
were S.H.I.E.L.D. agents sent to test her at the behest of Fury… who wants her to help
find her trainer/adopted father, Ivan Petrovich.
The first nine pages of the story were penciled by Pérez, while the back nine were
penciled by Bob Layton and Luke McDonnell, all with inks by Brett Breeding. In the
TwoMorrows book Modern Masters: George Pérez, the artist explained that when editor
Al Milgrom wanted the unfinished Widow story for Fanfare, he came back to finish the
third (now fourth) issue, and draw the first/prequel issue. However, due to conflicts
with Marvel and [editor-in-chief] Jim Shooter over the first planned JLA/Avengers book—
and due to his burgeoning workload—Pérez couldn’t finish issue #1, and refused to
draw the final cover (an unknown named Art Adams would draw it instead).
Of issue #10’s scene in which a nude Widow fights thugs and gets dressed at the same
time, Macchio says that Pérez’s mastery of storytelling and density made the scene shine,
along with quick cutting. “That one full-page shot said it all. It did not need to show a
lot of nakedness or anything like that. It was suggestive and strongly drawn. When I
looked at that full-page shot... I wanted to come up with just a line that would complement
that, that would be equal to the art. And that’s the kind of thing that makes you a
better writer. Because even if I had originally written that full script and I said, ‘Okay,
George. Full page shot, Widow holding a smoking gun, guy’s down, his face has been
blown away,’ I would not have come up with what I came up with unless I had actually
seen the artwork. I mean, it was so good it inspires you as a writer to do it.”
Although Marvel often danced around the issue of whether some of their characters
actually killed, Macchio made it clear that Black Widow was deadly throughout the
story, including in this opening scene. “I did certainly intend in that scene when she
blew that guy’s face off that he’s dead. And there are later sequences where she goes
to Russia under that disguise of Laura Matthers and they wind up killing the KGB guys
who were actually working for Damon Dran. When they wind up stabbing Corcoran
in the back, and she goes after them with her Widow’s Bite, my feeling is that she’s got
those turned on to full and that she probably did them in… We did not want bodies
littering the landscape. She definitely is not the Punisher. She will do you in if you get
in her way and if that’s the most expedient way of getting out of a situation.”
The story that follows plays heavily on past Marvel continuity, while adding to the
Black Widow canon. “I’m a huge continuity guy,” Macchio says. “If you can bring in a
character that the Black Widow has had a past association with, I think that’s more fun
than just right away introducing somebody new because that gave her some sort of
personal connection. Also, the idea of using Ivan gives it a personal touch. I wanted it
planted in the readers’ mind, the uncertainty of whether or not the Black Widow who
will kill... This is the man who basically raised her. If she was going to be killed by him,
would she be able to let her spy training take over? Would she be able to kill him?
We were able to make it a personal story for her, both with Ivan and with Damon Dran,
and even some of the other characters in there, too.”

INTERNATIONAL INCIDENTS
Over the following three Fanfare issues, Black Widow returns to the USSR to recapture
Ivan Petrovich for S.H.I.E.L.D., seduces the American defector scientist Michael Corcoran,
and becomes the target of a sextet of international assassins: Zulu warrior N’Kama,
big game hunter Deadshot Darrance, silver-armored Russian agent the Iron Maiden,
rodeo rope mistress Laralie, martial artist the Black Lotus, and Sumo wrestler Kono.
Eventually, the masterminds behind the whole affair are revealed to be the new villainess
Snapdragon and the scarred millionaire munitions manufacturer Damon Dran, who
had previously battled Black Widow and Daredevil.
Unaware that the defunct T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents comics also featured a silver-
armored villainess named Iron Maiden, Macchio says that “the Iron Maiden, who
[Natasha] had the more extended fight with, had long felt that she was under the
Widow’s shadow because of the more flamboyant escapades of the Black Widow.
She felt she hadn’t gotten her due, so she also had a sense of revenge that she wanted
on the Widow. I wanted to keep it away from just being someone on the outside who
was just brought in as sort of a McGuffin character, and make some real revenge and
some personal stakes in the story. I think I used the name Kono for the sumo wrestler
because I had recalled in Hawaii Five-0 that McGarrett’s assistant was Kono, and he was
a big Hawaiian guy.”
One element of the story stood out for its time because it was so unusual for super-
hero comics. In the second issue, it’s clear that Corcoran and Natasha have had sex.
Foot Soldier “One of the things that we know in the real world is that a lot of information is given
Natasha gets her kicks—and so do Macchio to women when they sleep with men,” says Macchio. “Men loosen up in bed! We know
this! When is a man at his most loose and gonna open up to a woman? Right after he’s
and Pérez—in this dynamite two-page slept with her. Pillow talk! So I have no doubt that even though she had grown close
action sequence from Marvel Fanfare #11. to Corcoran, there was also that cold-blooded spy inside of Natasha, and I’m sure she
said, ‘You know what? If I sleep with this guy, he’s gonna loosen up and tell me
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. something about Ivan that I may not get at any other time.’ ”

24 • BACK ISSUE • Marvel Fanfare Issue

 Cover Girl
The remaining
covers of Black
Widow’s MF stint.
(top) Issues #11 and
12 by Pérez, and
(bottom) #13 by
Arthur Adams.
(background) A
freshly-bathed
Natasha and a
face-offed foe,
from issue #11.
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

Amusingly, Macchio would make an international error in the second

issue, placing Hong Kong in Japan! “That was me,” he laughs. “I’ve never
been to Europe, never been to the Far East. I remember Chris Claremont,
who was looking at the story at the time, called me out on it because Chris
is a world traveler.” In later reprintings, Marvel has edited out the incorrect
geographical references.
Over the three decades since its arrival in comic shops—Marvel Fanfare
was a direct sales-only series—the Black Widow story has been reprinted
in multiple versions: as the comic Black Widow: Web of Intrigue (June 1999)
and in 2010 as a trade paperback and hardcover under the same title.
Macchio worked with Black Widow a few times more, on the Daredevil
book, and as an editor. “I’ve always kept my eye on her. I’ve always had a
great fondness for our friend Natasha.” But he maintains that the Fanfare
story has fans today, in large part thanks to Pérez’s art. “George’s style never
goes out of style! From day one, when George picked up a pencil, ’til today,
he does not have a style that ages! I hope that the story holds up. We tried
to do a good spy story, something that holds up over time and you wouldn’t
grow bored with. The fact that we’re talking about it some 25 years after it’s
been done is to me amazing! It’s very gratifying that people still find that
story interesting. It was just a good thriller with a character that’s as active
as she’s ever been. The Black Widow has never gone out of style. She’s worn
so many coats—femme fatale, saboteur, heartbreaker, superhero, spy. She’s
all over the place and she played each role equally well. I think that’s because
she’s such a versatile character, also that draws people to that story.”
Before we break off, Macchio adds, “I just want to express my gratitude
to you guys there at BACK ISSUE for wanting to do an article on this! I think
any writer, when he’s done something he’s proud of, just loves the idea
that people are still interested in it… Maybe we’ll get some Black Widow
fans to enjoy that story who weren’t familiar with it from the days of yore.”

The interview with Ralph Macchio was conducted in September 2016 by Andy Mangels,
and transcribed by Steven Thompson.

ANDY MANGELS is the USA Today bestselling author and co-author of 20 books, including
the recent TwoMorrows book Lou Scheimer: Creating the Filmation Generation, as well
as Iron Man: Beneath the Armor, and a lot of comic books, including the Wonder Woman
’77 Meets the Bionic Woman series for Dynamite and DC. Additionally, he has scripted,
directed, and produced Special Features for over 40 DVD releases. His moustache is infamous.
[Link] and [Link]

Marvel Fanfare Issue • BACK ISSUE • 25

 DOUGLAS R. KELLY: Roger, I’m gonna throw the
chronological approach out the window and start with
the stories you wrote about the Vision in Marvel Fanfare
#14 and 32, because I’m a huge fan of the Vision and I
want to get right to the dessert.
ROGER McKENZIE: Okay, sure.
KELLY: Your story in Marvel Fanfare #14 (May 1984)
was entitled “Dangerous Vision,” and it opened with
the Vision brooding about the absence of his wife,
Wanda. He leaves Avengers mansion to look for her
and finds that, of all things, she’s been attacked by
the Fantastic Four. Did you have an idea in mind for
how you wanted to explore the character of the Vision
in this story?
McKENZIE: If I did, I don’t recall now what it was,
but I have to say that Marvel Fanfare was like being
a kid in a candy store. I got to use characters like
the Vision and the Scarlet Witch and Iron Man,
characters that had their regular writers and
by Douglas R. Kelly
characters that I never got to do. But I could
in Marvel Fanfare.
KELLY: The Vision is a hugely powerful
being, but he often uses that power in
kind of non-violent ways… here, for
example, you had him partly solidify
his hand inside Ben Grimm’s head.
That’s a non-violent way to end,
or win, a fight. Did you see the Vision
this way?
McKENZIE: I did. I’ve always liked the
Vision, pretty much for the reasons
you just outlined.
KELLY: At the end of your story here,
the Vision grabs one of the bad guys,
the Thinker, and says to him, “I may be less than human,
but I am more than machine.”
McKENZIE: Yeah, and if I’d been writing the character
in the Avengers or in a miniseries book, that’s how I
would have played it. It gives him human appeal and
you can build stories around this dichotomy…
questions like, “What am I, really?” “What do humans
think of me?”
KELLY: Your editor on Marvel Fanfare was Al Milgrom.
Do you recall him giving you input on the characters and
stories, or was it a looser arrangement than that?
McKENZIE: As I remember it, we had pretty much free
rein. But still, you couldn’t take these characters outside
of their usual realm. You can’t suddenly make Captain
America a member of Hydra, for instance. I wouldn’t
have done things like that, so I never ran into that kind
of situation with Al, who I think is a great editor and
a great talent all around.
My two favorite Marvel heroes are Captain America
and Daredevil. I was lucky enough to be able to write
both of those characters. But I never gravitated
toward the powerful characters… I never really wanted
to write a Superman story, for instance, because he’s
too powerful.
KELLY: A few years later, you returned to the Vision
character with Marvel Fanfare #32 (May 1987), in

Fading In and Out of Marvel Fanfare

From the Vision tale “Rosie” in Marvel
Fanfare #32 (May 1987), one of several
memorable MF stories written by Roger
McKenzie. Art by Paul Smith.
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

26 • BACK ISSUE • Marvel Fanfare Issue

a ten-page story entitled “Rosie.” You really dug into quite a ways. He originally worked on my wooden From the Holiday
the Vision’s makeup in this one… he becomes obsessed detective character, Mike Mahogany, that we did at Grab-Bag
with finding out the real identity of a street vendor, Pacific Comics. He actually came to me at one point in
Rosie, who’s been murdered. The Vision can’t accept time [when Marvel offered him The Uncanny X-Men] and (left) Splash from
that this woman died without friends, without anyone asked me, “Should I take it?” So I sat him down… he
the Daredevil
to care for her, so he enlists Ben Urich, the reporter, didn’t really want to do The X-Men. He was perfectly
and together they set out to find out Rosie’s real name happy doing Dr. Strange. I said, “Take The X-Men, work back-up in Marvel
and so on. You offered some insight here into what on it for as long as you’re comfortable doing it, and
drives the Vision. make your name.”
Fanfare #1, written
McKENZIE: Well, I tried. At least, what drove him from KELLY: Roger, let’s circle back to the beginning. In Marvel by Roger and
my perspective. I think it was this primal gnawing, this Fanfare #1 (Mar. 1982), you did a Daredevil story called
feeling within him, “Am I human or not?” It’s actually “Snow,” which had a double meaning. Not just the time illustrated by the
somewhat like DC’s Metal Men, who had those of year (during the Christmas holidays) but also it had Daredevil-dynamic
“responsometers” that didn’t quite work right, and they to do with cocaine and the drug trade. It’s getting close
were kind of human. I’m not sure if Doc Magnus ever to Christmas, and an old man named Lewis is doing his duo of Smith and
figured out exactly what went “wrong” with those, but annual sidewalk Santa Claus thing, collecting donations Austin. (right)
they were basically human, and that’s what fascinated for a hospital for handicapped children. But he’s beaten
me. As I recall, [the Vision] was never a cyborg… he’s and robbed by druggies, and Matt Murdock is incensed McKenzie—with
part human and part robot, an android. Or, I guess, a by this, that the thugs stole the money that’s meant for Luke McDonnell
“synthezoid,” as it was called. He really, really wants to the kids. As Daredevil, he goes after those responsible.
be human, but there’s always this doubt in his mind. Roger, you set up a coincidental situation toward the and John Beatty—
And it’s not just because of the powers he has… I always end of the story that winds up looking an awful lot like brought together
thought the Vision’s powers were great. I don’t recall a a miracle.
character before him who can turn intangible and then McKENZIE: Well, I was (and probably still am) the Cap and Bucky
become rock-hard. “king of corn.” But it was Christmas. Wasn’t Lewis
in the pages of
KELLY: Paul Smith did the art on this story, which I think praying to God?
is excellent. Did you work with Paul or was he assigned KELLY: Right, he was praying for a miracle. Marvel Fanfare #5
after you’d written the story? McKENZIE: And he got one, at least from his viewpoint.
McKENZIE: If memory serves, that was one where he KELLY: Paul Smith penciled this one and Terry Austin
(Nov. 1982).
got the story after it was written. Paul and I go back inked it. What more could you ask for on the art side? TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

Marvel Fanfare Issue • BACK ISSUE • 27

 McKENZIE: I wouldn’t dream of asking for more! Cap and Bucky fight and defeat a Nazi named Stryker,
Over the years I’ve been blessed with better artists who is using a “prototype hydraulics-powered combat
than I ever deserved. suit.” Turns out the flashback is a film being shown
KELLY: In Marvel Fanfare #2 (May 1982), you wrote to a gang of thugs by Stryker’s son, who vows to
“Annihilation,” which had Reed Richards of the destroy Cap, “…just as he destroyed my father!” They
Fantastic Four trying, once again, to find a cure for the manage to capture Captain America, and Stryker’s
Thing (Ben Grimm). In the process, Reed accidentally son thinks that by taking away Cap’s uniform and
Vision-ary Writer frees Annihilus from the Negative Zone, and mayhem shield, that he can break Cap and force him to renounce
ensues. You wove into the story themes of guilt and his country. But things don’t work out that way in
(left) Roger regret, on Reed’s part. Were you happy with the way the story, do they?
humanized the that story turned out? McKENZIE: No. Cap was always more than his costume
McKENZIE: I think, as a writer, you’re never really or his shield. He’s an ideal. He’s Captain America. His
Avengers’ synthezoid happy. I can look at anything I’ve ever done and ask, shield, his costume, are symbols of greater truths.
in this memorable “Why did I do that? Why didn’t I think of this at the That’s how I’ve always perceived the character. You
time?” But as I remember, I think that one turned out know, as a kid, I didn’t know there was such a thing
tale from Marvel pretty well. Obviously, you couldn’t have Reed “cure” as the Golden Age of Comics. I thought they started
Fanfare #14 Ben of the Thing persona, because then, what’s the when I started reading them. The first time I ever
writer on the Fantastic Four book going to do? saw Captain America, it was in Strange Tales—I forget
(May 1984). (right) KELLY: The next story you wrote was a Captain America what issue it was—where Cap was being impersonated
adventure that appeared in Marvel Fanfare #5 by the Acrobat. [Editor’s note: The issue was Strange
The issue’s cover.
(Nov. 1982), entitled, “Shall Freedom Endure…” You Tales #114, Nov. 1963.] That was my first experience
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. opened it with a flashback to World War II, in which with Captain America and I was just blown away.
And then, shortly thereafter, he showed up in The
Avengers. I think that was probably the highlight of
my comic-book reading experience!
KELLY: That was your Golden Age.
McKENZIE: It was. Imagine my surprise when, years
later, I found out they’d been doing this back in the 1940s.
KELLY: Did you create the Stryker characters, father and
son, for this story?
McKENZIE: As far as I recall, yes.
KELLY: Onward. Marvel Fanfare #14 contained
another Daredevil story of yours, “Crimson Ash.” In
this one, you had a childhood friend of Matt Murdock’s,
a woman by the name of Crimson, who has had a
pretty tough time of it in life. Now, as an adult, she’s
suspected of setting fires in New York. Daredevil cares
enough about Crimson to try to help her, and that

28 • BACK ISSUE • Marvel Fanfare Issue

 Reach Out and Touch Someone
Watch your back, Shellhead! From the
McKenzie/Steacy story in Marvel Fanfare
#22 (Sept. 1985). (inset) Its cover.
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

stirs something in her. We just start to learn, to get a

peek into Crimson’s psyche, into her motivation,
when suddenly the story ends. Seemed to me that ten
pages was too short, like it needed more room to breathe.
Would you agree with that or not?
McKENZIE: Who drew that one?
KELLY: Jack Sparling did the pencils, and it says that
Akin and Garvey inked it.
McKENZIE: Okay. There’s never enough room. If we ran
out of space and had to end it, that would have been
my fault as a writer. I should have compressed something,
or taken something out earlier on.
KELLY: In Marvel Fanfare #22 (Sept. 1985) and 23
(Nov. 1985), you got to do a two-issue Iron Man
story. The story in #22 is entitled “Night of the Octopus,”
which has Dr. Octopus escaping from Ryker’s Island
prison using a set of tentacles made of adamantium.
In the process of doing this, Ock also manages to free
the Sandman, Electro, and the Gray Gargoyle, which
is quite a party. Ryker’s, it turns out, is a security
client of Stark Industries, and the escape is seen as a
Stark Industries failure. Iron Man manages to defeat
the other three, but Doc Ock humiliates Iron Man and
escapes. Issue #23 opens with Tony Stark repairing
his armor and setting out to find Ock. Instead, Ock finds
him and kidnaps Cherry Wood, a research scientist with
whom Stark is having dinner. Stark feels responsible
for Wood being in harm’s way and goes after Ock,
but Cherry Wood turns out to be more than equal to
the task… she’s great at hand-to-hand combat, and
she figures out how to take down Doc Ock. Do you
recall if you wrote her character this way as a conscious
thing, to be a capable, able woman, or did it kind of
happen organically?
McKENZIE: Good question. Probably a little bit of
both. Early on, I was really tired of the helpless female
that has to be saved. Stand up and do something,
even if [you’re up against] Dr. Octopus… who, by
the way, is my favorite Marvel villain. Always has
been. But the Dr. Octopus that I like is not the
muscle-bound guy in the green uniform. I want the
myopic, little kind of gelatinous guy… who even I
could knock out; even I could take him if I could get I understand it, a lot of these were inventory stories.
through those arms. If I can, Octopus is a piece of Mine weren’t… the Daredevil stories and the Vision
cake. There’s not a bone in his body. He’s nothing! stories and the Fantastic Four story. They would have
But he’s got those arms, and they can rip Iron Man to be there [in Marvel Fanfare], because I couldn’t
apart, if you’re not careful. And he’s crazy as a loon. write the Mr. Fantastic story in the main Fantastic Four
KELLY: You must have had a ball writing this story. book, because I wasn’t the writer of that book. Good
McKENZIE: Oh, I would have written Dr. Octopus in example… Chris Claremont was the writer of The
every story Marvel ever did, if they let me [laughter]. Uncanny X-Men at that time. Those were his characters…
There’s something about that character. In those two in a lot of ways, he owned the X-Men. And for a new
issues, I loved Ken Steacy’s art. guy like me… I would have to have gotten it cleared
KELLY: It’s kind of an unusual style, particularly for that by Chris, to write any X-Men story. Which I don’t think
time, that painted style. is a bad way to go. It makes sense to coordinate all of
McKENZIE: It was unusual, but I just loved it. that, with those characters.
KELLY: I think it worked well, especially where Ken had
room to really let it fly. There’s a scene in issue #23 where DOUGLAS R. KELLY is editor of Marine Technology magazine
he has Iron Man streaking across the landscape, in among and a collector of Silver and Bronze Age comics. His byline has
factory buildings, and it just looks tremendous… the appeared in such publications as Antiques Roadshow Insider,
painterly quality of the art perfectly suits the scene. Associations Now, Model Collector, and Buildings. He’s no
longer in near mint condition, but wouldn’t mind being called
McKENZIE: Yeah. I thought what everybody (not just
a very fine minus.
my stuff) did in Marvel Fanfare was really great. But as

Marvel Fanfare Issue • BACK ISSUE • 29

Marvel Fanfare wasn’t the first series to feature the adventures
of the jungle boy Mowgli and his wild friends. Marvel wasn’t
even the first publisher to adapt the classic, as Dell featured
adaptations of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book in the mid-1950s,
and prior to that, Classics Illustrated adapted a few tales that TM
follow the feral protagonist. But it was a love for those books,
a film, and the original stories that pushed then-editor Roy
Thomas to have Marvel adapt some of Kipling’s narratives.
And he wanted Gil Kane to draw them, beginning with a
discussion in the editor’s Manhattan apartment in the mid-1970s. by Andy Smith
The primary reason? Kane’s skill in rendering animals. “A lot of
comic book artists just can’t do it,” Roy Thomas wrote in an
introduction to a 2007 collection of Marvel Fanfare #8–11.
“Their horses look like two men in a horse suit, and their bears
are merely lions with more fur and greater girth.”
A believable bear would be particularly useful, with Baloo serving
as a key character in the run. This is a series in which animals dominate
each and every page. Even though John Buscema was the most
frequent collaborator of Thomas, Kane emerged as the desired
artist. Thomas continued, in the introduction: “His beasts moved
with fluid grace the way such creatures did in nature, remaining
animals even when called on to exhibit nigh-human intelligence.”
Yet, Thomas was gone by the time Kane’s pages for the
anthology series Marvel Fanfare were being sent for inking
to P. Craig Russell. Thomas had exited Marvel and begun a
“semi-exclusive” relationship with DC Comics. In his introduction,
Roy lamented not getting to script those adaptations (or a
splash-page nod, even, for formulating the plan). Instead, Kane
would handle writing duties on the run, with Mary Jo Duffy
jumping on to script the final two issues.
Russell remembers the assignment with fondness: “I was just
ten years into my career at that time,” Craig says. “I had
grown up admiring the work of Gil Kane. And to hold
the original penciled pages in my hand, and to see
the markings [was special]. When I inked Gil Kane,
I tried to be as faithful as possible to the linework.
I thought to myself, ‘How would Gil Kane ink
this, if he had time?’ I’m in the camp of wanting
to see Gil Kane’s pencils as unadorned. I’m not
trying to add flourishes and a fantastical style
to the work that’s already there.”
The introduction to Marvel Fanfare #8 (May
1983) maintains the literary cadence of The Jungle
Book’s opening, yet simplifies some of the
setup: “Now Mang the Bat sets free the night—
the herds are closed in corral and hot and
loosed till dawn are the jungle’s own. This is
the hour of pride and power, talon and claw, Portrait by Michael Netzer.
and for the telling of the saga of Mowgli and his brothers.”
Compare that to the original Kipling: “Now Chil the Kite
brings home the night/That Mang the Bat sets free/The herds
are shut in byre and hut/For loosed till dawn are we. This is the
hour of pride and power/Talon and tush and claw. Oh, hear the
call!/Good hunting all/That keep the Jungle Law!”
Yet, Kane’s task was more daunting than to simply take text
and apply it onto his jungle backdrops and action, updating when
needed. Russell has made a career of adapting classic works,
including other Kipling tales (collected in 1997’s Jungle Book Stories). Born to Be Wild
“You can’t just take chunks of copy and paste them down into the
story,” Russell says. “It has to work in the form you’re working in. This P. Craig Russell portrait of Mowgli and Shere Khan graced the
There’s a great deal of editing and solutions that go into it. back cover of Marvel Fanfare #8 (May 1983). (inset) Marvel Fanfare’s
You have to get under the skin of the story, come up with visual
metaphors, commenting on the story while you’re telling it.” adaptation of Kipling’s classic was collected in the 2007 trade
This is something Russell has honed over a four-decade career.
paperback Marvel Illustrated The Jungle Book, with this Russell cover.
With the series Night Music, Russell wrote and drew both
literary and operatic classics, including works by Mozart, TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

30 • BACK ISSUE • Marvel Fanfare Issue

 The Man-Cub
Matures
Courtesy of Heritage
Comics Auctions
([Link]), two
original art pages
featuring the
spectacular Jungle
Book team of Kane
and Russell: (left)
Baloo looks out for
little Mowgli, from
Marvel Fanfare #8.
(right) The threat
of Shere Khan,
from issue #10.
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

Wagner, and Strauss. “I’m always simply looking for a good story to mood throughout the narrative, which is packed with bouts, humbling
tell. And why not some of the greatest stories of all time? It’s all there. moments, and self-doubt via the protagonist. It is in this final chapter
Kipling’s dialogue sparkles, jumps off the page.” that Mowgli gets caught up with the trickster monkeys the Bander-Log,
By the end of Marvel Fanfare #8, the tiger Shere Khan was established against the advice of Baloo. The tale ends with Kaa the snake aiding
as the primary antagonist for the run, with Mowgli being brought into our hero’s rescue, and Mowgli needing to pay for his trespassing with
the pack of wolves led by Akela. He had also garnered the protection of the law of the jungle. His penance? A swift swipe across the face from
the aforementioned bear, Baloo, and the black panther, Bagheera, Bagheera the black panther, who remarks that the hit wouldn’t have
who had paid for his life with a bull offering. His ascent to had knocked out his cubs like it did Mowgli. “Mowgli slept
becoming one of the leaders of his wolf pack is part of that plot. peacefully, riding on Bagheera’s back all the way to his own
In that time, he begins to ponder what happens to most cave,” the run’s last piece of narration began. “For one
leaders: They’re either driven out or killed, eventually of the beauties of the Jungle Law is that punishment
replaced within the council on which he currently settles all scores. There is no nagging afterwards.”
resides. This theme carries into all of the narratives, In a way, Russell is still telling narratives like those
an analog for considering leadership in any backdrop. of Mowgli. His long association with Neil Gaiman’s The
Russell says there are “twin pillars of adaptations: Graveyard Book, which began as a notion that the
either being faithful or using it as a springboard British scribe wanted to set tales like Kipling’s in a
for something new.” Kane would take the former graveyard, maintains these themes. “After 30 years, I
approach, aging Mowgli and having the hero learn can’t escape these stories,” Russell says. “Once you have
the laws of the jungle from Baloo, the “Stranger’s a character in a natural setting, in the jungle and
Hunting Call,” and the words that would protect him danger, you’re going to have these concepts of human
from all of the “peoples of the jungle.” striving and trying to make your way into the world.”
The writer/author adds an example of the latter: That’s exactly what makes these stories, originally
“The Shining. Now, that’s Kubrick. He uses the book, Portrait by John Severin. written as a book in 1894, relevant today, Russell
but in the end, the film is Kubrick’s.” Kubrick’s version certainly takes maintains. In 2015, The Jungle Book was made into a new, live-action film
several liberties, abandoning the central plot and even shifting the from Disney. (The critical and commercial success grossed $966 million.)
focus on the evil present in the stories. King was famously not a fan. Kipling’s knack for universal themes seems to make its way into every
There are also two approaches to comic covers, Russell says, which generation since first appearing. “Any story that comments on the human
he had to think about when asked to create a cover for a collection of condition is going to be timeless,” Russell says. “Honor. Evasion. Loyalty. All
the Marvel Fanfare’s specific Jungle Book-sourced stories a decade ago: of the aspects of Mowgli growing up, which is really what the story is about.”
“There’s a situational cover and an iconic cover, where you have all Among his stated other regrets, Thomas added another one in his
of the characters in their natural backdrop, in their milieu.” Russell introduction to the 2007 collection: “That this volume isn’t a whole
went for the latter, surrounding the jungle boy with characters that lot thicker, because Gil and company never got the chance to adapt
appear throughout the stories in the issues, save for the villainous Shere all the Mowgli tales—and then move on to do the non-Mowgli stories
Khan. It’s a tranquil scene, with Mowgli aged somewhere from where in The Jungle Books, and maybe the Just-So Stories, to boot.”
he started. Still, in some form or another, the stories have lived on.
The adaptations featured throughout the four-issue run in Marvel
ANDY SMITH is a writer based in Charlotte, NC, where he serves as arts editor
Fanfare are titled “Wolf-Boy,” “Mowgli’s Brothers,” “How Fear Came,” at the city magazine. His work also appears in Hi-Fructose Magazine, New Noise
and “Kaa’s Hunting,” respectively. And tranquility isn’t always the evoked Magazine, and other publications.

Marvel Fanfare Issue • BACK ISSUE • 31

 TM

by Chris Brennaman
Months ago, when I sent Marv Wolfman an email asking
for an interview about his Marvel Fanfare #16 (Sept. 1984)
and 17 (Nov. 1984) contributions, Sky-Wolf, he was more
than a little puzzled.
“Hard to believe anyone cares,” he wrote back.
In the annals of the Marvel Fanfare anthology series,
Sky-Wolf is most certainly one of the stranger, more
offbeat entries. Penned by Wolfman with pencils
handled by Dave Cockrum, the story details the origins
of the titular team of World War II adventurers. Escape
artist Jesse “Little John” Johns, Hollywood
special-effects master Sidney “The Gaff”
Levine, and Matt Slade III come together
under the lead of Skyler “Sky-Wolf” Wolf
in an effort to retrieve a super-secret
airplane prototype.
That may sound fairly straight-
forward, but once you dig into the
story, you’re actually bombarded by a
seemingly never-ending succession of
insane images, over-the-top characters,
and outlandish war machines.
“Both Dave and I really loved DC’s
Blackhawk,” Wolfman says. “We kept
thinking what we loved about the
series was the stuff done in the 1950s.
The villains were so far advanced compared to the
heroes. They had the War Wheel, they had the flying
tanks, they had all this silly stuff that looked great
in a comic book. That was when they were being
published by Quality. When they came to DC, they
weren’t quite the same anymore.”
That’s what Sky-Wolf was—a love letter to the
Blackhawk comics of old, penned by Wolfman and
penciled by Cockrum.
“We did what we loved about them,” Wolfman says.
“We did giant, silly machines and big, dopey stuff.
We just wanted to have a lot of fun with it and see if we
could do the Blackhawks that never quite existed but
the one we always wanted.”

A Hawk-a Hawk-a Burnin’ Love…

…for Blackhawk—Wolfman and
Cockrum’s Sky-Wolf! Dave’s cover to
Marvel Fanfare #16 (Sept. 1984).
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

32 • BACK ISSUE • Marvel Fanfare Issue

 So readers get treated to a barrage of that “big, with his friend and regular collaborator Dave Cockrum. Sky Team
dopey stuff.” On top of the usual World War II Nazi He recalls most of the details of its creation. So, why (left) The
menace, there’s Murder Mountain, Steel Kommando, the shock that a reporter would email him for an
the Flying Fuhrer… interview about it? Sky-Wolves
Yes. You read that right. The Flying Fuhrer. “I’ve never seen anyone comment on it in all the
identified, from
“That was the absolute silliest thing I could years since,” he says with a laugh. “I’ve never signed
imagine,” Wolfman says of a weapon that a single issue of it that I can remember it. MF #16. (right)
appears at one point in the story to terrorize But we loved it. We did exactly what we
the masses. wanted to do. We wanted a big, fun
Cockrum’s cover
And in case you’re wondering what Blackhawk-like thing but there was for the second
a Flying Fuhrer is, well, it’s pretty much never any response to it.”
exactly what you would imagine: a Still, part of him would have liked to (and final)
giant, flying weapon in the form of have revisited the team of World War II appearance of
Adolf Hitler that rains down fiery death adventurers.
from its extended right hand. “It would have been nice had we Sky-Wolf.
“We wanted to have fun and go way gotten a lot of mail,” he says. “But TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.
overboard,” Wolfman says. books like that rarely got mail. The
“I pretty much just decided I Fantastic Four may only get like 20,
wanted to do it. I don’t think anyone 30, 40 letters at most. It wasn’t what
cared what we did as long as it was everyone thought. A book like
as well done as it could be. We were Marvel Fanfare, unless it was some-
at a stage in comics when readers Portrait by Michael Netzer. thing unbelievable in terms of the
were looking for new stuff rather than 40 versions Marvel superhero line, never really got much mail at
of the same old comic and we were trying to do all. If we had gotten two or three letters that would
something a little different than the standard have been a lot.”
Marvel superhero.”
Sky-Wolf is a comic feature Wolfman clearly has fond CHRIS BRENNAMAN is an Atlanta-based writer and operates
memories of. He enjoyed putting the book together the blog [Link].

Marvel Fanfare Issue • BACK ISSUE • 33

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 Roger Stern and Frank Miller’s “Home Fires!” in Marvel
Fanfare #18 (Jan. 1985) finds Captain America and the
FDNY fighting a series of fires in Brooklyn. The mysterious
arsonists “We—The People” threaten even more unless
the city of New York pays them six million dollars. As
Cap combs the city looking for leads, he pauses to admire
a happy father kissing his wife and sons goodbye for the
day. “I wonder if that man knows how lucky he is?” Cap
wonders. “I’d give just about anything to have his life…
to be just another ordinary man, working to keep my
piece of the American Dream.”
Captain America ultimately discovers that that same
family man, Hal Brady, is also the leader of the arsonists.
Feeling that the American Dream has failed them, Brady
and his fellow Knights of Brooklyn have turned to arson
and extortion to tip the country’s scales in their favor.
by J o h n Tr u m b u l l Cap is horrified that community leaders, local businessmen,
and even a policeman have conspired to burn down a
nursing home. When Brady is incinerated in a fire he started,
Cap has little sympathy, observing, “He had chances… a lot
of chances. He just looked for excuses not to take them.”
After smashing through a brick wall to lead the other
arsonists to safety, the Sentinel of Liberty charges back
into the burning building for one last rescue: the American
flag. Holding Old Glory before the remaining
Knights of Brooklyn, Cap states, “This belongs
to all of us. But it’s not for free—and it
doesn’t come easy. It’s America! America
doesn’t hand you things on a silver platter.
Sometimes all she offers is hope. And now,
I have to think of some way to bring
hope to Mrs. Brady and her boys. If any
of you still pray… pray for them!”

FROM A SPARK TO A FLAME

In addition to Roger Stern, Frank Miller,
and inker Joe Rubinstein, MF #18
carries the credit “Based on a story
suggested by Roger McKenzie.” Roger
© Luigi Novi / Stern explains the history to BACK ISSUE:
Wikimedia Commons.
“ ‘Home Fires’ had a more complicated
beginning than most stories. It actually started back
when I was the editor of Captain America and other
Avengers-related titles.
“At the time, Roger McKenzie was writing Cap, and he
had come up with the plot for the first part of a proposed
two-part story for what would have been Captain America
#238–239 (Oct.–Nov. 1979). Except that, as originally
plotted by McKenzie, there was very little Cap in the story.
It mostly dealt with Steve Rogers getting involved in fighting
a fire in his neighborhood. It’s been a long time [and I don’t
recall all the details], but I think he may have appeared as
Cap in a couple of panels. Anyway, the artist who was
supposed to draw the issue wasn’t interested in drawing
the ‘Adventures of Steve Rogers,’ so he turned the plot
back in and bowed out. To keep the book on schedule,
I wound up substituting a different two-part story, one
written by Peter Gillis and penciled by Fred Kida.

Uncle Cap Wants You

Frank Miller’s soul-stirring cover to
Marvel Fanfare #18 (Jan. 1985).
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

Marvel Fanfare Issue • BACK ISSUE • 35

 “And that’s where things would
have ended, if not for Frank Miller.
Frank had heard about the story from
McKenzie, and asked if he could
fiddle around with it. What Frank had
in mind was turning the story around,
bringing in Cap almost immediately,
and condensing the two-parter into
one. All of that sounded like it might
work, so I gave him my blessing and
sent him on his way. I didn’t think
much more about it until Frank
showed up with 17 penciled pages.
“I don’t remember exactly
when that was, but I think that
I was on the verge of leaving the
editorial staff to write full-time.
And one of the titles I was picking
up was Captain America.
“And, since Frank and I had
been talking about working together,
it was decided that I would script
the story as part of my new writing
assignment, and we’d slot it in as
needed. But before I ever got around
to scripting it, Marvel’s story content
was enlarged from 17 to 22 pages.
When that happened, I sat down with
Frank, and we figured out where best
to expand the story. Then, he went
off and drew the additional pages,
and then, those pages sat in a
drawer, waiting for an opening.
“Finally, long after I left the
monthly Captain America assignment,
I wound up scripting the story for
Marvel Fanfare. I think that I came up
with the title ‘Home Fires’ as I was
scripting it. As I said, it was a long,
complicated process.” Stern remains
modest about his contribution to the
finished story. “It was mostly Frank’s
plot, what with all the work he put
into it. I just helped a little, here and
there.” Miller also provided new
front and back covers for the issue.
While four years might seem like
a long wait to see a comics story
published, Stern points out, “Actually,
since it started with an idea that
Roger McKenzie had, back in 1979,
there was an even longer gap.
But four, or in this case, six, years
isn’t an unheard-of gap between
conception and publication. I once
scripted a Dr. Strange story 12 years
after I had plotted it. But I always
figured that ‘Home Fires’ would see
print someday. Marvel doesn’t let
stories sit on a shelf forever.”

PATRIOTISM AND POLITICS

Incredibly, the arsonists of “Home
Fires” were only mildly exaggerated
from a real-life incident. As Stern
Protecting the American Dream recalls, “I believe that McKenzie’s
original inspiration was a news
Original art to the splash page from the Stern/Miller/Rubinstein Captain report about firefighters in some city
in New England, I don’t remember
America classic. Courtesy of Heritage Comic Auctions ([Link]).
where, who were secretly starting
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. fires during a period of contract

36 • BACK ISSUE • Marvel Fanfare Issue

negotiations. It wasn’t extortion per se; they were just INKERS ARE DOING IT FOR THEMSELVES Agent with Shield
trying to convince the city fathers that there was a lot Marvel Fanfare #18 also contained bonus portfolios by two (left) From the
from danger from fires, and that the city shouldn’t drag artists largely known as inkers: Kevin Nowlan and Terry
its feet on fully funding their fire department. Austin. Nowlan’s six pages of Marvel heroines included climax of “Home
“With the arsonists, we weren’t trying to make a Dagger, the Black Widow, Red Sonja, Phoenix, Nova, and a
[political] statement, so much as taking a look at the sunbathing She-Hulk. Nowlan’s She-Hulk piece inspired
Fires!” (right) A
darker, resentful, reactionary side of Middle America; the John Byrne’s story of Jennifer Walters becoming an pinup from the Terry
flip side to the optimistic, hopeful, reasoning side, as inadvertent centerfold in Fantastic Four #275 (Feb. 1985).
exemplified by Cap. Sure, you can sympathize with Hal On his five-page portfolio, Terry Austin tells BACK ISSUE, Austin art gallery in
Brady’s lament about sweating and slaving just to get by. “I like to keep my drawing muscles limber, as doing so always MF #18.
But then he rants about the ‘poor and infirm,’ whom he helps my inking to improve (it’s a weird yin/yang sort of
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.
labels ‘cheaters’—shades of Reagan’s divisive ‘welfare thing). As I recall, I was showing some of those pinup-type
queen’ speech. And then, Brady takes out his anger on pieces to someone in the Marvel office (maybe even Allen
the wrong people, and in a way that really horrifies Cap.” [Milgrom] himself) and he expressed an interest in using
Looking at the story today, with the vanishing Middle them in Fanfare. I had the Doom, Cloak and Dagger, Thor
Class still an issue, Stern reflects, “If we were prophetic (with Golden Age Atlas stars Silly Seal and Ziggy Pig), and
about what was going to happen to the Middle Class— Black Widow pieces done already.” Austin’s last piece, of
well, I wish that we’d been wrong. What’s really depressing X-Ladies Storm, Rogue, Kitty, and Lockheed, was a suggestion
is that so many folks are still buying into the big lie, from Editori-Al himself. “I believe that Allen suggested I do
pointing fingers and blaming the wrong people. They’re all one more, this one involving the X-Men in some way, as 1)
too willing to look for scapegoats and to beat up on I was associated with the merry mutant team from the run
people (sometimes literally) who are even lower down with Chris and John and 2) the X-Men were pretty much
on the social and economic ladder.” guaranteed to boost sales on any given comic book, and he
On Steve Rogers’ politics in general, Stern says, figured that a portrait of any members of the team by a guy
“From the very beginning, Steve Rogers was very much who was known for working on their book was worth a try.”
a New Deal Democrat—or, as they were called in the
’60s, a Moderate. His whole life has been about standing JOHN TRUMBULL has been writing for BACK ISSUE since 2012.
up for the little guy, facing down the bullies, fighting Check out his weekly column “Crisis on Earth-T” every Monday at
fascism, and trying to make things better, always putting [Link] A big, hearty, Captain America-
others ahead of himself. You can think of him as the style salute to Roger Stern and Terry Austin for sharing their
opposite of Donald Trump.” memories with BI.

Marvel Fanfare Issue • BACK ISSUE • 37

 by Daniel DeAngelo

Repulsor Rays
Are Go!
Courtesy of Ken
Steacy, the artist’s
go-to character
in the pages of
Marvel Fanfare:
the Invincible
Iron Man!
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

In addition to unpublished inventory stories, Marvel I was one of the first artists to produce painted artwork
Fanfare was also meant to spotlight various creators for comics in the States, having been heavily influenced
and special projects that didn’t quite fit in the pages by British artists Frank Hampson and Frank Bellamy
of a regular monthly comic-book series. Fanfare’s glossy in Eagle magazine,” Steacy explains. “Nowadays,
pages were a perfect fit for the painted work of if I’m doing comics, it’s usually B&W line art which is
Canadian artist Ken Steacy, who worked on a trio of colored digitally; if it’s an illustration, then I’ll use
Iron Man stories, along with an Alpha Flight one-shot other traditional media.”
and numerous pinups. “Fully painted artwork reproduced Steacy was also a rarity among comic artists in
so much better [on coated paper] than the standard that he could do it all, providing pencils and inks as
mechanical color on newsprint,” Steacy notes. well as letters and colors (or “colours,” as its spelled
“I was an avid Marvel fan, and at age 11 noticed in Canada). He often wrote the stories as well!
the credits in each issue and decided then and “Philosophically, I’ve always believed that the best
there to become a comic-book artist,” Steacy work is produced by a creator who controls every
recalls, “an atypical career path from which my aspect of that work,” Steacy comments. “Plus I
parents never tried to dissuade me, for which I © Abbyarcane / Wikimedia Commons. hated the assembly-line approach to cranking out
am very grateful.” While painted comics by artists like Alex Ross comics on a schedule, which required contributors to specialize as
are more common today, Steacy’s art style was a bit different from writers, or pencilers, or inkers, or letterers, or colorists—I think that
much of that seen in traditional comics at the time. “Back in the day, specialization is for insects, not artists.”

38 • BACK ISSUE • Marvel Fanfare Issue

 In An Octopus’
Garden
Steacy’s wraparound
covers for his Iron
Man vs. Doc Ock
two-parter in
Marvel Fanfare #22
and 23 (Sept. and
Nov. 1985).
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

THE SUPERIOR OCTOPUS

In Daredevil vol. 1 #165 (July 1980), writer Roger McKenzie
and artist Frank Miller had Spider-Man’s archenemy,
Dr. Octopus, create a set of tentacles made from the
indestructible metal adamantium. McKenzie eventually
revisited this concept in a two-part Iron Man story in
Marvel Fanfare #22–23 (Sept.–Nov. 1985), which he wrote
while Steacy did everything else. “As I recall, I met Roger
McKenzie at the San Diego Comic-Con,” Steacy says,
“and he recommended me to Al Milgrom, who was the
editor—and one the very best I ever worked with.”
Consumer activist Joe Barger is overseeing Tony Stark’s
upgrade of Ryker’s Island Penitentiary’s security system
to prevent future breakouts. Among the supervillains
imprisoned at Ryker’s is Dr. Octopus, whose adamantium
arms are currently being examined at Stark International.
When Octopus mentally summons them, the tentacles
escape and break him out of prison, along with fellow
prisoners Gray Gargoyle, Sandman, and Electro.
Iron Man makes short work of the other villains, but
Octopus—now also reunited with his original set of
tentacles—commands the adamantium set to rip
apart Iron Man’s armor. Octopus escapes and Barger
holds Stark responsible. With Stark International stocks
plummeting in the wake of the bad publicity, the first
part of the story ends with a seemingly despondent Stark
returning to drinking. in the balance as he seeks out Dr. Octopus for a rematch.
However, in the next issue’s conclusion, “From the In an amusing sequence of events, Iron Man shows up
Ashes,” we learn that Stark was merely drinking Ginger to demand information about Octopus from Daredevil
Ale (Canada Dry, of course!) as he builds a new suit of stoolie Turk, who just got finished being interrogated
armor. “Subversion of audience expectation through by DD. Turk convinces Iron Man that he knows nothing,
the device of a reveal is always a good way to engage but as soon as Shellhead leaves, a hapless Turk is
your readers,” Steacy remarks. Stark’s security upgrade confronted by Ock himself! In the end, Iron Man is able
was designed to keep prisoners from breaking out of to defeat Ock by cybernetically taking control of the
Ryker’s Island, not to prevent Octopus’ tentacles from adamantium tentacles and using them against him.
breaking in. Stark International is forced to shut down “Iron Man was always my fave character because
due to a grand jury investigation, so Stark’s business lies his power came from his imagination, creativity, and

Marvel Fanfare Issue • BACK ISSUE • 39

 industriousness,” Steacy notes. “He wasn’t bitten by a
radioactive arachnid or bathed in gamma rays; he was
just a really smart guy who tinkered together cool stuff
and used his high-tech toys to fight crime. Moreover,
I’ve always believed that the best stories are redemption
stories, and Tony Stark’s is no exception; the millionaire
playboy military-industrialist whose life is threatened by
the weapons of war he developed is in turn saved by a
positive application of that technology.”
Both issues include pinup galleries by Steacy. “That’s
interesting,” Steacy reflects. “The first chapter is 25 pages,
and the second is 26, and Fanfare was a 32-page book, so
we had space to fill. I honestly can’t remember why the
odd number of pages (standard comic scripts were 22
pages).” Issue #22 includes pinups of Conan the Barbarian,
Captain America, the Hulk, Thor, Spider-Man, Nick Fury,
and the Fantastic Four. Issue #23 includes pinups of Cloak
and Dagger, Guardian from Alpha Flight, Dr. Strange,
Power Pack, Storm of the X-Men, and Deathlok.

THE CANADIAN CONNECTION

Steacy returned to Fanfare a year later in #28 (Sept. 1986)
with a one-shot story that stands apart from his Iron Man
issues—mostly because Iron Man isn’t in it! Instead,
Northstar is spotlighted in a story, by Alpha Flight writer
Bill Mantlo with art by Steacy, called “Murder by Numbers
1, 2, 3… It’s as Easy to Learn as Your A-B-C!” Despite
being Canadian himself, Steacy was not at all familiar with
Alpha Flight at the time. “Honestly, I’d stopped reading
comics in my late teens when I discovered sex ‘n’ drugs
‘n’ rock ’n’ roll,” Steacy jokes, “so I knew nothing about
the characters, other than what was in the script.”
The script focuses on Northstar’s past and his former
membership in a 1970s FLQ (Front de Liberation du
Quebec) terrorist organization called Cell Combattre.
As members of the FLQ are being mysteriously killed off,
RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) Commander
Giles McHeath summons Alpha Flight (Vindicator,
Aurora, Snowbird, Puck, and Box) and encourages them
to seek out the surviving members of Cell Combattre to
warn them of the potential danger and, if possible,
convince them to surrender to the authorities. The head-
strong Northstar insists on dealing with the matter by
himself, although the rest of Alpha Flight follows him.
Each time Northstar finds one of the Cell members, they
wind up getting killed by an armored assassin called
Scourge, eventually unmasked as McHeath himself,
who was using Northstar to track down the remaining
Cell members so that he could kill them! Unlike the Iron
Man issues, this is a full-length story with no pinups.
“The Alpha Flight story was particularly fun because
we set it in Toronto, my hometown at the time,” Steacy
comments. “I got to include plenty of friends as incidental
characters, notably Mark Askwith—then manager of the
Silver Snail Comic Shop—who appears startled by Northstar’s
passing on the splash page, and writer/artist Pierre Fournier
as one of the villains. I co-created the antagonist Scourge,
and helped Bill Mantlo with the Quebecois profanity—in his
original script, the FLQ characters actually said ‘sacre bleu!’
Looking over that script, I note that Al Milgrom heavily
edited both the dialogue and my layouts, a testament to
the engagement that made him such an excellent editor.”

He’s Norse, Of Course!

No one had ever before seen so much
rainbow in Asgard’s rainbow bridge when
Ken’s Thor pinup was published in MF #22.
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

40 • BACK ISSUE • Marvel Fanfare Issue

 Steacy Title Pages
(top) MF #23’s Iron Man tale. (bottom) Was writer Bill Mantlo
listening to The Police’s Synchonicity when he came up with the
title to this Northstar story in MF #28? (inset) #28’s cover.
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

“I tried a novel approach to coloring that issue, using bluelines, the method
then favored by artists in France, which is still in use to this day by some,” Steacy
continues. “The black-and-white line art is photo-mechanically transferred to
watercolor paper in blue ink, which is then colored with airbrush and aniline dyes—
most artists used Dr. Martins, but I preferred the less-saturated Talens Ecoline
transparent watercolors. It’s then separated into the process colors cyan, yellow,
and magenta, and the original black-and-white artwork is added on top, thereby
affording a full range of color with solid blacks. It’s quite labor-intensive, however.”

FADE TO DOOM
Steacy provided both writing and art for his last Marvel Fanfare issue with
another Iron Man tale in #44 (June 1989), this time a one-shot story. “My pal
Al asked if I wanted to write and illustrate a story,” Steacy recalls, “so, of course
I jumped at the chance. Iron Man was always my favorite hero, and Doc Doom
my fave villain, so it was a no-brainer.”
In “Doom Bug,” Iron Man is in the desert, seemingly battling a huge robot,
when he is actually testing out a new device called a “Telepresence System” that
enables the user—in this case, James Rhodes—to remotely control the robot from
a distance. Rhodey wears a suit similar to the type of motion-capture outfits worn
today by actors portraying CGI animated characters in movies. Stark hopes that his
latest invention will be a big hit at the upcoming International Robotics Symposium,
since it can be used to enable people to remotely perform tasks in uninhabitable
environments—such as on the Moon, underwater, or in a fire. (This concept turns
out to be prophetic, since remote-controlled robots and space probes are actually
used today.) However, Iron Man is exposed to a strange gas that causes his armor
to malfunction and shut down, leaving Tony Stark trapped inside. Fortunately,
Ant-Man (Scott Lang) is on hand to shrink inside of Iron Man’s armor and free Stark.
Stark attempts to de-bug the armor but is unable to find any trace of the gas, so
the trio head for the symposium, which is being held in Latveria, home of Dr. Doom.
There, Iron Man meets several other armored heroes (including Avro-X of the
Canadian Armed Forces, whose armor bears more than a passing resemblance to
Scourge’s from #28). When the other suits of armor begin to malfunction, Iron Man
immediately suspects Doom’s involvement and confronts him. Doom admits to
creating a computer virus that will destroy any machine’s central-processing unit but
claims that Iron Man himself is the one spreading it, since the virus disappears quickly
from a machine without a trace but survives indefinitely
in the lungs of a living host. Although Doom had taken
precautions to protect his own armor from the virus, it still
winds up affecting him—perhaps due to the virus mutating—
and shuts down his armor as well. Since Doom’s armor will
explode if it isn’t reactivated, Iron Man uses Ant-Man’s
shrinking gas to shrink inside and fix it. When Doom realizes
that Iron Man and friends are responsible for saving his
life, he magnanimously offers to spare their own lives,
thus canceling any debt he owes them. What a nice guy!
“I opted for painting the entire Iron Man issue in full-
color on Strathmore two-ply bristol, again with Ecoline dyes
and Badger Air-Opaque acrylics,” Steacy notes. “The big
bonus, of course, is that I had all those fabulous originals to
sell when the book was finished.” Steacy provided beautiful
wraparound painted covers for all four of the issues of
Fanfare that he worked on. This issue’s painting of Iron Man
in the foreground with the image of Dr. Doom’s face in the
background is perhaps his finest, but it sadly met with an
unfortunate end. “The artwork for that issue was airbrushed with water-based
media—all pigments are fugitive to varying degrees, and I always tell collectors to
frame originals under UV-filtering glass, rotate them off the wall every six months or
so, and never expose them to direct sunlight,” Steacy explains. “The guy who bought
the cover and a number of the interiors pages [owned a comic-book store and]
wanted to share them with his customers; unfortunately he broke the cardinal rule of
display [leaving the art in the store’s window], and the originals were almost totally
bleached out after a few months of direct exposure to the sun.” What a tragedy!

Marvel Fanfare Issue • BACK ISSUE • 41

 Iron Man’s Origin
Ken’s version of Iron Man’s original armor,
in a pinup from Marvel Fanfare #45
(Aug. 1989). Courtesy of Ken Steacy.
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

three paintings that were not returned to me by the

publisher back in the day,” Steacy reveals. “The other
two are a cover for The Wanderers at DC, and a Racer X
wraparound at NOW Comics.” Although Steacy was
able to track down the Racer X cover, “the Iron Man and
the Wanderers originals are still wandering around out
there somewhere—and I still want ’em back, dammit!”
Protectors of “I recall that there was a screw-up regarding the These days, Steacy makes annual appearances at
the Great deadline on that last Fanfare story, and having turned the Desert Bus for Hope fundraiser, which celebrated
in the cover and first half of the book, I discovered that its tenth year in 2016. “During that time they’ve raised
White North I only had four days left to complete the final 16 pages! over $3 million dollars for sick kids’ hospitals,” Steacy
I had moved to Victoria, BC, by then, so I called my old says, “of which I’m very proud to say my appearances
Courtesy of Heritage pal Steve Leialoha (the finest inker to wield a brush, (I auction off collectibles from my Archive of the
([Link]), and the most underrated artist in the industry!) in San Awesome, original artwork, and commissions) have
Francisco, and a former assistant named Rod Dunn in raised just under $200,000 so far.” (For more info, visit
Ken Steacy original Toronto, offering them airfare, accommodation (comfy [Link] “My wonderful wife Joan
line art from the couches), and a hefty page rate if they’d save my bacon. Steacy (who is also a graphic novelist) and I created
I already had a terrific assistant named Andrew Pratt, so the only program in Comics & Graphic Novels in the
Northstar story in the four of us set up an assembly line in my tiny studio— mainstream post-secondary school system here in
Marvel Fanfare #28 I penciled, Steve inked, Rod cut frisket, Andrew airbrushed, Canada,” Steacy points out, “and we’ve just started our
and we all colored. My wonderful wife Joan pitched in fifth year here at Camosun College.” (For more info
(Sept. 1986), as well, and none of us got much sleep, but we actually visit [Link]/comics, [Link]/
featuring the entire got it done by the deadline.” [Link], [Link]/[Link],
and [Link] We
Alpha Flight team. AFTER THE FANFARE can hope that Steacy’s students will someday be able to
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.
Steacy would provide two more pinups for Marvel Fanfare: turn out artwork as fine as that of their teacher.
one of Iron Man in his classic gray armor for #45
(Aug. 1989), and the Punisher in #60 (Dec. 1991). “The DANIEL DeANGELO is a freelance writer/artist in Florida. He would
Iron Man origin illo is interesting, insofar as it’s one of like to thank Ken Steacy for his assistance with this article.

42 • BACK ISSUE • Marvel Fanfare Issue

 TM

Bill Mantlo’s career in comics was a prolific one. One

cannot think of ROM: Spaceknight or Micronauts without
mentioning his contributions to their four-color
adventures. Mantlo has also had celebrated runs on
The Incredible Hulk and The Spectacular Spider-Man, and
he co-conceived Rocket Raccoon, Cloak and Dagger,
and the series Swords of the Swashbucklers.
Yet, of all his work, perhaps the superhero anthology
series Marvel Fanfare has most shown his versatility as a
writer. His Micronauts creation Captain Universe plus
Spidey and the Hulk are just a few of the characters he’s
written for the title. Let’s explore all of Mantlo’s master-
works in the pages of Marvel Fanfare…

CONSCIENCE OF A FILL-IN KING

Much like Rod Serling and Gene Roddenberry did in tele-
by James Heath Lantz vision, Bill Mantlo used his writing as a platform to discuss
the social issues that were important to him. Mantlo was,
as his brother Michael tells BACK ISSUE, “a champion of
the oppressed.” He wanted everyone, human and animal
alike, to be treated fairly and equally. Many of his
stances on the state of the world, in this case
underpaid civil workers, overcrowded animal
shelters, and the unnecessary deaths of
stray pets, were expressed in his stories.
“Bless the Beasts and the Children,” the
back-up feature in Marvel Fanfare #7 (Mar.
1983) starring Marvel’s resident Man
without Fear, Daredevil, was such a tale.
The streets of New York are normally
filled with traffic and chaos. However, on
this particular day things get dangerous
as a Daily Bugle van nearly hits a visually
impaired boy. Daredevil saves him, but
the young man’s new guide dog was
© Marvel. frightened by the vehicular incident.
Ol’ Hornhead scours the city for the canine, only to be
overwhelmed by the fear he senses from the animals
incarcerated in the cramped shelters full of city workers
who are trying to make ends meet. Daredevil finds what
he’s looking for. Yet, he’s too late. The poor pooch is put
down because he was mistaken for a stray, leaving the Man
without Fear wondering how he will tell the disabled
lad that sometimes even superheroes fail in their quests.
Mantlo continued to write about animal cruelty in
his second story featured in Marvel Fanfare, in issue #16.
Prince Namor the Sub-Mariner was the star of that
particular saga. Namor attempts to save a white stallion
from both smugglers who beat the poor creature and
a raging storm on the sea. When the Scion of the Deep
is severely injured by his adversaries’ weapons, the
intervention and powers of Neptune save him and
transform the steed into a beautiful sea horse.
Jumping a bit ahead (don’t worry, we’ll get to Mantlo’s
next Fanfare story soon), the Uni-Power and Captain
Universe, first seen in Micronauts #8 and covered in depth
in BACK ISSUE #93, show up to give some bullies their
comeuppance in Marvel Fanfare #25’s second feature

Marvel Beat-Up
Bill Mantlo penned this Spidey/Hulk
mash-up/smash-up for Marvel Fanfare #47
(Dec. 1989). Art and colors by Michael Golden.
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

Marvel Fanfare Issue • BACK ISSUE • 43

 Fearless
Daredevil performs
a rescue in the
Mantlo-written,
George Freeman-
drawn tale in MF #7
(Mar. 1983).
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

presentation. This time, the Hero Who Could Be You chooses the studious and his gangsters. The pusher who brought her to the criminals flees,
Delayne Masters to not only stand up to the boy’s tormentors, but to only to learn that nobody escapes Cloak’s caliginousness. Mantlo’s story
illustrate the problems plaguing inner-city schools less than a decade ends with the duo realizing that even though they can no longer have
before Michelle Pfeiffer tackled similar subject matters in the film what they long for, at least Cloak and Dagger have each other.
Dangerous Minds. Delayne/Captain Universe’s confrontation of a gang What makes the Cloak and Dagger story in Marvel Fanfare #19
of hoodlums inspires students and faculty alike to want to clean up interesting is that it’s part of the “Editori-Al” section on the inside front covers
W.E.B. DuBois High School to give the students a better future. of the comics. The story from those strips has Al Milgrom wondering
what to put in Fanfare #18. He originally asks Chris Claremont
MANTLO, DAGGER, ALPHA for something, but the X-Men scribe didn’t hand in anything.
While the Bill Mantlo Marvel Fanfare tales discussed before Milgrom decides to use the Bill Mantlo/Tony Salmons “Cloak
were back-ups, he proved that he was capable of and Dagger” tale when a shadowed figure steals Salmon’s
doing larger-scale sagas for the title. Among the main work. MF #19’s “Editori-Al” reveals that Milgrom found
presentations for Fanfare written by Mantlo were stories the art and wishes for the culprit of the page pilfering, one
featuring Cloak and Dagger (Marvel Fanfare #19), Tony Salmons, to apologize to readers. This, however,
Daredevil (#27), and Alpha Flight (#28). While he had requires a literal arm-twisting from Milgrom.
penned a few tales with Ol’ Hornhead before, Cloak and When asked about the “Editori-Al” strips in Marvel
Dagger were co-created by Bill Mantlo, and he had a very Fanfare #18 and 19, Al Milgrom recalls to BACK ISSUE,
substantial run on Alpha Flight in issues #29–66 of that book. “Well, these do seem to have the ring of truth about
Marvel Fanfare #19’s book-length saga begins with them. Many a true word spoke in jest, and all that. I’m
Cloak and Dagger on their mission clean up the streets guessing that Tony might have borrowed the pages
of illegal substances. Dagger, wondering if they’re back to do some touch-ups or to polish up something
making a difference, longs for a normal life. She leaves he wasn’t completely happy with. I doubt I would
Cloak but promises to return to him. Her night of © Callianthus / Wikimedia Commons. have thrown him under the bus if it was my mistake,
dancing in a club to forget her troubles is cut short by a drug dealer but maybe just for the sake of the ‘Editori-Al’ gag I did just that.”
whose connections have been dealt a serious blow by the pair of heroes. “The ‘Editori-Al’s were Al’s personal notes,” Tony Salmons responds.
He knocks out Dagger with the intention of delivering her to mob boss “This one was funny to me at the time and for years after. To that end,
Uncle Sandino. Meanwhile, Cloak, fearing the darkness within will consume it worked great.”
him, goes on a frantic search for the one person who can keep the “Chapter II: Dancin’ the Night Away!” in pages 11–20 of Marvel
shadows at bay. Cloak sees a light in a window that he knows could be Fanfare #19 was drawn by Rick Leonardi, who took the time to talk
only that of Dagger, whose luminous blades deal justice to Uncle Sandino with BACK ISSUE about the story and Bill Mantlo.

44 • BACK ISSUE • Marvel Fanfare Issue

 “My recollection is that this Fanfare piece was kindred stories were good and I was starting up at Marvel
to the longer stories that Bill was telling in Cloak and Comics with an editor who ‘got it.’ ”
Dagger’s various series appearances,” Leonardi says. Bill Mantlo’s next Marvel Fanfare story starred Alpha
They Only Come
“He was preoccupied in his writing (and in his pursuit Flight and was drawn and colored by Ken Steacy. The Out at Night
of a law degree) with issues like drug abuse, runaways, Tempus Fugitive creator is no stranger to working with Bill
teenage entitlement, and disaffection. It’s arresting Mantlo in the Alpha Flight sector of the Marvel Universe. A double-shot of
to reread this stuff now and see Bill anticipating the Roughly two years before the team’s first appearance in Tony Salmons Marvel
advent of ‘at risk’ youth and catch him very, very gently Alpha Flight #54, Mantlo and Steacy, according to what
probing questions of prejudice and racism.” Steacy himself tells BACK ISSUE, had discussed a miniseries Fanfare covers for
On working with Bill Mantlo, Leonardi states, “It was starring the Derangers. However, that never went beyond issues featuring Bill
always a pleasure and a challenge to work on his stories. an outline and development artwork for the characters.
I knew we were polemicizing, but that was just a Ken Steacy discusses with BACK ISSUE his Marvel Fanfare Mantlo stories: (left)
reflection of Bill really caring about the characters and collaboration with Bill Mantlo and expands upon a story Cloak and Dagger,
the subject matter. As a penciler, I had no choice but to he briefly told in this issue’s Steacy interview: “Most of my
respond to that kind of commitment.” interaction with Bill was through our editor, my pal Al Milgrom. for #19 (Mar. 1985),
Another Bill Mantlo/Tony Salmons collaboration in I remember having a conversation with Bill about the use and (right)
Marvel Fanfare was #27’s “Cars” (insert Gary Numan of profanity in the Alpha Flight story. He had the FLQ members
music here), starring Daredevil. Automobile-obsessed saying ‘sacre bleu!,’ which no one in Quebec (or France) Daredevil, for #27
Foggy Nelson wants to buy one for the law firm of Nelson has ever said, so I supplied him with the appropriate Joual
(July 1986).
and Murdock as an excuse to drive his wife for a vacation. (Quebecois slang) expressions. Someone at Marvel looked
Matt Murdock, better known as Daredevil, accompanies at my revisions, and told Al that what I’d suggested could TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.
him to the dealership in spite of traffic giving his costumed
alter ego a headache. When the vehicle purchased is stolen,
Daredevil must stop the thieves. The end result is a wrecked
car and a gift of airline tickets from Matt to Foggy.
On Bill Mantlo, Salmons tells BACK ISSUE, “I met Bill on
a few occasions before and after the Fanfare work. He was
always pleasant but all business on those occasions. It was
in the company of other people in the offices and he had
a direction in his meetings with editorial. Meetings were
always half social and unstructured, but Bill was purposeful.
“Marvel Fanfare was a special title,” Salmons reminisces.
“It was originally for smart takes on characters by hot
talent, a chance for them to spread out with the properties
aside from the main line continuities. Great idea. Eventually
it was a great place for new talent because it was
generally single issues with a back-up story; no deadline.
For these reasons and others, they were enthusing. The

Marvel Fanfare Issue • BACK ISSUE • 45

 You Light Up My Life
A double-shot of Rick Leonardi Cloak and Dagger art: (top) the title page for
Chapter 2 of Mantlo’s C&D tale in Marvel Fanfare #19, inked by Terry Austin, and
(bottom) a 1984 sketch, courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions ([Link]).
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

be construed as blasphemy, but it’s such an authentic part of the language and culture that nobody
would bat an eye at it—and far as I know, no copies of Fanfare were ever burned in protest.”
Steacy continues, “The last conversation I had with Bill was shortly before he quit comics
to pursue his dream of becoming an attorney. I recall him saying how ironic it was that he’d
spent his time at Marvel writing characters who fought the bad guys, and now he was
going to be defending them.”
Mantlo and Steacy’s Alpha Flight feature in Fanfare had Northstar’s past
come back to haunt him when members of a terrorist group of which
he once was a member are being hunted by a killer in Scourge
armor originally developed by James Hudson, a.k.a. Alpha Flight’s
Guardian. Northstar does not know whom to trust, as his former
colleagues feel betrayed by him. Alpha Flight tries to
save them, but they die in what could be perceived
as bombings or accidents. This leads Northstar
to refuse the Canadian super-group’s aid,
particularly after he learns they used an implanted
tracker to follow him. However, he eventually
allows Alpha Flight to help him and his ex-allies
capture Scourge, who is revealed to be
Commander Giles McHeath, a retired
Royal Canadian Mounted Policeman
who sought revenge for the deaths
of his men during a bombing that © Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons.
occurred years ago. Alpha Flight brings McHeath to justice, and
Northstar finally accepts the squad as his family while, at the same
time, they gain their faith in him once again.

FIRE AND WATER

The year 1989 was the half-century anniversary of Marvel’s
Sub-Mariner and original Human Torch. In addition to Roy
Thomas and Rich Buckler’s The Saga of the Sub-Mariner
and The Saga of the Original Human Torch limited
series, Marvel Fanfare #43 ran stories with the
Prince of the Deep and Ol’ Flame-Head, albeit
the second incarnation of the latter,
Johnny Storm, and his family/team-
mates in the Fantastic Four also appear
in the second feature. The Sub-Mariner
tale, like the back-up in Marvel Fanfare
#16, was drawn by Hellboy creator Mike
Mignola. This time, however, P. Craig
Russell was the embellisher. Russell didn’t
work that closely with Mantlo on the story,
but he tells BACK ISSUE that he was very
impressed with then-newcomer Mignola’s art.
Mignola himself was unavailable to speak to BI
on this subject, but he did make the following statement
in David Yurkovich and Michael Mantlo’s benefit book,
Mantlo: A Life in Comics:
“Bill was the first writer I worked with in comics. We did
a short ‘Sub-Mariner’ story for Fanfare then a couple ‘Vision/
Scarlet Witch’ stories. I guess he liked my working with him. I think
Bill always had a zillion projects in his head. It was just a matter of
finding the right artist for them. It seemed that there were three of
us who Bill sort of kept as his guys—Butch Guice, Rick Leonardi, and me.”
Marvel Fanfare #43’s “Time After Time” has Prince Namor investigating
the Atlantean mysteries of the Sargasso Sea. He becomes entangled in the
sea kelp and algae and returns to the surface with no idea how long
he had been trapped. He witnesses a battle between an English vessel
and a pirate ship from what appears to be the past. A beautiful raven-
haired woman named Patience Drew leads the buccaneers. While wishing to
know the reasons for battle, as is typical for the character, the Sub-Mariner

46 • BACK ISSUE • Marvel Fanfare Issue

falls in love with Ms. Drew. This results in the Sovereign of the Seven RETURN OF THE GOLDEN BOYS
Seas becoming her co-captain. Patience gives Namor a ring, which he In addition to ROM and Micronauts, Bill Mantlo is perhaps best known
places in his left earlobe, as a token of her affection. However, when for his tales featuring Spider-Man and the Hulk in those characters’
their boat is slowed down by fog, the King of Atlantis must swim the respective titles. Mantlo has even written team-ups between the
waters, only to find that he is in the Sargasso Sea with the lifeless hulk Web-Slinger and the Green Goliath. One such pairing was published
of the pirate sea craft and fleshless corpse of Patience Drew. Was Namor’s in Marvel Fanfare #47 (mid-Nov. 1989). This particular issue reunited
time with the female adventurer just a dream? Perhaps not, for the Bill Mantlo with original Micronauts artist Michael Golden, who also
earring she gave him is still on his person. colored and co-plotted the comic. Mantlo and Golden were the creative
The Sub-Mariner tale in Marvel Fanfare #43 wasn’t originally slated to team responsible for launching Micronauts for Marvel. [Editor’s note:
be the Bill Mantlo/Mike Mignola team’s last outing with the Prince of the See BACK ISSUE #76 for a detailed look at that series.]
Deep. According to Mignola in Mantlo: A Life in Comics, another Namor The Hulk, with Bruce Banner’s mind, is on a mission for S.H.I.E.L.D. to
saga was among the projects Mignola and Mantlo had discussed: examine a satellite full of gamma radiation. An alien organism attaches
“We were working on itself to the Jade Giant,
some ideas—a Sub-Mariner causing him to go mindless.
graphic novel (that turned With Nick Fury injured,
into an Alpha Flight graphic S.H.I.E.L.D. drones under
novel) based on a story idea the command of
of mine. Editor Carl Potts Quartermaster Waldo
turned that into a Death of attacking, and a sick Spider-
the Sub-Mariner graphic Man trying to stop the
novel so that, of course, rampaging Hulk, a true
didn’t get done. We were also Rumble in the Bronx ensues
planning an original, creator- as Banner fights to regain
owned, fantasy/science control of the Hulk. A sneeze
fiction series or graphic novel- from Spider-Man that carries
something called Pilgrim, the flu germ kills the proto-
sort of a cross between Jack plasmic extraterrestrial
Kirby’s Kamandi and John because, like the Martians
Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress. in H. G. Wells’ The War of the
I don’t remember exactly Worlds, it had never been
why that didn’t happen.” exposed to Earth’s microbes.
Returning to Marvel Bruce Banner once again has
Fanfare #43, in the Fantastic taken charge of his green
Four story written by Bill alter ego while Nick Fury
Mantlo and drawn by Greg busts Waldo to kitchen
Brooks, Reed Richards, a.k.a. patrol. Meanwhile, Peter
Mr. Fantastic, finds himself Parker sells photos of the
trapped in his laboratory after Spider-Man/Hulk confron-
a rocket-fuel experiment goes tation to the Daily Bugle
awry in “Death in a Vacuum!” before returning home to
With the doors sealed shut, recover from his illness.
the rest of the Fantastic Four Both Mantlo and Golden
wait while Reed navigates had evolved quite a bit in
through flames. None of his the years since their days on
contingency plans work as Micronauts, and their reunion
the heat is more intense than was a pleasant surprise for
predicted. Ben (the Thing) their fans. Yet, it was not
Grimm claps out the fire, without its challenges.
creating a vacuum, and “I have a strong suspicion
Reed is revived by that Bill wrote the plot for
Susan (Invisible Woman) this very early in the Fanfare
Richards. Johnny Storm, run,” said Al Milgrom in
the Human Torch, Mantlo: A Life in Comics.
recounts these events “Maybe Michael was inter-
to the reader as he leaves ested in doing the Spidey and
his teammates in search of Hulk characters. I believe
action. He finds it in the (memory very hazy here)
form of a police pursuit that Michael did some loose
of a trio of bank robbers. breakdowns of the story, and
He fire-melts the tires of Bill scripted it. Years passed.
the thieves’ speeding car. © 5of7 / Wikimedia Commons. Every once in a while, I’d
Yet, it runs smack-dab into a
school bus full of students visiting an oil refinery. Nobody is hurt. However, Pretty Pirate
the criminals are holding a boy hostage. If Johnny “flames on,” he could
ignite the entire area. He manages to deal with two of the bad guys Namor is smitten with Captain Patience Drew in this
from a distance, but the Torch needs a plan to get the final one and save stunningly gorgeous original art page (courtesy of
the child. His going supernova makes both the villain and his victim lose
consciousness, forcing Johnny to make a choice. He uses CPR to revive Heritage) from Marvel Fanfare #43 (Apr. 1989).
the young man, but his foe is now brain dead while the Human Torch,
recovering from injuries from the fight, understands why Reed Richards
A Mantlo/Mignola/Russell production.
must always make tough decisions for humanity and the Fantastic Four. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

Marvel Fanfare Issue • BACK ISSUE • 47

 Rip Van Wink-Al prod Golden, and finally, he finished the breakdowns. send the creature back where it came from. However, as
(left) Al Milgrom has Bill finished scripting. I got it lettered. I knew Fanfare was long as the pit it used still exists in Leonia, the Vision and
going to be canceled. I prodded Golden more to finish Scarlet Witch will be there to prevent more evil from taking
some fun with the job. At one point, I know he said he didn’t want to their neighbors, even if said evil is drawn to Wanda Max-
ink it. Ultimately, after other inkers were suggested, I got imoff’s power.
Michael Golden in
Michael to do the job himself. It was, by far, the most
his “Editori-Al” in satisfying outcome as far as I was concerned.” Marvel Fanfare ended its first series’ run with issue
#60. Bill Mantlo went on to have a law career before the
Marvel Fanfare #47. CALL FOR BACK-UP hit-and-run accident that caused severe injuries to
(right) “Nice art Toward the end of its initial run, Marvel Fanfare featured the comics scribe. However, Mantlo’s legacy, like that
back-up features written by Bill Mantlo in issues #56–58. of many creators, continues to live on in the pages
job,” indeed! The first—“Toys Night Out” (MF #56), drawn by the Don of Fanfare and many other Bronze Age comic books.
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. Heck—saw Mantlo return to toys after his fan-favorite
outings in ROM and Micronauts. This time, however, action For Spotty and Uga. You gave us all the unconditional love in your hearts
figures based on the Marvel Universe heroes and villains and made us better people for loving you. You are always with us.
Dedicated to my beautiful and marvelous wife Laura, who
help young Billy Baker clean and organize his room while
deserves infinite fanfare, Pupino, and the rest of our four-legged
duking it out in the classic Mighty Marvel manner.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., my nephew Kento, who needs to stop
“Power and Duty” (Fanfare #57) sees ex-New Orleans playing with Gamma Rays, the friends and family of Michael and
Harbor Patrol Captain Monica Rambeau, Marvel’s second Bill Mantlo and the legendary Bill Mantlo himself. May Odin smile
Captain Marvel, return to her roots as she uses her upon you all forever.
powers and soothing words to prevent a woman’s suicide.
The police and the person rescued both seem surprised JAMES HEATH LANTZ is a freelance writer who was heavily
that Captain Marvel went out of her way to save someone influenced by television, film, old time radio shows, and books—
who is a drug addict. Monica then tells all involved that especially comic books—growing up in Ohio. He’s co-authored
she, like the local law enforcement, has a duty to protect Roy Thomas Presents Captain Video with Roy Thomas.
and serve everyone so she can sleep better at night. He also wrote the introductions for Pre-Code Classics: Weird
Marvel Fanfare #58’s back-up “Hometown!” mix- Mysteries vols. 1 and 2 and Roy Thomas Presents Sheena -
Queen of the Jungle vol. 3 (all published by PS Artbooks),
es superhero action with supernatural eeriness as the an-
self-published his Trilogy of Tales e-book (available at
droid Vision and his wife the Scarlet Witch must protect
[Link] and other outlets), and reviews various
the small town of Leonia, New Jersey, from a demon from media for Superman Homepage. James currently lives in Italy
another dimension. Even though the townspeople believe with his wife Laura and their family of cats, dogs, and humans
they are a danger to small hamlet, Wanda and Vision from Italy, Japan, and the United States.

48 • BACK ISSUE • Marvel Fanfare Issue

 There are not so many instances of John Byrne’s work in Marvel
Fanfare. Two, to be precise. He drew the nice wraparound
cover for issue #45 (Aug. 1989)—the all-pinups issue—and the
lead story in issue #29 (Nov. 1986)—featuring the Hulk—that
also contained a Captain America back-up story by then-new-
comer Norm Breyfogle on one of his rare Marvel works.
If you know your Marvel and Byrne history, you know that
1986 is when Byrne left Marvel and took over the Superman
books, and this issue hit the stands five months after Byrne’s final
Hulk issue and three months after his final Fantastic Four issue.
There is a simple reason behind this schedule. This story
was not to be published in Marvel Fanfare. It was meant
to be The Incredible Hulk #320, the follow-up issue to Betty
Ross and Bruce Banner’s wedding—issue #319 (May 1986).
by Franck Martini And, as Byrne dryly explained to John B. Cooke in Modern
Masters vol. 7 (TwoMorrows Publishing, May 2006): “That was
what led to my leaving the Hulk.”
During Byrne’s short run on The Incredible Hulk, Bruce
Banner and the Hulk were physically separated, and issue
#319 presented two stories simultaneously—one featuring
the Hulk fighting Doc Samson and the Hulkbusters and a
second one reuniting Banner, Betty, Rick Jones, and General Ross.
The story concluded with Bruce and Betty’s marriage
on one half of the page and the mindless Hulk jumping to new
adventures after defeating his opponents on the other half.
Byrne was trying new storytelling processes during
these times; he had done a sideways issue with Fantastic
Four #252 (Mar. 1983), and a previous “split stories” issue
(#274, Apr. 1984). So Hulk #319 followed a similar pattern,
and Byrne then went further with his following issue, a story
told in 22 splash pages focusing on the “mindless” Hulk.
So, why was it shelved in the first place? It appears that
then then-editor-in-chief Jim Shooter had issues with
some of John Byrne’s works, as Jim explained on his
blog in May 2011: “A number of issues from
Denny [O’Neil]’s office made it into print that had
serious flaws or things that were unacceptable—
including several by John Byrne. After one
particularly bad incident, I finally confronted
Denny and told him he’d better start doing his
job. That very day, I think, a John Byrne Hulk job
came in, finished, lettered and inked, that was all
splash pages. Denny thought I’d go ballistic when
I saw it, so he rejected it! And he told John
it was because I, Jim Shooter, didn’t approve.
“John was the one who went ballistic.
He quit, contacted the President of Marvel
1992 photo by Corey Bond / and demanded I be fired. (…) I never even
Wikimedia Commons.
saw the rejected book! I assumed that Denny
had given it back to John. I didn’t even know why Denny had
rejected it, only that he did. I didn’t know it was all splash pages.”
Byrne presented a different reason on his website in January
2015 when asked about this issue: “Denny did not tell
me he couldn’t use the all-splash issue because Shooter had
rejected it. Denny didn’t even show it to Shooter. Everyone
at the office was by then so gun shy they were afraid to
let Shooter even SEE something that might ‘upset’ him.
And THAT was why I quit HULK, and why I eventually quit FF.”

Hulk… Splash!
Ol’ Jade Jaws, the mindless star of John Byrne’s
all-splash-page tale in Marvel Fanfare #29 (Nov. 1986).
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

Marvel Fanfare Issue • BACK ISSUE • 49

 Hulk… Arrive! Byrne’s tumultuous relationship with Jim Shooter is Goliath may not be so mindless after all. The old Native
(left) What an no mystery and dates back to the Dark Phoenix days. American actually uses the Hulk as bait to lure two “targets”:
It seems that Byrne had long-range plans for the book Hammer and Anvil, two second-rate villains previously
entrance! Page 2. and aimed to apply his trademarked “Back to Basics” seen in The Incredible Hulk and Marvel Team-Up.
approach for the Hulk. He explained to Comics Feature As they attack the Hulk, Hammer is shot in the
(right) From
(Sept. 1985) and Amazing Heroes #75 (Aug. 1985) the head, and through their psychic connection Anvil also
Heritage’s archives, direction he wanted to take with the character, laying dies in the process. It turns out that the mysterious
out the first five issues that were published and his plans Native American was the Scourge of the Underworld,
signed Byrne afterwards up to issue #321. the Mark Gruenwald-introduced character that was used
artwork to page 6. But apparently there were ongoing issues with Shooter, to reduce the amount of villains in the Marvel Universe.
as Byrne explained to Comic Book Resources in August 2000: The story ends with the dumbfounded Hulk picking the
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.
“I took on the Hulk after a discussion with Shooter, in which Scourge’s abandoned disguise and uttering his first word
I mentioned some of the things I would like to do with since the split with Banner: “Friend.”
that character. (…) He told me to do whatever was necessary Compared to Incredible Hulk issues, Marvel Fanfare
to get on the book, he liked my ideas so much. I did, gives a better view of Byrne’s art thanks to its quality
and once installed he immediately changed his mind—“You paper, but we lose Keith Williams’ background inks,
can’t do this!” Six issues was as much as I could take,” the which added details and subtlety. Yet, it is nevertheless
seventh issue being the one printed in Marvel Fanfare #29. a great-looking issue and a nice coda to Byrne’s first
So, how did it end up there? Jim Shooter gave a sort of and probably best era at Marvel Comics.
bittersweet answer on his blog: “Months later, Al Milgrom Finally, there is another Marvel Fanfare John Byrne
found the rejected book in a drawer and brought it to me. connection. Marvel Fanfare #18 (Jan. 1985) presented
He liked it. So did I. I thought it was great. Al looked into a gorgeous Kevin Nowlan portfolio as back-up feature.
the situation and found out that Byrne hadn’t been paid It contained a She-Hulk sunbathing pinup that inspired “The
for it, got him paid and ran the job in Marvel Fanfare.” Naked Truth” in Fantastic Four #275 (Feb. 1984), the story in
Byrne acknowledges this version on his website: “The all-splash which She-Hulk has to deal with paparazzi taking pictures
story was later used by Al Milgrom as an issue of Marvel of her sunbathing at the top of the Baxter Building.
Fanfare. (…) So perhaps it was not so bad after all?”
Not so bad, indeed. Mindless Hulk encounters a Native FRANCK MARTINI discovered the Spider-Man daily strip in the French
American who tries to befriend him, then uses “neuro- TV Guide at the age of three. After that, “Nothing would ever be
tranquilizing vapors” (!) to calm Hulk down. Those vapors the same again.” When no one is watching he is also an intranet
somehow trigger Hulk’s memories, proving that the Green manager with a patient wife and two daughters.

50 • BACK ISSUE • Marvel Fanfare Issue

Batman TM & © DC Comics.

by Michael Eury
“My first sale to Marvel Fanfare was a
Captain America job told with almost no
balloons or narration, just a ‘silent’ story,”
Norm Breyfogle tells BACK ISSUE. That tale
appeared as the back-up in MF #29, better
known as the John Byrne all-splash-page
Hulk issue.
But Norm’s Captain America story is more
than a “first sale” curiosity. Mike Friedrich,
who at the time was Breyfogle’s agent, says,
“I met Norm after seeing an eight-page spec
Batman story he’d displayed at the [San
Diego] Comic-Con art show. I used that
story to market his work. Editor Al Milgrom
of Marvel Fanfare liked the story,” but as
Norm himself continues, “he asked me to
redraw and patch in Captain America
wherever Batman showed up.” Mike adds,
“Of course, Norm agreed.”
And so Norm Breyfogle’s eight-page
Batman story became an eight-page Captain
America story and was published in
Marvel Fanfare #29.
According to Breyfogle,
“When it was finally in print,
I was told that [Marvel editor-
in-chief] Jim Shooter saw it,
and his first reaction was,
‘Captain America is acting
very much like Batman!’ ”
Norm maintained an
occasional presence in
Milgrom’s Marvel Fanfare, but
his original Batman eight-
pager opened yet another
door for the artist. “My
memory isn’t as clear on
Photo by this,” Mike Friedrich
Stephan Pytak.
admits, “[but] I think I used
the original story back at DC to land Norm the
ongoing gig on Batman that cemented his
reputation.” Breyfogle went on to become one
of the eminent Batman artists of the 1990s
and beyond.

When Captain America

Throws His Mighty Batarang
Cap to the rescue, in Norm Breyfogle’s
Marvel Fanfare #29 adventure.
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

Marvel Fanfare Issue • BACK ISSUE • 51

The Warriors Three—Fandral the Dashing, Hogun the
Grim, and the Voluminous Volstagg—first appeared
in the “Tales of Asgard” back-up in Marvel’s Journey
into Mystery #119 (Aug. 1965) by Stan Lee and
Jack Kirby. Fandral has the appeal and panache of
Errol Flynn’s Robin Hood, Hogun is as grim and dour
as they come, and Volstagg could be the brother of
Shakespeare’s Falstaff. Throughout the years, they
have joined Thor on many adventures and have
become popular supporting characters, even appearing
in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Thor films. For all
their popularity, they have had relatively few adventures
on their own. However, some of the best have appeared
in Marvel Fanfare, courtesy of creators Alan Zelenetz by Roger Ash
and Charles Vess.
Zelenetz told Steve Ringgenberg in Marvel Age #26
(Feb. 1985), “I had gone in to [Marvel Fanfare assistant
editor] Ann Nocenti asking what she needed for Marvel
Fanfare, and she said there’s this fellow named Charlie
Vess who wants to draw the World Tree. Want to do a
story about the World Tree and the Warriors Three?”
That led to “Ballad of the Warriors Three,” the back-up
story in Marvel Fanfare #13 (Mar. 1984).
In the story, the Warriors Three encounter Idunn,
whose husband, Bragi, the God of Poetry, has gone
missing in the woods while seeking inspiration
for a new ballad. The Warriors Three split
up and encounter dwarves, giants, and
mermaidens, all of whom tell them that
Bragi was headed towards the World
Tree. The Warriors come together
at the tree. Bragi has taken the form
of a bird and has become tangled
in the tree’s branches, where he is
menaced by a snake. Volstagg saves
him by falling on the snake, and the
Warriors Three become the inspiration
for his new poem.
In Amazing Heroes #126 (Sept. 1987),
Vess told Mark Askwith about the
story. “He [Zelenetz] wrote a story
that was lots of fun. It wasn’t violent. Courtesy of ComicVine.
It wasn’t people hitting each other over the head.
I enjoyed drawing it.” This enjoyable collaboration
led to the two joining together again for the graphic
novel The Raven Banner, an epic tale set in Asgard.
This would, in turn, lead to a four-part Warriors Three
story in Marvel Fanfare #34–37 (June–Dec. 1987),
though Vess said in Amazing Heroes that it originally
started as a four-issue miniseries. “It started off when
Alan and I said, ‘Let’s have some fun. Let’s come up
with a silly story and do a miniseries.’ ”
Jim Owsley was the original editor of the miniseries,
but when he left Marvel editorial, finding a replacement
proved difficult. “Well, we wanted to come up with
a story that would be making fun of heroic-ness,”
Vess told Christopher Irving in Modern Masters vol. 11:

The Warriors’ Tree

The Warriors Three by Charles Vess. Back
cover art to Marvel Fanfare #13 (Mar. 1984).
Original art courtesy of Heritage Comics
Auctions ([Link]).
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

52 • BACK ISSUE • Marvel Fanfare Issue

Charles Vess (TwoMorrows, Feb. 2007). “We actually went
to two or three editors who simply did not get what we were
trying to say, and finally went back to Al Milgrom, who
completely understood the story. He knew what we were
trying to do. A lot of the other editors kept saying,
‘Make it serious—some giant, epic thing.’ ‘No,
no, no, we’re making fun of all these very grim
people—grim and grimmer.’”
Due in part to the success of Frank Miller’s
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and Alan Moore
and Dave Gibbons’ Watchmen, among others,
dark and grim comics were the order of the day
in the late 1980s. It’s not at all surprising that
some editors wanted the story to be more serious,
as that was big business at the time. And the
story could easily have taken on a dark tone,
but the creative team made sure it didn’t.
“It’s filled with puns, anachronisms, and
lots of slap-stick [sic] humor,” Zelenetz told
Bill Slavicsek in Marvel Age #55 (July 1987).
“Artist Charles Vess and I work very well together. We’re both
romantics at heart when it comes to this sort of story. We’re
very comfortable in the realm of fantasy and mythology,
so these opportunities are the perfect indulgence. And editor
Al Milgrom brings his own eccentric sense of humor to the
project as well.”
The story begins in Marvel Fanfare #34. In Asgard, Una and
Mord are preparing for their wedding, but there is a dire prophecy
surrounding them. If they do not marry on Midsummer’s Eve,
they will not wed. Instead, they will marry other people and
their offspring will bring about the destruction of Asgard. The
Warriors Three will be attending the wedding as Odin’s personal
advance guard. Plans for the wedding are going smoothly
until Loki learns of it. He was not invited and decides to cause
mischief, prophecy or no. During the wedding rehearsal, Loki
turns the groom, Mord, into a goat that promptly runs away.
Una follows and, in a clearing the woods, finds a stranger with
a goat. The stranger is Loki, of course, who tells her that if
the goat is bathed in a magic well in Wolf Castle, he will be
restored to his human form.
“But even with the grim prophecy and Loki’s mischief marring
the happy occasion, the tale is still light-hearted and funny,”
Zelenetz told Marvel Age. “Each warrior must undo a portion of
Loki’s mischief before the wedding night, and each is thrown into
circumstances that are very atypical for their own personalities.”
Una finds Volstagg, the first of the Warriors Three to arrive,
at a nearby inn and sets him on a quest. With the fate of Asgard A New Tale of
at stake, Volstagg can’t hide behind bluster and exaggerated Asgard
tales of his past heroics as usual; he actually has to go on the
quest. But that doesn’t mean he’s suddenly a brave and great (top) Title page
warrior. He is still as clumsy and cowardly as always, which makes
from Alan and
his battle against werewolf-like men in Wolf Castle very funny.
And, wonder of wonders, he actually accomplishes his goal. Charles’ Warriors
However, the goat remains a goat.
Volstagg was a challenge for Vess to draw as he kept trying to
Three back-up from
make his skeletal and muscular structure to work. Marvel Fanfare #13.
“It wasn’t until I was doing the four-issue miniseries with
the Warriors Three that I realized how to actually draw (bottom) 1985’s
Volstagg,” Vess told Irving in Modern Masters. “I was watching Marvel Graphic Novel
a Warner Brothers cartoon, “King-Sized Canary”—a Tex Avery
cartoon about a cat and bird who keep drinking a magic #15: The Raven
formula that makes them get bigger and bigger. I looked at Banner (A Tale of
them and went, ‘Volstagg! He’s a cartoon character. There’s
no bones in him!’ And that’s when I could finally draw him.” Asgard) reunited
[Author’s note: The actual title of the cartoon is “King-Size Zelenetz and Vess…
Canary” and it was released by MGM.]
Vess also included a tribute to one of his influences, Frank as well as Fandral,
Frazetta, in this issue. “In the first part the wolf-men are straight Hogun, and Volstagg.
out of Frazetta’s ‘Loathsome Lore’ one-page strip in Creepy
or Eerie,” he told Irving. “I had lots of fun with it; it was a TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.
gloriously silly story.”

Marvel Fanfare Issue • BACK ISSUE • 53

 For Odin!
Original art by
Charles Vess for
the cover of
Marvel Fanfare #34
(June 1987). This
image was later used
for the hardcover
collection Thor:
The Warriors Three.
Courtesy of Heritage.
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

54 • BACK ISSUE • Marvel Fanfare Issue

 Issue #34 features Hogun the Grim and is perhaps
the funniest part of the story as it directly takes on
the grim and gritty hero. The story opens with Hogun
battling a troll on a bridge. The troll is happy to let him
pass, but Hogun insists they battle.
This time, it is Una’s mother, Lady Sunna, who
meets a stranger with a goat in a clearing. This time
the quest is to pick a fruit from a tree in Elf Wood
and feed it to the goat. That will change him back
into Mord. She meets Hogan at the inn and sends
him on the quest. But she doesn’t send him alone.
She sends Mord’s squire, Vilar, along with him, much
to Hogan’s vexation.
Vilar is rather plain with a simple philosophy and
sense of humor. He can’t understand why Hogun is
so serious and often goes about things the hard way.
This, unsurprisingly, drives Hogun to distraction and
he sends Vilar away.
Hogun next meets the elves of Elf Wood, fair folk
who enjoy fun and offer to show Hogun a secret way
through the woods if he will only stop and play.
Hogun has no need for such frivolity and soldiers on.
When Hogun finally reaches the fruit tree, he finds
Vilar waiting for him, as the elves showed him the
secret path.
Hogun climbs the tree and is attacked by a serpent
but is saved with the assistance of Vilar and the elves.
He feeds the goat the fruit and nothing happens.
The absurdity of the situation and his quest actually
makes Hogun burst out in laughter.
While #35 may be the funniest issue, #36 is definitely
the most poignant. Fandral is known as a ladies’ man to
some and a scoundrel to others. This issue starts off with
him trying to escape the wrath of two sisters he was
wooing. But what happens when someone actually
believes his promises?
This time it is Lord Sigurd, Una’s father, who
encounters the stranger in the clearing. He is told that
the Priestess of Freya, Goddess of Love may be able
to help. Lord Sigurd sends Fandral on this quest and
he travels to the priestess’ island to seek her council.
There are only women on the island, which suits
Fandral just fine. On the boat ride over, he flirts with
his guide, but she is forbidden to love, or even kiss,
until her apprenticeship is over.
They are attacked by a giant squid, which Fandral
quickly dispatches, and they fall into each other’s arms.
Even though Fandral has promised to marry her (not
the first time he has said this to a woman this issue),
she is horrified that she has broken her vow. When she
hears him using the same lines on other women that he Volstagg, Hogun, and Fandral engage Loki in battle, Covers Four
used on her, she is inconsolable. but all appears lost when Loki threatens to kill Mord. Vess’ inviting covers
Meanwhile, Fandral meets with the priestess who Luckily, Thor arrives in the nick of time and Mord is saved
attempts to turn the goat back into Mord. She fails and and returned to his usual form. The wedding goes on for Marvel Fanfare
then realizes there is a deeper magic at play. They are as planned, Asgard is saved, and Loki attends the
interrupted by a messenger bearing the news that the wedding—in the form of a goat.
#34–37, featuring
woman from the boat is planning to leap off a cliff to This whole adventure is rousing good fun and still the Warriors Three.
her death for breaking her vow. Fandral realizes that holds up well today. The dialog is crisp and the art is
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.
what he saw as a game has serious consequences. stunning. One wonders what would happen if Zelenetz
He stops the woman from jumping, begs her forgiveness, and Vess were to return to the Warriors Three for a new
and swears off philandering. adventure. The Three remain popular characters and I
Everything comes to a head in issue #37 as the think that readers would love to see a new solo adventure.
Warriors Three storm Loki’s castle, where he is hiding
the real Mord/goat. Vilar warns Odin and his party A very special thank-you to John Wells, Christopher Irving, Eric Nolen-
of the events of the previous issues and Odin sends Weathington, and KC Carlson for their assistance with this article.
Thor to help the warriors. Before he arrives, Loki takes
on the form of a dragon and, rather than soil himself ROGER ASH lives in Wisconsin, where he works for Westfield
Comics and helps with the Baltimore Comic-Con. He shares
in physical battle, attempts to control the Warrior
his condo with his cat, Candy, and his growing collection
Three’s minds. However, with their experiences
of hats. He’s been a fan of the Warriors Three, especially
throughout the story, they break the mind control Volstagg, since he first saw them.
very quickly.

Marvel Fanfare Issue • BACK ISSUE • 55

 Marvel’s early-1970s output was
an unending series of surprises,
as readers were introduced to
gothic horror, sword and sorcery,
new heroes, new villains, and
tons of new writers and artists.
Many of these creators settled
into roles closely identified with
a specific style of story. Doug
Moench, for example, came to
Marvel and established himself
by Robert Greenberger
as a street-level writer with his
stirring Master of Kung Fu and
Moon Knight. As a result, when
I bought Marvel Super Action #1
in early 1976, the magazine
stunned me with Moench
penning a fantasy series,
WeirdWorld. Clearly, it resonated
with readers since it subsequently
appeared in comics and
magazines, fueling interest in
its fantasy realm, especially
since it was coupled with inspiring
artwork from Mike Ploog and
later, John Buscema.
Marvel Comics finally
collected the WeirdWorld stories
for the first time in a trade paper-
back in 2016, and on the day we
spoke by phone, Moench had just
penned the introduction from his
Pennsylvania home, so had his
memories refreshed. He clearly
relished those early days with its
lax editorial oversight and the
freedom to try things. “And boy,
was that joyous,” he tells BACK
ISSUE. “And I don’t think you
can say the [Marvel] books were
terrible. There wasn’t just me.
There was [Steve] Englehart,
Steve Gerber, Don McGregor,
and on and on and on.”

WEIRDWORLD
DISCOVERED
In the ’70s, Moench was a
prolific writer and Marvel’s
magazines were always in need
of fresh content, so he had a
fairly free hand to submit
stories. “I’d dialogued my 20

The Great
Darklens Saga
A wonderful WeirdWorld
commission by Pat
Broderick, contributed
by the art’s owner,
Shaun Clancy.
WeirdWorld TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

56 • BACK ISSUE • Marvel Fanfare Issue

pages for the day or whatever and wasn’t tired,” Doug
recalls. “And so they were always bugging me for more
six-, seven-, eight-, and nine-page horror stories for
Vampire Tales and Tales of the Zombie and whatnot. And
I thought, ‘Well, I’m not tired so I’ll knock out a seven-
page black-and-white thing,’ and figuring I would come
up with another Zombie or whatever. And instead, I
found that [WeirdWorld] coming out and I thought,
‘Jeez, what is this? And are they going to take this?’
“I was very aware that it didn’t really have a home,
so I made sure that there were, like, ogres in it and a
dragon, or at least the implication of a dragon.”
What Moench invented was a world filled with
magic beings and a rich backstory that he explored only
in later tales. WeirdWorld was the result of clash between
the black god Darklens and his fellow gods some time
in the distant past. Darklens was trapped on a new land
and created a floating island from which he conjured
up demons and monsters to emerge from the island’s
shadow. The island was shattered by a comet sent by a
white god, and shards of the comet were collected by
five Dark Riders. Darklens was seemingly dead, buried
in a tomb until his future resurrection.
Years and years later, young Tyndall of Klarn was an
elf living with the Dwarves of DwarfHaven. He began a
series of adventures where he was sent to destroy the
Heart of Evil, which turned out to be an egg containing
an elf named Velanna, who became his companion. The
pair became a trio when they helped save the dwarf
Mud-Butt’s life, and proceeded to explore their world
on land and across the various seas. Tyndall was brave
and plucky, able to communicate telepathically with
Dragons, giving him some advantages.
“I don’t know where it came from, other than after—
every time I did a real late story like that, I was on
automatic pilot, sort of just going on momentum and
my brain was kicked into the next gear,” Moench reveals.
“There’s something to be said to force yourself to work
beyond the breaking point. You pass this barrier and it
becomes automatic writing. It just flows… I mean, it
really flows. And I used to hate the first six or
seven hours of each day because that’s what
it took me to get to this state.”
Moench submitted the story to Marvel’s
magazine editor, Marv Wolfman, who
was captivated with this fresh take on
the fantasy genre, something Marvel WEIRDWORLD’S PREMIERE Welcome to
hadn’t really touched previously. Back in 1973, Moench wrote the story
Moench recalls, “And they had never and loved the notion of Ploog as artist,
Weirdworld
rejected anything I’d ever given them, but then got preoccupied and forgot This detail-drenched
but I was sort of cringing on this one, about WeirdWorld until it was finally
thinking, ‘Well, what if it isn’t ‘monster’ published in 1976 in Marvel Super Action,
beauty hails from
enough?’ I turned it in when I came in a Marvel magazine headlined by the Doug Moench’s very
one morning, and then I was goofing Punisher and also including Howard
around in the Bullpen, talking to Chaykin’s Dominic Fortune… with Moench first WeirdWorld story,
people and maybe went out to lunch and Ploog’s WeirdWorld. The Weird- from the magazine
with some people, came back, and Marv came rushing World story caused a bit of a stir among readers and staff
down the hallway and he said, ‘Your WeirdWorld—I love alike. “I wish I could remember who it was, it might have Marvel Super Action
that story!’ And he said, ‘I have the perfect artist for it,’ been Ralph Macchio or Marv Wolfman, I can’t remember… #1 (Jan. 1976).
and I’d heard that a thousand times. ‘I’ve got the perfect but they had—what was it? Marvel Premiere, the color
artist for this thing,’ and it’s almost never true. But in this book—where they were doing one-shots or two-parters Original art signed
case, it turned out to be absolutely—he was dead-on.” of obscure stuff. And either Ralph or Marv said, ‘Hey, why by its artist,
That artist turned out to be Mike Ploog, whose Will don’t you do a WeirdWorld one-shot in the color book?’
Eisner-influenced art was gaining attention on characters And I said, ‘Oh, okay!’ So I probably sat down and Mike Ploog, and
including Ghost Rider, Werewolf by Night, and Frankenstein. did that. And I think that happened maybe again, if I courtesy of Heritage
The two hadn’t worked together before and Moench remember right. There was another one-shot.”
was taken with the choice. Today, we fondly recall their At the time of Marvel Premiere #38 (Oct. 1977), Comics Auctions
collaboration on Planet of the Apes, but as it turns out, Marvel began touting its release as being in the same
([Link]).
WeirdWorld was done first. “I turned in the WeirdWorld vein as J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, which had been
story, it could have been very, very early in ’73, before enjoying a resurgence of interest for about a decade by TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.
I ever started Planet of the Apes,” Moench says. then, and the Ralph Bakshi-animated adaptation was on

Marvel Fanfare Issue • BACK ISSUE • 57

the horizon. Many consider WeirdWorld heavily inspired by Tolkien, with two panels on them,’ and that’s how the whole thing came about—
but Moench disagrees. [chuckles] that was really intended to be a 40-odd page story.”
“I have no idea where it came from, other than I had tried to read Another important office matter was the change in title from
Lord of the Rings, I did read The Hobbit, and then I found the first, like, WeirdWorld to Warriors of the Shadow Realm. According to Moench,
eight pages of The Lord of the Rings boring as hell and gave up,” Moench “We announced we were doing a big, full-color WeirdWorld magazine,
says. “But I loved the idea of elf-type characters and dragons and sh*t, and DC Comics said, ‘No, you’re not. We copyrighted, or trademarked,
so that just came out.” that title’ [Weird Worlds, an earlier ongoing series showcasing Edgar Rice
Ploog returned for pencils, but the Marvel Premiere tale was Burroughs characters and later, Howard Chaykin’s IronWolf]. So Stan Lee
inked by the great Alex Nino, which made for a visually interesting asked, ‘What’s it about?’ And I said, ‘It’s about these things from the
combination, perfect for a fantasy. By this point, readers were beginning Shadow Realm.’ ‘Shadow Realm? That’s perfect! Okay, we got Lords
to write in and respond positively. of the Shadow Realm.’ I go, ‘Ehh, that’s too much like Lord of the Rings.’
After the relative success of that story, Moench was asked either by ‘All right, Warriors of the Shadow Realm.’ And I said, ‘All right, fine with me.’
Rick Marschall, who was then editing the magazine line, or Macchio, “So Stan named it. I still was pissed off. I thought, ‘Well, that sounds
Marschall’s assistant, for a new WeirdWorld story intended for the like the title of the story, not the title of the property.’ ”
magazine line. Ploog set to work on it before quitting over a dispute with Those three issues were Marvel Super Special #11–13 (Spring–Fall
Marvel over the then-new work-for-hire provisions in their agreements. 1979). They showed a definite rise in Buscema’s illustrative storytelling,
“You know, Ploog,” Moench chuckles. “I love, love Mike Ploog, but he coupled with the amazing airbrushed color work from Australian artist
had a bug up his ass about Marvel not treating him right and it was a Peter Ledger. At the time of release, this was revolutionary material,
constant thing. He was always quitting.” Ploog got about four or five closer in feel to rival Heavy Metal than anything else coming from the
pages into the penciling before quitting, according to Moench. House of Ideas. Marvel’s process color had been introduced in the
One of the editors tapped John Buscema for the assignment, pairing companion Hulk magazine, also written by Moench, “and they started
him with his frequent Savage Sword of Conan inker, Rudy Nebres. realizing, ‘Holy smokes,’ ” Moench beams. “I think one of the reasons
“And here’s a behind-the-scenes thing,” Moench offers. “This was they thought of WeirdWorld was because of the color possibilities, you
supposed to be one magazine and the plot that I wrote was for like a—oh, know, as the perfect vehicle to show off what we could do with color.
I don’t know, a 42-page story or whatever? And then I was informed that “They got into the airbrush thing and man, oh, man, it just became
it was going to be three issues and well over a hundred pages long and I this gigantic technical toy like Orson Welles going to Hollywood and
said, ‘Oh, God, I’ve got to rewrite it.’ ‘No, no, no! Don’t change a thing. thinking he had the biggest train set any boy could ever have. He went
We’re just going to tell Buscema to let it breathe, to stretch it out. And then crazy and did everything possible in movies, right? And they were
we’d get double-page spreads and triple-page foldouts and giant pages hellbent on doing everything possible with the color.”
Many an artist came knocking on Marvel’s door, unbidden, since the
Marvel Age began in the 1960s, and Ledger was no different, except the
distance traveled. “The story I remember—don’t take it as gospel—but I
just remember someone telling me that [Peter Ledger] just showed up…
this guy from Australia just showed up at Marvel and was sleeping in
the lobby and pestering them to give him some work,” Moench says.
“And eventually, he started talking about how he knew how to use an
airbrush, to do color work with an airbrush, and that’s how he got the gig.
Now, I don’t know if that’s really true at all, but that’s what I remember.”
Once they saw what Ledger could do with an airbrush and how it
could be reproduced on the better paper used for the magazines,
it was clear this project could be something special. According to Doug,
“It wasn’t just full-process color, but then they tried to see what was
possible with full-process and push it to the absolute limit and with the
airbrush and all the other crap they did. It almost overwhelmed the
whole thing. By the end of the whole thing, I started feeling like I don’t
think that my original story, intended for 40 pages, is meaty enough
for this gigantic, sprawling, dazzling thing, you know?”
The finished product included gatefolds, which were sadly not
included as such in the trade collection. The three-part story that
summer excited fans and pleased all involved.
“Oh, it was better than I expected,” Moench agrees. “Buscema told
me, ‘You know, they’ve given me all this crap and I haven’t cared about
it. But this is different. This is great and I’m actually taking time on this
stuff. I’m getting lost in it, you know?’ And I said, ‘Well, that’s good.’
And the freedom, he also loved that, that fact that he could take a
40-odd-page plot and turn it into a 140 or whatever it was. It was just
a joy to him. You know, he didn’t have to even think about anything,
you know? However, many pages he wanted, they were there.”
On the other hand, Moench does not recall receiving much
immediate fan feedback with one notable exception. “I got this really,
really long, long letter from Wendy Pini, accompanied by about a
dozen or more hand-colored drawings, telling me how much she loved

Tyndall Returns!
Moench brought back WeirdWorld in the Bronze Age
tryout title Marvel Premiere, in issue #38 (Oct. 1977).
Cover by Rudy Nebres.
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

58 • BACK ISSUE • Marvel Fanfare Issue

 Not to Be Confused with
Weird Worlds…
WeirdWorld was back—rebranded
(on its covers, at least)—in 1979 in these
three consecutive issues of Marvel
Super Special magazine. Cover art by
Buscema, Nebres, and Ledger.
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

WeirdWorld and how it inspired her to create all these

characters and she wanted to someday talk Marvel into
doing her Elfquest idea. And that’s the only reaction I
remember is the Wendy Pini opus,” Moench says.

EPIC FANFARE
Among those impressed by the results was editor Archie
Goodwin, who was readying the introduction of Epic
Illustrated [explored at length in BACK ISSUE #88—ed.].
As Marvel’s other magazines failed and were canceled,
Epic’s new mix of creator-owned original stories and “Then Al called, and I don’t remember if he or I Artists of the
characters from Marvel’s library was an ideal home for suggested Pat Broderick. I honestly don’t know,” Moench Shadow Realm
Tyndall and company. admits. Where P. Craig Russell did a lovely job inking Ploog,
“Archie would every once in a while say, ‘Well, when are he didn’t stick around for the remaining chapters, which, The illustrators
you going to do another thing for Epic Magazine?’ ” Moench by schedule necessity wound up with different inkers—
reveals. “I said, ‘Well, when you want me to, just let me Brett Breeding in issue #25 and the team of Ian Akin and
who brought
know, Arch.’ And, ‘Okay, okay.’ And then he finally called Brian Garvey for issue #26. Broderick and Moench liked Doug’s saga to
out of the blue. He said, ‘Okay, I got something.’ And I said, working together and wound up transitioning over to DC,
‘What?’ He said, ‘Why don’t you do another WeirdWorld where they produced the Lords of the Ultra-Realm miniseries. life in Marvel Super
story with John Buscema?’ And I said, ‘Yeah! Great.’ Looking back, Moench is proud of how well the story Special: John
You know, I mean perfect. That was easy, and so I did.” held up considering the gaps between appearances.
The four-part Epic story, inked by Marie Severin, “You know, to this day, I don’t know why I never proposed Buscema (seated),
appeared in Epic Illustrated #9 and 11–13, adding to a monthly [WeirdWorld] book,” Moench admits. Peter Ledger, and
the backstory and looking pretty gorgeous. “Why didn’t I do that? I guess I was doing so much that
Sometime later, Al Milgrom, editing Marvel Fanfare, I didn’t have time to propose things. It’s like I almost Rudy Nebres.
reached out to Moench about a new WeirdWorld story. never said no when they asked me to do something, Photo courtesy of
Milgrom coaxed Mike Ploog back to work on the and that was already three times more than any human
fantasy land, but Ploog quit after just one issue. Milgrom should do. [And] I never proposed a Moon Knight book. ComicVine.
then turned to Michael Golden to continue the story. They asked me.” [Editor’s note: You were here last issue
“He was all set to do it and I don’t want to say he’d for our look at Moench’s Moon Knight, weren’t you?]
found out that Part One had already been done by Ploog Despite WeirdWorld’s erratic publishing history, Moench
and that was a deal killer or something, but I’m not sure was always eager to get back to his world and its inhabitants.
if that’s right,” Moench recalls. His and readers’ favorite character was the comic relief,

Marvel Fanfare Issue • BACK ISSUE • 59

 Plugging for
Ploog
Mike Ploog’s return
to WeirdWorld
was short-lived…
but, man, was it
gorgeous, especially
with Craig Russell
inks. Original art
from MF #24,
courtesy of Heritage.
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

60 • BACK ISSUE • Marvel Fanfare Issue

 A Little Fanfare for WeirdWorld
(top left) The long-journeying series wound
up in Marvel Fanfare beginning with issue
#24 (Jan. 1986), with this P. Craig Russell cover.
Pat Broderick smoothly slid into the role of
WeirdWorld artist. (top right) His cover to
Marvel Fanfare #25, and (bottom) his splash
(with Akin and Garvey inks) from MF #26.
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

Mud-Butt. “I was just trying to think, when you asked me

about doing an interview, Mud-Butt popped into my head
and I was trying to think, ‘Did I come up with the name
first and then the shtick of him being this feisty, crusty
little guy who’s always punching up and always getting
knocked on his butt in the mud or the other way around?
Did the concept of the feisty, crusty guy always punching
come up first?’ And then I thought, ‘You know, he’s always
getting knocked on his butt—oh, I’ll call him Mud-Butt.’
Pat Broderick named his puppy Mud-Butt.”
While aware Marvel’s 2015 Battleworld series
brought Doug’s WeirdWorld characters firmly
into the Marvel Universe, Moench hasn’t
read the stories and isn’t particularly
impressed by the move. He would, though,
like to return to WeirdWorld some day
and continue to explore it. He admits
that there was never an overall arc to
the story and no clear ending planned.
“You know, for all of my stuff, unless
it was designed to have an ending, I
would not look too far ahead. I would
just know that there certain things
that were going to happen, probably,
or plant the seeds that I knew could
develop into certain things, but I would
do it basically month-by-month. And in the case of
WeirdWorld, since every one of them seemed to me like,
well, this could be the last one, I didn’t bother thinking
any further than each story.
“Like I said, I have no idea why I never proposed
a monthly book because I don’t know how well that
stuff sold, so they never mentioned it—but they kept
asking me to do more, so it couldn’t have been a terrible
money-loser. Everybody that I dealt with seemed to
really love it, I think partly because it was different from
everything else.”
Physical ailments have kept the writer from his usual
pace of storytelling. He has turned to prose and has four
or five unfinished manuscripts. On the other hand,
royalties have sustained a comfortable life and he’s come
to embrace a certain level of relaxation.
“I mean, I’m not officially retired or anything, but I
have turned down the last three offers in a row, other
than these introductions, of course. It’s like I can’t imagine
anybody offering me something that I would want to
do enough that it would overcome all of my other
reservations, which are this micro-managing, looking-
over-your-shoulder editing style that has come around.”
The inhabitants of Klarn and the entire Shadow Realm
await his return.

Special thanks to Brian K. Morris for the interview transcription.

Follow writer/editor/educator ROBERT GREENBERGER at

[Link].

Marvel Fanfare Issue • BACK ISSUE • 61

 THE RETRO COMICS EXPERIENCE!

Edited by MICHAEL EURY, BACK

ISSUE magazine celebrates comic
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 Killer Smile
Then-newcomer
Arthur Adams
produced this
stupendous
Spider-Man/Black
Cat/Hobgoblin
pinup in late May
of 1984, with Al
Milgrom publishing
it almost four years
later in Marvel
Fanfare #37
(Apr. 1988).
Original art courtesy
of Heritage.
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

Marvel Fanfare Issue • BACK ISSUE • 63

Marvel Fanfare #40 (Oct. 1988) is offbeat even for
Fanfare, a series that specialized in the offbeat.
Two of the mega-popular X-Men, Angel and Storm,
are featured in solo stories, but neither is a typical
superhero tale. One has our merry mutant unconscious
for 12 of its 14 pages, while the other features a
visit to a nightclub.

THE ANGEL IN “CHIAROSCURO”

Ann Nocenti and David Mazzucchelli’s “Chiaroscuro”
centers on a sheltered widow named Josephina. In a life
filled with a delinquent grandson, an overprotective
neighbor, and temperamental appliances, Josie feels her
best days are long behind her. Too afraid of the outside
world to even take her classic Cadillac out for a drive,
Josie sits in her garage, remembering better days and
dreaming of an escape. by J o h n Tr u m b u l l
Just then, an injured Angel crashes into Josie’s
backyard. Hearing him muttering about battling
Mephisto (a battle seen in Mephisto vs. #2, May 1987),
Josie assumes that he’s an actual angel, fallen from
Heaven. She takes the X-Man into her home and
nurses him back to health, gluing all of his loose
feathers back into place. When the recovered Angel
wakes up and realizes what this sweet, old woman
has done for him, he kisses Josie on the cheek and
flies off without a word. The last page shows a pep-
py Josie taking her Caddy out for a long-await-
ed drive, blasting the song “Get Happy”
all the way.
Explaining her inspiration for this
unique story, writer Ann Nocenti says,
“When I read battle scenes in comics,
my mind often wanders to the char-
acters in the background. What hap-
pened to that kid whose eyes got wide
when he saw the Hulk pound down
5th Avenue? What happened to that
guy who spilled his apple cart when
Thor’s hammer pounded the street?
The X-Men were often having spec-
tacular battles in the sky, and I decid-
ed that it would be fun have Angel
drop into the backyard of a religious woman who saw
him as a ‘real’ angel. I’m also very interested in how
ordinary people view spectacular events from afar.
When I was growing up Catholic, I enjoyed it when, in
catechism class, the nuns would tell tales of angelic
battles, fallen angels, Lucifer getting pushed out of
heaven and falling. So I thought I would tell a tale about
an ordinary lonely lady whose life is energized, how-
ever briefly, by a fallen angel.”
Nocenti lucked out when it came to her artist: David
Mazzucchelli, fresh off of collaborating with Frank Miller
on Daredevil: Born Again and Batman: Year One. “David
Mazzucchelli was (and is) certainly a favorite of mine,
so however it happened, I considered myself very lucky
to have gotten to work with him,” Nocenti says.

Fall from Grace

David Mazzucchelli’s feather-full Angel
cover for Marvel Fanfare #40 (Oct. 1988).
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

64 • BACK ISSUE • Marvel Fanfare Issue

 As Mazzucchelli recalls, it was Nocenti’s story that
brought him aboard. “After drawing Batman: Year One,
I was pretty sure I didn’t want to draw any more costumed
vigilante stories, which is why Ann Nocenti’s idea for
the Angel story piqued my interest—he’s unconscious
for the whole thing, and it’s really about Josie and the
effect that the Angel’s appearance (he looks like an
angel!) has on her.”
“Josie was inspired by my grandmother Josephine,”
Nocenti says. “She and my grandfather Silvio ran a
dairy farm, and spending time on their farm had a big
impact on me. She worked hard, but was a gentle,
funny woman who loved to giggle. At the same time,
she was restrained by the norms of the times. I always
had a sly instinct that she would have loved to kick up
her heels once in a while.”
For his part, Mazzucchelli appreciated pushing his
art in a new direction. “As far as a storytelling exercise,
it was pretty straightforward,” he recalls. “The challenges
were ones I set up for myself, specifically in terms of
drawing style. I wanted to get away from the more
naturalistic way I had been working and cartoon more.”
The coloring for “Chiaroscuro” was by Mazzucchelli’s
friend, painter David Hornung: “[David] was interested
in trying his hand at coloring comics, so I recommended
him for this story. I was very pleased with what he did.
(Years later, I included some of his own comics in my
magazine Rubber Blanket.)”
“I think overall people enjoyed the story,” Nocenti
recalls. “I still sign quite a few of that issue at comic
conventions. It is one of my favorite stories that I’ve
written. The short story is in many ways more difficult
than a full-length comic. They are more like poems.
The Classic X-Men short stories I did with John Bolton,
a Daredevil short story I did with David Aja, and this
tale with David Mazzucchelli are some of my all-time
favorite beloved comics. Maybe I should have written
more short stories!”

STORM IN “DEAL WITH THE DEVIL!”

Marvel Fanfare #40’s second story is a 15-pager by Chris
Claremont and Craig Hamilton where Storm meets
with the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants’ Mystique to
debate the future of their mutual teammate
Rogue. For most of the story, the shape-
shifting Raven Darkhölme assumes Storm’s
appearance to taunt her foe.
Penciler Craig Hamilton tells BACK
ISSUE how he got the Fanfare assignment:
“Like everyone in the ’80s, I was a fan “Deal with the Devil!” gave some Touched By
of The X-Men. It was one of the first backstory to a significant issue in An Angel
Marvel titles I picked up, having been X-Men continuity: Uncanny X-Men
primarily a DC fan previously. I went to #185 (Sept. 1984), where Storm and …or, An Angel
a lot of conventions in the ’80s, showing Rogue bond as friends and teammates
Touched By An
my portfolio, meeting artists, writers, just before Storm loses her powers
and editors, and trying to break in. (she’d regain them in February Old Lady. Page 9
Along the way I met Chris Claremont, 1988’s Uncanny X-Men #226). As we
who had seen several sketches I had find out here, Mystique gave Storm
of the Nocenti/
done of Storm, particularly in her © Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons. a lead to find Rogue in UXM #185. Mazzucchelli tale.
mohawk look, and [he] thought I would be great to Craig Hamilton states that the Fanfare tale was originally
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.
draw a story. I had also struck up a friendship with the supposed to appear closer to the X-issues, but outside
legendary Archie Goodwin, who introduced me to Al circumstances delayed it: “The story fit into the continuity
Milgrom and put in a good word, so Marvel Fanfare was of the main X-Men title at the time, but my art was
the perfect place for such a story to occur. (I credit Archie put on hold because I had landed the Aquaman mini-
with a lot in my comics career.)” series at DC and took nine months away from it to
The Storm story’s setting in an Atlanta nightclub was draw that.” [Editor’s note: See BACK ISSUE #27 and
no coincidence, says Craig. “I lived in Atlanta at the time, 46 for more info about Craig’s Aquaman miniseries,
and during a particular Dragon-Con, Chris was a guest and written by Neal Pozner.]
accompanied me and some friends to an Atlanta nightclub, The story was inked by Rick Bryant and colored by
Weekends, known for its alternative culture and new wave Petra Scotese. “Rick Bryant’s studio in Manhattan was
sensibilities. Thus was the inspiration for the story.” a nexus of comics creators in the ’80s, and I met him

Marvel Fanfare Issue • BACK ISSUE • 65

 Work It, Girl! pretty early on in my career,” Hamilton remembers. story featuring 1970s Starman Mikaal Tomas having
(left) Hamilton’s “I was very happy with his tight brushwork inking over a final confrontation with his foe Komak in a nightclub.
my pencils, and Petra is a legend and her colors brought Hamilton confirms the link to BACK ISSUE: “The Starman
visual inspiration for the art to life, especially in something as colorful as a story was indirectly inspired by the Storm story. James
nightclub setting.” Robinson wanted to do a conversation in a booth
the mohawked
As an artist who often bases his characters’ of a disco and knew that I had a precedent
Storm was none appearances on real people, Hamilton had for such a thing. I find it an enjoyable
a surprising, soon-to-be-famous model challenge to illustrate a conversation
other than (inset) for Storm. “Being an art student in that goes on for pages. Nuances of
RuPaul. (right) Atlanta in the ’80s was a very exciting character and expression take center
time and I was immersed in the alter- stage, and I live for that sh*t. It’s rare
Craig’s MF #40 native new-wave scene, where I met a in a superhero comic.”
pinup of the very original and exciting entertainer MF #40’s pinup section included a
by the name of RuPaul. We struck up Sub-Mariner painting by Kent Williams
Sanctum Santorum a friendship and Ru was my enthusiastic and an Elektra painting by George Pratt.
canoodlers. model for Storm. This revelation has In addition to his back cover of Storm,
freaked out several fanboys over the Craig Hamilton provided two pinups,
Storm TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. years that found my depiction of Storm one of Dr. Strange and Clea, and
to be very alluring. another of Ka-Zar, Shanna, and Zabu.
“Distinguishing between real Storm Hamilton recalls, “The pinups were a
and Mystique Storm relied on facial Courtesy of DC Wikia. chance for me to ink myself, which
expression, mainly. There was an extra b*tchy salt in Archie Goodwin was incredibly supportive of. I am
Mystique that one doesn’t see in the real Storm, particularly pleased that the Strange and Clea has become
who even when angered, never comes across as mean. rather iconic over the years.”
There is a page where during their face-off it is a series
of closeup panels moving across their respective identical JOHN TRUMBULL has been writing for BACK ISSUE since 2012.
faces, but also showing the subtle emotive differences.” Check out his weekly column “Crisis on Earth-T” every Monday
The Storm/Mystique face-off has a cross-company at [Link] Thanks to Craig Hamilton,
connection to another comic that Hamilton drew nine Ann Nocenti, and David Mazzucchelli for sharing their memories
years later: Starman #28 (Mar. 1997), a “Times Past” with BACK ISSUE.

66 • BACK ISSUE • Marvel Fanfare Issue

 TM By the late ’80s, Jennifer Walters had finally begun
to make a name for herself with her second series
from Marvel Comics, The Sensational She-Hulk,
scripted and penciled by John Byrne. Byrne had become
enchanted with the superheroine during his applauded
run on The Fantastic Four. It had taken She-Hulk
nearly a decade for readers to see her as more than
an intelligent female rip-off of her world-famous
cousin, the Incredible Hulk, especially after her short-
lived first series, The Savage She-Hulk (1980–1982).
Under Byrne, She-Hulk had found her own unique
look and voice, but because of a disagreement with
his editor, Byrne’s tenure was brief and he was off of
the comic book before its ninth issue.
by Steven Wilber Meanwhile, Al Milgrom, editor of the anthology
series Marvel Fanfare, unaware of Byrne’s departure,
was looking to capitalize on the success of the
Sensational series and give She-Hulk an
additional spotlight… but suddenly, he had
to find a replacement for Byrne in his
She-Hulk-centric issue, Marvel Fanfare
#48 (mid-Dec. 1989). This led to two
distinctively different stories that
opened up new avenues of character
development for the Gammazon.

WORLD’S HERO…
FATHER’S SHAME
To begin the first of two She-Hulk-
focused tales, Marvel Age managing
editor Dwight Jon Zimmerman
stepped in. Zimmerman was someone
who knew She-Hulk well because of
prior involvement. “I ghost-collaborated with writer
David Anthony Kraft on most of the stories for the
Savage She-Hulk series,” Zimmerman says. “Needless
to say, that made me intimately familiar with her and
her supporting cast of characters. Periodically I’d give
an editor an ‘elevator pitch’—a one- or two-sentence
high-concept idea—for a story. If an editor was
interested, I’d then develop a formal one-page
proposal. That’s basically how this story came about.
I pitched the idea to Al Milgrom, he liked it, and then
I went to work.”
From there, alongside artist Kerry Gammill,
Zimmerman reintroduced the She-Hulk’s father,
Sheriff Morris Walters, who had come to terms with
his daughter’s transformation into a seven-foot green
musclewoman… or so he thought, until he realized
she was permanently in her She-Hulk persona
following the events of Marvel Graphic Novel #18
(Nov. 1985). To further complicate matters, Jennifer’s
aunt, Dr. Cassandra Walters Pike, surfaced with an

A Sensational Appearance
Original cover art (courtesy of Heritage)
to Shulkie’s Marvel Fanfare outing, #48
(mid-Dec. 1982). Art by Kerry Gammill and
Jose Marzan, Jr. Note the liberal use of
Zip-A-Tone to create the threatening shadow.
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

Marvel Fanfare Issue • BACK ISSUE • 67

 Fanfare for Shulkie
(top) Jen drops a bomb on her daddy in Marvel Fanfare #48’s
first story. (bottom) Playing mind games with the green gal in
the issue’s second tale. Thanks to Steven Wilber for the scans.
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

imagined vendetta against both her brother and niece. Zimmerman

explains, “The genesis for the story was based on the difficult relationship I
had with my parents. We didn’t see eye-to-eye on things I thought important
in my life and it got very ugly at times. I saw a connection there with
Sheriff Walters’ difficulty/refusal in accepting the changed circumstances
of Jennifer’s life.” Mentally and physically manipulating her son into the
monstrosity “Brawn,” Dr. Walters Pike unleashes him to battle She-Hulk,
proving to be more than her match. In the end, She-Hulk is able to disrupt
her aunt’s plan for revenge, leading Sheriff Walters to see the error of
his ways.
“Cassandra has a corrosively destructive sibling-rivalry relationship with
her brother that she refuses to release,” Zimmerman says, “and her ‘mother
from hell’ relationship with her son whom she uses as a tool to ‘earn’ his
mother’s love. A reason I included her was to serve as an example for
Sheriff Walters—the ultimate cost he faced with his daughter if he
didn’t change.” Following this key moment, their father/daughter
relationship would continue as a periodic element within the
Sensational series in the years to come, with Sheriff Walters
eventually retiring to live with Jennifer in New York City,
eliciting a new sequence of complicated events.

CALIFORNIA DREAMING
Next came an adventure for Jennifer that would prove her
fabled strength ineffectual, written by Star Comics assistant
editor and regular Marvel Comics Presents contributor Susan
Flaxman Kennedy. She fondly recollects, “The first time I
met [then-Marvel editor-in-chief] Jim Shooter I was a
senior in college and I basically asked him to hire me
after I graduated. I was wearing green body paint from
head to toe and a black-and-green wig. She-Hulk was
always one of my favorite characters. A strong, beautiful woman with a
law degree? The opportunity to write her was one of the biggest thrills
of my career.”
In this story, penciled by longtime Marvel artist Don Perlin, She-Hulk
experiences a nightmare and quickly realizes that someone close to her has
infiltrated her dreams, beckoning her to her hometown of Los Angeles. Jen soon
reunites with her old friend Dr. Dylan Cavanaugh, head of Dream Research for
Medtech. Cavanaugh confides that he’s gotten into trouble, but before Dylan
can go into detail, a car chase ensues with She-Hulk showing her charm, wit,
and skill behind the wheel are a match for any two-bit henchman.
It’s important to note that when our hero manages to slow down, it’s
clear that her issues between being Jennifer Walters and She-Hulk still aren’t
completely settled. “Every Marvel character has some sort of personal
conflict or crisis,” says Flaxman Kennedy. “At that point in her storyline,
She-Hulk was ‘stuck’ as She-Hulk. She couldn’t transform back into Jen
Walters. I felt that that made her desperately and deeply conflicted about
who she really was.”
Determined to help her friend, She-Hulk, following Dylan’s guidance,
enters the dream realm to do battle with the powerful psychic Mr. Ogden,
the director of Medtech. It isn’t until She-Hulk can sort out that she and Jen
are one and the same that she finds the confidence and tools to stop Ogden…
a dramatic end to a fun She-Hulk spotlight.
Following Marvel Fanfare #48, the She-Hulk would continue a successful
60-issue run with Sensational. Putting behind her fears and anxiety, Jen
would establish a strengthened bond with her father before the title’s
final issue in 1994.
Looking back at Marvel Fanfare, Flaxman Kennedy muses, “This was such a
fun story to write. I’ve written several other Marvel women stories, but this one
remains my favorite, if not my best.”

STEVEN WILBER is a storyteller on canvas and educator in the classroom based in Boston,
inspired by his growing 30-plus-year collection of comic books.

68 • BACK ISSUE • Marvel Fanfare Issue

 “Hoo-Boy! This issue is gonna take some explaining.” So said
Marvel Fanfare editor Al Milgrom in his Editori-Al page in
TM regard to the Silver Surfer story set for issue #51 (June 1990).
This story is not considered part of the mainstream history
of Marvel Earth but features alternate versions of characters
on an alternate Earth, according to The Official Handbook of
the Marvel Universe Master Edition. What? Just keep reading.
Jack Kirby’s majestic drawings of “…some kind of
naked character on a flying surfboard,” according to Stan
Lee when he first saw the artwork, inspired the writer to
give the Surfer an almost religious quality. After all, he was
the herald for a god-like being called Galactus. The Surfer
was “…the living personification of all that was good
and pure in the human condition,” Lee wrote in his
by D a n Ta n d a r i c h Stan’s Soapbox column in Marvel Age #52 (July 1987).
The Silver Surfer first appeared in Fantastic Four #48
(Mar. 1966). By FF #50 (May 1966), Galactus took away
his herald’s ability to soar through the galaxies after the
Surfer helped save the Earth from the planet-devourer,
leaving him marooned on our world. Stan wanted to keep
the Surfer’s appearances special and under his
watchful eye and he did for 18 issues in the
Surfer’s solo series (Aug. 1968–Sept. 1970).
One of the writers who Stan trusted
with the character was Steve Englehart,
who used the Surfer in his run on The
Defenders. But as time passed and Stan
became busier, appearances by the
space-faring alien—real name Norrin
Radd—were few and far between.
In 1984, the stage was set for Steve
Englehart and Jim Shooter, Marvel’s
editor-in-chief, to launch the next
phase of the Silver Surfer’s adventures.
Jim wanted the character back in the
spotlight, and Steve was more than
happy to write the stories. In discussions with Stan they
agreed on two things. One, Steve would write a 12-issue
limited series showcasing the Surfer’s last adventures with
him trapped on Earth. Two, Stan would begin work on a
graphic novel with artist Keith Pollard that would allow
the Surfer to break Galactus’ barrier surrounding the
planet and soar the spaceways once again.
As Milgrom explained in Marvel Fanfare #51, “It was
supposed to run 12 issues, each one a double-sized job
à la the Surfer’s original mag way back when. While the
editorial staff haggled over direction and plotlines,
John Buscema dropped off the book, to be replaced by
Marshall Rogers. This issue you now hold in your hands
was the original installment in that limited series. I just
couldn’t bear to see all this gorgeous Buscema/Abel
artwork go to waste.” Today Al tells BACK ISSUE that
he was most likely the one to commission the special
wraparound cover for that issue of Fanfare.
In a preview blurb in Marvel Age Annual #1 (1985),
Steve Englehart was “going to try and present the most

Mangog-A-Go-Go
John Buscema’s cover to Marvel Fanfare #51
(June 1990), with the Silver Surfer and
Mantis in mortal combat with Mangog.
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

Marvel Fanfare Issue • BACK ISSUE • 69

 Sentinel of the Spaceways
An undated John Buscema illo of our favorite
spacefarer. From the Heritage archives.
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

the enigmatic Avenger who went off into the cosmos to

fulfill her destiny as the mother of the one who would
bring peace to the universe, was raising the future
messiah in suburban Connecticut. Steve explains to BACK
ISSUE, “I thought he and she would go nicely together,
as they eventually did. The main thing, though, was that
he would actually have a companion who could keep
up with him, and that would be something new for him.
I was sick of his being stuck on Earth and moaning about
it. At least I could cut out the moaning.”
As for changing the dynamic with Mephisto, Steve
had a plan for that as well. “Devils are always linked to
the earth element in magick. If the Surfer was going to
be stuck on Earth, he might find that a demon of Earth
could get close to him after all his time here, that perhaps
he’d been tainted by all his time on this planet.” Regarding
Moondragon, “She had a rivalry going with Mantis over
Friendly Fly-By spectacular space epic yet devised, with the Silver Surfer Celestial Madonnahood, so she’d probably have been
The “Swimmer”— acting as general of an inter-galactic armada fighting the a thorn in the Surfer/Mantis relationship’s side.”
Kree Empire from his ‘prison’ on Earth. There will be the The militaristic Kree were keeping an eye on Arthur
make that, the Watcher, the Kree, the Skrulls, Moondragon, the Badoon, Raymond Celestine, called “Sprout” by Mantis, and they
Mantis, you name them, if they’ve been in space, they’ll dubbed him “the Great Terror.” What could be worse
Surfer—encounters
be here.” Steve became frustrated by the Earth limitations. for warmongers than the idea of universal peace?
S.H.I.E.L.D. agents In Amazing Heroes Preview Special #4 (Winter 1987), Steve So Mangog, the personification of a billion-billion
stated, “I found that having to write about the Surfer, hateful warriors, was sent to destroy him. The Surfer’s
on this original art where his big event took place somewhere else, was a nobility triumphed in the end and a wink of romance
page from MF #51. real pain.” Steve kept bugging Shooter about getting was in the air between the Surfer and Mantis.
the Surfer off of the Earth and was eventually given the Englehart would weave a tapestry of space characters
By Englehart/ go-ahead to let the alien fly free and to change his into his ongoing series starting with Silver Surfer #1
Buscema/Abel. limited series to an ongoing monthly saga. (July 1987). The Marvel Fanfare issue concluded with the
But, as Al said, there was the matter of that beautiful, line “This ends a tale of what might have been, had the
Courtesy of Heritage original, now-shelved Silver Surfer #1. That issue was even- Surfer remained on Earth.” It remains a wonderful “what
Comic Auctions tually published in Marvel Fanfare #51 (June 1990) with if?” tale from an alternate reality.
the following credits: Steve Englehart, script; John Buscema,
([Link]). layouts; and Jack Abel, finished art. The story featured the Special thanks to Steve for being “Stainless” and to Al for being
usual Surfer trademarks of him contemplating how to Editori-Al! Appreciation goes out to Rebecca Busselle.
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.
leave Earth, his longtime love Shalla-Bal, and his enemy
Mephisto. Steve’s eventual goal was to change all of that. DAN TANDARICH is an educator in New York City. He thinks that
comic books and classrooms should always go together. Contact him
One way Englehart was going to rock the Surfer’s
at yellowjacket74@[Link].
world was by having a Celestial Madonna appear. Mantis,

70 • BACK ISSUE • Marvel Fanfare Issue

 Marvel Fanfare #52–54 feature stories starring Dane Whitman,
the Black Knight, by writer Steven Grant.
Marvel Fanfare #52 (Aug. 1990) features a cover by Ernie
Chan. Scott Hampton drew its story, with inks by Chan. Scott
provides his usual strong artwork with filled backgrounds and
dynamic action panels. In the tale, Dane battles a cult and the
slug-like monster dwelling beneath their temple.
Marvel Fanfare #53 (Oct. 1990) has its roots early in Steven
Grant’s career, as the writer discusses in this interview. Its cover
and interior art are by John Buscema, with inks by Jose Marzan.
While many panels are John Buscema mini-masterpieces,
most of the issue has an almost-minimalist feel in its lack of
background detail. Here, Dane goes on a mission for King
Richard to confront a Saracen wizard. The Black Knight learns
of Richard’s betrayal and gains his winged black horse.
Marvel Fanfare #54 (Dec. 1990) features a cover and
interior artwork by Tod Smith, with inks by Christopher Ivy.
Smith supplies beautiful detailed artwork for this last issue in the
Black Knight trilogy. Dane confronts Richard in the adventure,
battles the wizard, and discovers why history has no record of the
Black Knight’s actions, setting up the story arc for an intended,
but never realized, series.
Steven Grant and I discussed his work on the Black Knight
story arc via email during the summer of 2016.
– Stephan Friedt
by Stephan Friedt
STEPHAN FRIEDT: How did you get this Marvel Fanfare
assignment?
STEVEN GRANT: It was my idea. It goes back a little bit.
At the end of 1976, I went to a convention in New York. I was
typically young and broke, but as I was connected by then with
Bob Layton’s CPL Gang. [Editor’s note: The CPL (Contemporary
Pictorial Literature) Gang, a network of fans-turning-pro founded
by Layton and Roger Stern, and their fanzine Charlton Bullseye
will be covered in BACK ISSUE #100.] Bob put me in touch with
Duffy Vohland, another CPL-Ganger who’d gone pro and
worked in Marvel’s production department. Duffy made
the couch in his Brooklyn apartment available for
crashing on, so I crashed on Duffy’s sofa. This was
the week between Christmas and New Year’s,
when Marvel’s offices were pretty much a ghost
town… though at that point I wasn’t very
interested in pursuing a career writing for
Marvel. Duffy insisted that, as “rent,” I had to
pitch some material to Marv Wolfman, then
Marvel’s editor-in-chief, who was the only one in
the office, catching up on work. (Marv remembers
nothing of this, but why would he?)
So I spent a day typing up three proposals
for Marvel. Duffy had suggested I focus on
characters I liked that no one was doing
Courtesy of Comicvine. anything with. I forget who the third was—
Nick Fury or the Black Widow, I think—but one was the
Punisher and the last was the Black Knight. Marv listened
politely as I pitched for 20 minutes or so, gave me a little
advice, then blew me off. That was okay; like I said, I wasn’t
very interested at that point in pursuing it. I had other things
going on. It was an interesting experience, though.
But the Punisher story was pretty much exactly what the
Punisher miniseries was ten years later, and the Black Knight
story that appeared in Marvel Fanfare [issue #53] 20 years later
was the same “pilot” for the Black Knight series I pitched that
day. There was something in both of them I couldn’t let go of.
FRIEDT: What was it like working for editor Al Milgrom?

Bite the Knight

The Black Knight’s Marvel Fanfare premiere, in
issue #52 (Aug. 1990). Cover by Ernie Chan (Chua).
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

Marvel Fanfare Issue • BACK ISSUE • 71

The Black Knight
Returns
(left) Marvel Fanfare
#53 (Oct. 1990),
cover art by
Buscema and
Marzan; and
(right) #54
(Dec. 1990), cover
art by Smith and Ivy.
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

GRANT: I got along famously with Al. I don’t recall ever having a the one-way ride with no ticket home, and pretty quickly realizes he
problem with him; I couldn’t say if he ever had a problem with me, made a big, big mistake and his romanticized fantasy version of that
but I was cockier than I had a right to be, so I wouldn’t be surprised. world gets blown away by its reality. As Al put it when I pitched it to
I was sort of Al’s “Oddjob” in my early days there—he’d throw me him, it’s like: “Yeah, the 1890s were great! You could buy beer for a
assignments other people didn’t want, like killing off Omega [the nickel a schooner! Only problem was, nobody had a nickel.”
Unknown] in The Defenders, fill-ins on Shogun Warriors, and turning an The series would have been, “What’s he going to do about it?” I had
issue of Tarzan Marvel could no longer publish (they’d lost the rights) a fairly long story mapped out, wherein he’d have traveled the world of
into two issues of Battlestar Galactica. that era à la Conan, among other things running into existing Marvel
But Al was very receptive to things, though there was only so much characters drawn from medieval legend like Prester John. There’d have
he could do. From about the moment I started writing Marvel books been room for various things. The idea was to weave contemporaneous
in mid-1978, I pushed for the miniseries format. Sometime in 1979 legend and myth into a more or less real world of the time, and have
Al started entertaining miniseries pitches, though ultimately Marvel the Black Knight work to become the embodiment of his romanticized
didn’t do a “mini” until Contest of Champions (which I was connected ideals about chivalry, etc. I’d intended to go counter to cynicism. In the
to, but my actual contribution to it has been somewhat overestimated world where no true heroes existed, he’d have set out to be a true hero.
in years since; it was mostly Bill Mantlo’s baby). That’s when I resurrected FRIEDT: Three issues, three artists… intentional?
the Black Knight pitch, which Al became very interested in. He saw the GRANT: Not at all. I’d never intend that. I don’t think Al would ever have
potential, though, clearly, the rest of Marvel didn’t. The story you saw intended that. But the second issue was drawn in 1979 or 1980, the
in Marvel Fanfare #53 was started—and the John Buscema issue drawn— other two sometime in the ’90s. It sat in Al’s drawer for a long time. It was
15-plus years before it saw print. quite a shock to me when he called to say they were publishing it.
FRIEDT: What influenced you when writing the Black Knight? FRIEDT: Concerning issue #52… you did this issue with Scott Hampton.
GRANT: I got very interested in medieval history during college, What was it like? Did you get to collaborate or give each other
especially the Crusades. That was probably the biggest influence. I was any feedback?
also a big fan of Robert E. Howard and Michael Moorcock’s sword-and- GRANT: No, I had no contact with Scott at all, that I recall. Al had the plots
sorcery stories back then, along with a smattering of other writers. in his drawer and sent them out. Now that you bring it up, I don’t remember
A more realistic sword-and-sorcery story set amid the actual Middle Ages that issue at all. I didn’t even remember Scott drew it. The only one I
seemed an interesting challenge. But that particular story was really specifically remember was the Buscema issue, because it was the first one
a reaction to Steve Englehart’s Defenders #11, where the Black Knight, done, back when I was focused on it, and it was the centerpiece event of
his spirit having been tossed back through time into the body of his the series. #52 was, for me, just an introductory story to get us to that point.
12th-Century ancestor, decides his heart has really always been in that (I know I have a copy around here somewhere, but I don’t know where.)
era and he’s going to stay there. ’Cause, gosh, nothing sounds like more FRIEDT: The story reminds me of a Roy Thomas Robert E. Howard
swashbuckling fun than romping on horseback through the Middle Ages! adaptation: ancient tribe, secret god/monster, etc. Not that there’s
While I’ve generally been a big fan of Steve’s work, that struck me anything wrong with that… What was your inspiration?
as sheer rubbish, the sort of inane romanticism that comics were GRANT: Probably, I was pastiching Conan for that story, since that was
floundering on at the time. The Middle Ages were generally a really something the readers would’ve been familiar with. I think I wanted to
crappy time to live for the vast majority of humanity, and the “great start with a “romantic” story—a traditional sword-and-sorcery adventure—
leaders” who are generally portrayed to us today as the very flower of to set up the following issue’s swerve. This might have been Al’s suggestion.
chivalry, like Richard Lionheart, were real pieces of work. I wanted to FRIEDT: The story is set up while Dane Whitman was frozen in stone.
do a series about a 20th-Century man who buys into the hype, takes Was this your idea?

72 • BACK ISSUE • Marvel Fanfare Issue

GRANT: Yes, the whole arc (and series that never was) took place Artists Three
while Dane Whitman’s body was turned to stone. Unless they Steven Grant’s Black
did something I didn’t pay attention to, that body was destroyed
anyway. Here, he’s in the body of his 12th-Century ancestor Knight three-parter
(who presumably had kids prior to heading off to the Crusades),
and that’s the body he keeps from then on. It was Steve Englehart’s
had different artists
idea to put him there. It was my idea to keep him there. each issue: (top left)
FRIEDT: Any other things that come to mind when thinking
back on this assignment? Scott Hampton and
GRANT: It was really the first thing I started for Marvel that Ernie Chan, in
wasn’t an “assignment.” I generated it. It all came from me.
No one at Marvel aside from Al had any interest in a Black Marvel Fanfare #52;
Knight series, but I view it as one of my great lost opportunities. (top right) John
There’s a lot more ground to it that was covered in those
stories. That arc would’ve launched the series. Buscema and Jose
Weirdly, though I never did the series, I did write its Marzan, Jr., in #53;
conclusion, more or less, in The Avengers #225–226, where
the Avengers travel back in time to help the Black Knight and (bottom)
prevent the fall of Avalon. Minus the Avengers, that’s where Tod Smith and
the series would’ve ended up, with the same result: the Black
Knight returned to the 20th Century the hard way, sleeping Christopher Ivy, in
à la “King Arthur Under the Hill” for around 800 years. #54. Original
It would have been an interesting series. Steven Grant’s love for artwork provided
the character and the period are evident throughout the three
issues… but we’ll never know what could have been.
by Heritage.
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.
STEPHAN FRIEDT has been around comics for a long, long time. A former
columnist for The Buyer’s Guide for Comic Fandom, he has
contributed to Alter Ego and the Grand Comics Database and is the
senior database administrator for [Link].

Marvel Fanfare Issue • BACK ISSUE • 73

As longtime fans of the medium know, comics can be like a
jungle. Or like a lost civilization existing in the heart of a
primal, verdant wilderness. In the wilds of this publishing
jungle, some great comic stories are lost to the eyes of
fandom. That is why we are here to pay tribute to Marvel
Fanfare, a comic anthology that was like an intrepid jungle
explorer, hacking and slashing to find the hidden treasures
that may have otherwise been remained hidden forever.
As we stretch this jungle metaphor to the breaking
point, we present Marvel Fanfare #56–59, featuring Marvel’s
very own queen of the jungle, Shanna the She-Devil.
Now, these issues of Marvel Fanfare didn’t just rescue just
any old Shanna tale… no, these gorgeous volumes rescued
a tale of Shanna told by the late, great Steve Gerber. Now,
think about that for a second, my brave jungle explorers.
If not for Fanfare and Milgrom, comic-book fans and by Marc Buxton
historians would been denied four issues of jungle action
from the legendary writer that penned so many issues
of Howard the Duck, Man-Thing, and The Defenders, and
what a crying shame that would have been.

GERBER’S JUNGLE GODDESS

For years, Mr. Gerber served as kind of a guiding force
for the character of Shanna. Gerber dialogued the very
first issue of Shanna the She-Devil in 1972 and was the
custodian for the character after that debut. When Gerber
wrote Daredevil from 1973–1975, Shanna was there.
Gerber supplied additional details to Shanna’s origin in
Marvel Two-in-One #3 (May 1974) and even wrote a
back-up strip featuring Shanna in Rampaging Hulk! #9
(June 1978). And in that unlikely place, we begin.
In Rampaging Hulk! #9, Gerber and the great artist Tony
DeZuniga presented the tale “The Wrath of Raga-Shah!”
The unlikely publishing pairing of jungle queen and raging
monster didn’t take and the Shanna feature was gone by
next issue. But thanks to Marvel Fanfare editor Al Milgrom
and Fanfare’s mission statement—to save stories from the
dusty inventory drawer and to present stories
by some of the finest names in comics—this
Gerber-penned jungle tale was unearthed
and brought to the light of civilization.
In author Jarrod Buttery’s August 2010
article published in BACK ISSUE #43
entitled “Shanna: And a Jungle Queen
is Born,” Buttery presented Milgrom’s
recount of how this Gerber-written
Shanna tale came to be rescued:
“I would scour the office looking for
gems I could publish in Fanfare,” Milgrom
told Buttery and BACK ISSUE in 2010.
“And I found the first part of Steve’s
Shanna story completely penciled by
Carmine Infantino. There were also
complete scripts for the second and Photo by John Tighe.
third installments. So I called Steve up and said… ‘I want
to know going in that I can get you to finish the storyline.’
Steve replied that he’d be happy to do so.’ ”

Everyone Loves a Slinky!

Shanna’s serial premiered in Marvel
Fanfare #56 (Apr. 1991), with this
evocative Joe Chiodo cover.
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

74 • BACK ISSUE • Marvel Fanfare Issue

 It wasn’t only a Gerber story rescued by Milgrom; named Dirk Mantooth (no, really), and Mantooth attacks Carmine of
the editor also saved some completely penciled Carmine her for upstaging him. The two struggle as Shanna remains the Jungle
Infantino pages from the slush pile! Before the feature silent, and Mantooth falls to Shanna’s furious assault.
was pushed out of the magazine, Infantino was to follow Shanna’s fighting prowess impresses some women Carmine Infantino,
DeZuniga on the Rampaging Hulk! back-up. who witness the fight, but Shanna isn’t on a mission to
inked by Bret
Each of these issues of Marvel Fanfare featuring make friends—she is on a journey of self-discovery and
Shanna sport absolutely stunning, pulp-inspired Men’s keeps referencing her psychiatrist Dr. Betz. It’s interesting Blevins, on pages 1
Adventure-esque Joe Chiodo covers, lush images that in a story presented as a classic tale of jungle action,
featuring the She-Devil in all her leopard-skin glory, Gerber has shattered all genre tropes and has made this
and 4 from Marvel
wrestling with snakes and lions. The Chiodo illustrations issue about the fractured nature of a woman who is Fanfare #56’s Shanna
completed a package that allowed Shanna to rule Fanfare trying to balance her feral nature with that of traditional
in the same manner she ruled her jungle home. society. But that’s Gerber for you, an author that breaks tale. Original art
convention with every panel. courtesy of Heritage
A BURIED JUNGLE TREASURE The pages that follow continue the classic Gerber
Marvel Fanfare #56 (Apr. 1991) kicks things off in classical strangeness, with Shanna finding a note inviting her to Comics Auctions
style. Under the serpentine cover, fans will find those a gathering of a group called the Pride. This piques her ([Link]).
long-lost Infantino pencils inked by a name who is about interest, and readers are treated to Shanna exploring
to become very important in Fanfare lore—Bret Blevins. the wilderness of the mundane as she reminds herself TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

More on that in a beat of a jungle drum, but for now, to go to the bank and to the grocery to pick up yogurt.
let us focus on this almost-lost Gerber tale. Then she curls up with her pet python in her “rainforest
The issue opens with Shanna on the beaches of Malibu, room” and goes to sleep. Ladies and gentlemen: Steve
pondering the duality of her existence. The first five Gerber, the only author in comics that can juxtapose
pages are told through Gerber’s signature word balloons, traditional jungle adventure imagery with yogurt!
with prose as lush and wonderfully dense as the jungle The next sequence is pure Gerber as Shanna makes her
Shanna calls home. Gerber does what he does best, appointment with Dr. Betz. This scene reminds readers
presenting the existential duality of his main character and that Shanna’s signature leopard-skin outfit is actually the
the inner conflict within his title hero. It’s almost as if one skin of her former friend and companion, the big cat Julani.
can feel Gerber getting back into Shanna’s skin. On the Doctor and patient discuss Shanna’s attack on Mantooth as
beach, Shanna gives into her wildness and starts prancing the jungle heroine is growing more concerned with these
on the sands. She runs afoul of a body builder and bully violent fugue states. Not many comics in 1991 explored

Marvel Fanfare Issue • BACK ISSUE • 75

 trauma and possible PTSD, and really, this was a comic Of course, since this is Shanna, the mental plane is a
that was supposed to be published in 1978! verdant jungle and the two do battle. Shanna bests
After her appointment with Betz, Shanna goes to her foe in physical combat, but trying to navigate the
meet the mysterious Pride at a posh hotel. Gerber keeps jungles of her own subconscious mind are too much for
adding new cast members as Shanna meets millionaire/ her and in the real world, Shanna goes comatose.
actor/cowboy Slam Sanders and powerful TV producer So in the span of 17 pages, Gerber takes readers from
Kinsey Gardener. These two movers and shakers are also the beach, to Shanna’s strange home, to a fancy hotel,
at the hotel to meet the Pride. Joining the group is out- to the psychic jungles of Shanna’s damaged mind.
of-work comedy writer Martin Friend, who takes every
You Better, You opportunity to needle Gardener. Into this mundane A. NOVICE AND A KILLER EMMY
Better, You Bret scene of entertainment satire steps the Pride, a group of Al Milgrom only found the story that appeared in
anthropomorphic big cats. The Pride tell the assembled Fanfare #56 in the slush pile. Issue #57 would have to
Bret Blevins used four that they were chosen because they are at a crossroads be created from whole cloth if Shanna’s adventure was
the pseudonym in their lives and each of them is capable of committing to continue. For art, Milgrom turned to issue #56’s
murder to achieve their desires. Shanna takes offense inker Bret Blevins. In 2010, Milgrom told BACK ISSUE
“A. Novice” once to this and beats up one of the Pride. The leader of the that this artistic shift was made because “Carmine’s a
he took over the Pride, a white-haired lion-man, has the power to control great designer but he doesn’t draw the most sensuous
minds, and he seizes control of Shanna. He promises women. … I had been doing some work with Bret
Shanna art chores each in the room their heart’s desire and promises Blevins, who did great-looking girls, so I asked him if
Shanna the secret behind her violent blackouts. Shanna he’d be interested in inking an Infantino story. … I think
with MF #57.
breaks free from his control and the white-haired leader I told Bret that if he inked the first issue, he could
TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. transports himself and Shanna to the mental plane. pencil the following chapters. Bret was keen to ink his
own pencils[, which] slowed him down.”
So with Blevins in place on art, Gerber continues his
story 13 years after he wrote the second chapter. This
issue kicks off with Shanna still a prisoner of her own
mind. The three celebrities follow the Pride to commit
the murders the Pride demands. Shanna is found by a
hotel maid and is taken to a hospital, where she awakens
to find Dr. Betz standing over her. Once again, this is
where Gerber explores the idea of mental illness and
PTSD as the names of all those Shanna has lost are
evoked. Betz brings up Julani, Shanna’s father, Jakuna
Singh (a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent that befriended Shanna
in her own series), and her two deceased leopard cubs,
Ina and Biri. This scene reminds readers just how heroic
Shanna is because she continues to fight through the
pain of her multiple losses, but it also reminds the reader
that Shanna is a very damaged woman who has not
come to terms with these losses.
But Shanna’s soul-searching will have to wait because
she must prevent the Pride’s puppets from committing
murder. The She-Devil leaps out the hospital window
and races back to her house, where we are treated to
another sleepy snake cuddle. Deena and Chris, the two
ladies who witnessed Shanna’s beating of Mantooth,
awaken Shanna. They help her track down Martin
Friend’s agent and Shanna races to meet with him.
Shanna pretends that she is there to visit the agent’s…
ahem… casting couch, but ends up beating him until
he reveals exactly whom Martin would like to murder.
Shanna discovers that Friend is out to kill a former
protégé of his, a wheelchair-bound feminist writer that
has achieved great success with her Norman Lear-like
scripts. Shanna thinks she arrives too late as she witnesses
Friend murder the female writer with her own Emmy
statuette. But after Shanna takes down Friend, she is
shocked to see the writer alive and unharmed. The
mystery of how this writer survived and the secrets of
the Pride will have to wait until next issue, but as for
Marvel Fanfare #57, it’s quite amazing how Gerber
juggles Shanna’s inner conflicts with scathing satire of
contemporary entertainment and Hollywood.

DIARY OF A MADWOMAN?
Fanfare #58 (Aug. 1991) starts rather strangely, with
Shanna sparring with her pet python. Gerber stretches
the sequence out for five pages before the snake-versus-
jungle queen workout (it’s like a low-tech Danger Room)
is interrupted by Deena and Chris. It seems that Gerber
is implying that Deena and Chris are more than friends—

76 • BACK ISSUE • Marvel Fanfare Issue

and it’s utterly fascinating to think that Gerber was Her survivor’s guilt, her PTSD, and her grief all attack her You Sexy Beast!
trying to introduce a lesbian couple into mainstream as she battles in her mental jungle. She is freed from this Joe Chiodo’s
comics in 1991. Deena says that “Chris and I have a psychic battle by a shot of Thorazine after being rushed
pretty… self-contained relationship…,” a rather gutsy to the hospital once she entered one of her fugue states covers to the
direction for the day. One has to wonder if Gerber had and attacked Fargas. As she lay in the hospital, Shanna is
the same dynamic in mind for the characters in 1978. visited by the Pride’s three victims and they tell her that
second through
Shanna then meets with Dr. Betz as Gerber introduces she is a member of this ancient primal group of primordial fourth chapters of
the fact that Shanna may be suffering from schizophrenia. spirits. In order to rise again and defeat her grief and
Betz is confused because Shanna knows what she is doubt, Shanna must break her modern psyche and Marvel Feature’s
claiming is preposterous, but just the fact that Gerber embrace the Pride. She agrees to undergo an ancient Shanna saga.
was putting forth the idea of a severely mentally-ill blood ritual but turns on the Pride, plunging a dagger
superhero makes this storyline stand out. Again, one has into the leader’s breast. Shanna is free of the influence Note that the
to wonder if this is where Gerber was going in ’78. and embraces her nature as a woman who must always issues’ back-up
Whatever the case, Shanna takes Dr. Betz to a public stand between the wild world of the jungle and civilization.
debate between Slam Sanders and a porn publisher Here, Gerber wraps up all loose ends in this final issue of stars are depicted
named Roland Fargas. Shanna believes—and she is Shanna’s Marvel Fanfare run. The issue ends with Gerber in the covers’
correct—that Sanders’ chosen victim is Fargas, so Shanna thanking Milgrom and the readers and admitting that
plans to attend the debate to not only stop a murder this probably wasn’t the ending he had in mind when corner boxes.
but confirm her own sanity. Sanders may be a puppet he first began Shanna’s tale so many years ago. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.
of the Pride, but the aged cowboy actor finds a puppet
of his own, a man whose family was disgraced when his ONE FINAL FANFARE
sister posed for one of Fargas’ smut magazines. Shanna Whatever the late Steve Gerber originally planned for
springs into action to save Fargas, but the Pride member Shanna the She-Devil is forever lost, but this gripping
that only she can see stops her. The brother shoots tale of mental illness, adventure, metaphysical action,
Fargas, but despite the fact that the porn guru is shot and groundbreaking social commentary is not—thanks
in the heart and covered in blood, he is fine. It seems to Al Milgrom and Marvel Fanfare. Because of this
the Pride found another meat puppet. The story is told awesome anthology, fans not only witnessed Gerber’s
with such a taut feeling of unreality that the reader, like experimental, always-super-cool storytelling, they also
Shanna, can’t help but question what’s happening. And got to lavish in new artwork from legends like Infantino,
through it all, Gerber also makes with some potent social Blevins, and DeZuniga.
commentary as the writer satirizes Hustler’s Larry Flynt Sadly, Shanna’s strange tale was the final fanfare for
and the porn industry while telling a fantastical tale with Marvel Fanfare, as issue #60 would be the anthology’s
deeply personal ramifications for the hero. last. But as the drumming of Marvel Fanfare was silenced,
at least the magazine gave us a chance to witness a
THINGS BECOME STRANGE very experimental tale by some great artists and more
Back in 2010, Mligrom told BACK ISSUE that Blevins “… importantly, it added one more entry in the bibliography
couldn’t handle the deadline for the final chapter, so I of Steve Gerber.
asked Tony DeZuniga.” Now, an issue of Marvel Fanfare
drawn by DeZuniga featuring Shanna is a treat no real MARC BUXTON is a proud contributor to websites like Comic
connoisseur of Bronze Age awesomeness can miss. The art Book Resources and Den of Geek US. He is an English teacher,
is gorgeous and Gerber’s plot is… well, rather strange. and Marc’s loving wife thinks he owns way to many comic books.
Marvel Fanfare #59 (Oct. 1991) opens with Shanna being Marc has been reading comics since the dawn of time and is still
deeply in love with every era of the great medium.
assaulted in the mental plane by all those she had lost.

Marvel Fanfare Issue • BACK ISSUE • 77

 although if any of my writers—especially those of you who are teachers—
can convince me otherwise, you know how to reach me!
One of these days, we’ll get around to doing an article about
Dynamite and those other kids’ mags of the ’70s.
I appreciate your feedback re that era of Legion. Mark Waid was
its first editor, with me coming on early in the series, and with a
few other editors following later. Readers either loved or hated that
Send your comments to: incarnation, it seems, although recently some “Five Years Later”
Email: euryman@[Link] (subject: BACK ISSUE) fans have approached me to voice their appreciation of that run.
Postal mail: Michael Eury, Editor-in-Chief • BACK ISSUE
That version of Legion, along with its spin-offs like Legionnaires
118 Edgewood Ave. NE * Concord, NC 28025
and Valor, will be featured in a future BI.
Find BACK ISSUE on
SUPERMAN #400’s SUPER ARTISTS
John Byrne forwarded to me this photograph (that he said he received
from Walt Simonson) that I attempted to describe in the letter
of mine that you printed in a recent BACK ISSUE concerning the
autographing of the plates from the Superman #400 portfolio.
The photograph was taken by DC’s Albert DeGuzman.
Left to right: Will Eisner, Joe Orlando, Jerry Robinson, Terry Austin,
BELATED SPECIAL THANKS DEPARTMENT Leonard Starr, Sal Amendola, Walter Simonson, Dick Giordano,
BACK ISSUE contributor Christopher Larochelle tells us he inadvertently Julie Schwartz, Howard Chaykin, Frank Miller, and John Byrne.
neglected to add acknowledgments to issue #90’s Elektra Assassin And I suppose if you were able to blow the image up to an absurd
article. Christopher says, “I’m not sure why I didn’t remember to thank size you might be able to see the reflection of Steve Ditko in one or
the people who really helped me to make that article work with it being more of our eyes…
impossible to chat with Frank Miller, but I’d like to thank ANDY MANGELS – Terry Austin
and JOHN WELLS for supplying fanzine article scans
with previous Miller Elektra interviews.”
Andy and John are two of BI’s greatest Super Friends!

THE LOVE–HATE LEGION

I had an old memory or two bubble up while reading
the article on Marvel’s movie adaptations in BACK
ISSUE #89. I bought the Krull book and at least one
more (The Dark Crystal) from Scholastic Books,
through my elementary school. I’m sure there
were more, possibly from DC, too. If nothing else,
I’m sure that I bought a “Making of” magazine
for Superman or Superman II from Scholastic also.
Considering that there was still a bias against
comic books in the late ’70s–early ’80s, it seems, in
retrospect, odd that an educational-book distributor
was selling these books directly to elementary
students and delivering them to their classrooms.
I don’t know if there’s enough information available,
but it might make an interesting, if short, article. Wow! That’s a gathering of greats! Thanks for sharing this, Terry.
A tangentially related topic that
you may have covered during one of THE YEATES/TARZAN “DIRECTOR’S CUT”
my budget hiatuses is Scholastic’s Here’s a heads-up that late last year, Dark Horse Books released a
Dynamite magazine, founded by Jenette deluxe collected edition of Tarzan: The Beckoning, reprinting
Kahn before she was offered DC; and the seven-issue 1992 Malibu Comics
at least indirectly got her that offer. series written and illustrated by BACK
Before I finish, I wanted to make a ISSUE #92’s cover artist, Thomas
comment about Legion of Super-Heroes Yeates. This is no mere reprint,
while you were its editor. I know that though—it’s a remastering. “Some
the “Five Years Later” era is usually things went wrong in the production
maligned in print and online, but it’s of the original series, mainly eight
one of my favorite LSH eras and I think pages in issue #3 were printed out of
TM & © DC Comics.

one of the most creative. I even sent order and some of the coloring was
TM & © Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.

a few letters in about the book. It was problematic,” according to Yeates.

eventually acknowledged in the letters With this Dark Horse edition, “What
column along with several other I tried to do was maintain the best
people who wrote in with guesses aspects of the original watercolors
about some of the book’s mysteries that while making it easier to see the ink
were a little too close to home to print. drawings,” Yeates explains. “The touchups
– Doug Abramson took several months with three of us
working on it in our spare time—my
You make a great observation about how these early Scholastic deals daughter Olivia Yeates, Christopher
helped the educational system embrace comics, which they previously Lods, and myself.” The redo improved
shunned. Similarly, public libraries, which had previously shelved a an already-spectacular work, but before-and-after sample pages
handful of token comic compilations, also began stocking graphic can be seen on Thomas’ site, [Link] and
novels and collected editions. I’m not sure there’s an article here, though, ordering info can be found there, too.

78 • BACK ISSUE • Marvel Fanfare Issue

PRAISE FOR MISHKIN’S WONDER WOMAN the story was a fellow Legionnaire, although his identity was
Thanks again for another fun issue [#90]. Dazzler simply screams kept from us. Jim’s story was supposed to continue in a 64-page
“1980s” and has always been a character I’d heard a lot about, but tabloid, but DC scrapped those and the story was shortened
never checked out for myself. That beautiful artwork by Bill Sienkiewicz and instead appeared in Superboy/LOSH #250–251, only it was
on Elektra Assassin sent chills down my spine! I really hope the credited to “Steve Apollo.” While I’m sure Jim doesn’t have any
cover got you some new readers. of the art that was scrapped or edited out, or even his original
The main reason I’m writing is to thank you for the great script, it would be great to finally, after all these years, know
interview with Dan Mishkin and the look back at his run on how he intended the story to go. It’s incredible to me that a
Wonder Woman. Where to start? When Gerry Conway returned story that he described as just a money job could have such an
to the book, he returned Diana Prince to the military along impact on Legion fandom.
with Etta Candy and Phillip Darnell, and also brought back My second suggestion also
Steve Trevor back from the dead a SECOND time. This was involves the Legion, specifically a
apparently an unpopular move to a lot of fans, but I was storyline that involved three writers
happy with it. Gerry wrote some fine stories, including a over a small period of time. I’m
fantastic storyline with Kobra, before he and artist Jose Delbo referring to the Reflecto story.
were sent out the door for Roy Thomas in WW #288, who only Gerry Conway started it with Ultra
stuck around for seven or eight issues (but what great issues Boy’s death, Roy Thomas followed
they were!) before Dan Mishkin came on board. Artist Gene up immediately with the introduction
Colan, who started with Roy, left mid-storyline and was replaced of Reflecto, and then Paul Levitz
by Don Heck. Oh, and during this time, Wonder Woman changed finished it off by revealing Reflecto
editors three different times, from Marv Wolfman to Ernie Colón was really Superboy—wait, it was
to Alan Gold! actually Ultra Boy… no wait, it was

TM & © DC Comics.
I mention all this to show just how chaotic it was reading Ultra Boy’s mind in Superboy’s
Wonder Woman at that time, wondering how long a creative body… well, who knows!?! Anyway,
team would bother to stay on. I was planning to make WW #307 a roundtable discussion of this
the last issue I would buy, but at the end of the story it said Black fascinating storyline would be much
Canary was going to guest-star in the next issue, so I somewhat appreciated. It could have been a
begrudgingly bought WW #308, and all of a sudden, it was like mess, and maybe it was, but it was
I was reading a whole new book! Wonder Woman teamed with an entertaining mess!
Black Canary and the Elongated Man to stop a Nazi! And more Third, how about an occasional column devoted to former
intriguingly, Sofia Constantinas, a new character brought to comics talent no longer in the field? For example, Jimmy Janes,
Paradise Island to reform her terrorist ways, overheard Queen Dave Hunt, Mindy Newell, Alan Gold, Laurie Sutton, Dann
Hippolyta say she’s kept secrets from her daughter Diana… Thomas, Tamsyn O’Flynn, and many, many others that have
Suffering Sappho! Wonder Woman went from being off my pull moved on. I’m sure readers might be interested in learning what
list to being the first book I read when it came out. Dan did a they’ve been up to.
masterful job of having a main story be a two- or three-parter, Thanks again for another perfect issue!
but kept the subplot about Sofia learning the Queen’s secrets – Daniel Brozak
and her efforts to let Diana know simmer from WW #308–322,
and I and many other readers were on the edge of our seats Daniel, we’re tipping our tiara to Steven Wilber for recommending
with anticipation waiting to see their confrontation, and we to ye ed the Dan Mishkin Wonder Woman interview. Steve was
were not disappointed! able to provide something I love to see in BACK ISSUE: a spotlight
In his run, Dan Mishkin introduced no less than 12 new on an overlooked run, presented in a broad fashion to appeal to
supporting characters, made Steve Trevor an interesting romantic just about any reader.
partner for WW, threw in some foreign intrigue with the war in Wow, those are good suggestions! (And maybe we should do
Tropidor, introduced a new tribe of Amazons, acknowledged another all-Legion issue… what say you, readers?) Re the last
the existence of a previous Wonder Woman, brought in a cute one: I’ve been toying with such a feature, called “Catching Up
gremlin sidekick for Steve, and even gave WW’s invisible robot With,” for years but haven’t started it mainly because space in
plane a personality! Despite all his hard work and a truly beautiful each issue is so precious. But I agree that it would be a great
run by artist Don Heck, the looming Crisis ongoing feature and will endeavor to work it
pretty much put the final nail in the coffin into the magazine as soon as possible.
for the book. While no one would say that
DC made a mistake revamping Wonder Next issue: “Bird People,” headlined by
Woman and having George Pérez as the “Hawkman in the Bronze Age”: the Winged
artist on her new book, it’s really a shame Wonder’s Shadow War and monthly series,
that so few people realized how wonderful JLA squabbles with Green Arrow, Golden Eagle,
the book had become in those last few years. and more! Plus: JIM STARLIN’s Superman/
I’m so appreciative that BACK ISSUE took Hawkgirl team-up, TIMOTHY TRUMAN’s
the time to explore that particular run and I Hawkworld, Hawk and Dove, a Penguin villain
hope Dan Mishkin knew his work was admired. history, Blue Falcon and Dynomutt, Condorman,
Thanks, Steven Wilber! and CHUCK DIXON and SCOTT McDANIEL’s
I have three suggestions for possible stories: Nightwing. Featuring GERRY CONWAY, STEVE
First, I would love it if someone could ENGLEHART, JOE GIELLA, ALAN GRANT, MIKE
get Jim Starlin to talk about his brief but GRELL, GREG GULER, RICHARD HOWELL,
incredibly memorable storyline in Superboy TONY ISABELLA, BARBARA RANDALL KESEL,
and the Legion of Super-Heroes #239—you KARL KESEL, ROB LIEFELD, GRAHAM NOLAN,
know which one I’m talking about. Ultra DENNY O’NEIL, JOHN OSTRANDER, and
Boy was framed for murder by a hooded others! Featuring a high-flying Hawkman
villain whom we found out at the end of cover by GEORGE PÉREZ. Don’t ask—just BI it!
See you in thirty!
Hawkman TM & © DC Comics. Your friendly neighborhood Euryman,
BACK ISSUE TM & © TwoMorrows. All Rights Reserved. Michael Eury, editor-in-chief

Marvel Fanfare Issue • BACK ISSUE • 79

ALL THE BEST...
Comics History Classic Artists
American Comic Book • Jack Kirby
Chronicles volumes: • Will Eisner
• 1950s • Carmine Infantino
• 1960-64 • Sal Buscema
• 1965-69 • Don Heck
• 1970s • John Romita Sr.
• 1980s • Herb Trimpe
• Joe Kubert
Coming Soon:
• Marie Severin
• 1940-44
• Al Plastino
• 1945-49
• Joe Sinnott
• 1990s
• Dan Spiegle
• Vince Colletta
• Marvel Comics in the
1960s, 1970s, & 1980s

Modern Masters Companions

• Alan Davis • All-Star Comics
• George Pérez • Silver Age Sci-Fi
• John Byrne • Batman
• Michael Golden • Superman
• Mark Schultz • Flash
• Mike Allred • Hawkman
• John Romita Jr. • Teen Titans
• Mike Ploog • THUNDER Agents
• Guy Davis • Fawcett Comics
• Jeff Smith • Quality Comics
• Eric Powell • Star*Reach
• Paolo Rivera • MLJ heroes

Plus Horror, Pop Culture, & more!

their respective owners.
All characters TM & ©

TwoMorrows.
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BACK ISSUE #97 BACK ISSUE #98 BACK ISSUE #99 BRICKJOURNAL #45 DRAW! #33
“Bird People!” Hawkman in the Bronze Age, “DC in the ‘80s!” From the experimental to “BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES’ 25th FEMALE LEGO BUILDERS! US Architectural Interview and demo by Electra: Assassin and
JIM STARLIN’s Superman/Hawkgirl team-up, the fan faves: Behind-the-scenes looks at ANNIVERSARY!” Looks back at the influen- builder ANURADHA PEHRSON, British Stray Toasters superstar BILL SIENKIEWICZ,
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COMIC BOOK CREATOR #14 COMIC BOOK CREATOR #15 COMIC BOOK CREATOR #16 KIRBY COLLECTOR #70 KIRBY COLLECTOR #71
Comprehensive KELLEY JONES interview, Celebrating 30 years of artist’s artist MARK A look at 75 years of Archie Comics’ char- KIRBY: ALPHA! Looks at the beginnings of KIRBY: OMEGA! Looks at endings, deaths,
from early years as Marvel inker to present- SCHULTZ, creator of the CADILLACS AND acters and titles, from Archie and his pals ‘n Kirby’s greatest concepts, and how he and Anti-Life in the Kirbyverse, including
day greatness at DC depicting BATMAN, DINOSAURS franchise, with a feature- gals to the mighty MLJ heroes of yesteryear looked back in time and to the future for poignant losses and passings from such
DEADMAN, and SWAMP THING (chockful length, career-spanning interview conduct- and today’s “Dark Circle”! Also: Career- the origins of ideas like DEVIL DINOSAUR, series as NEW GODS, KAMANDI, FAN-
of rarely-seen artwork)! Plus WILL MURRAY ed in Mark’s Pennsylvanian home, examin- spanning interviews with The Fox’s DEAN FOREVER PEOPLE, 2001, ETERNALS, TASTIC FOUR, LOSERS, THOR, DEMON
examines the nefarious legacy of Batman ing the early years of struggle, success with HASPIEL and Kevin Keller’s cartoonist DAN KAMANDI, OMAC, and more! Plus: A rare and others! Plus: A rare Kirby interview,
co-creator BOB KANE in an investigation Kitchen Sink Press, and hitting it big with a PARENT, who both jam on our exclusive Kirby interview, the 2016 WonderCon the 2016 Silicon Valley Comic-Con Kirby
into tragic ghosts and rapacious greed. We Saturday morning cartoon series. Includes cover depicting a face-off between humor Kirby Tribute Panel, MARK EVANIER, Panel, MARK EVANIER, unpublished pencil
also look at RAINA TELGEMEIER and her rarely-seen art and fascinating photos from and heroes. Plus our usual features, includ- unpublished pencil art galleries, and more! art galleries, and more! Cover inked by
magnificent army of devotees, and more! Mark’s amazing and award-winning career. ing the hilarious FRED HEMBECK! Cover inked by MIKE ROYER! WALTER SIMONSON!
(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (100-page FULL-COLOR mag) $10.95 (100-page FULL-COLOR mag) $10.95
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 REED CRANDALL
Illustrator of the Comics
From the 1940s to the ’70s, REED CRANDALL brought a unique and masterful style to American
comic art. Using an illustrator’s approach on everything he touched, Crandall gained a reputation as the
“artist’s artist” through his skillful interpretations of Golden Age super-heroes DOLL MAN, THE RAY,
and BLACKHAWK (his signature character); horror and sci-fi for the legendary EC COMICS line; Warren
Publishing’s CREEPY, EERIE, and BLAZING COMBAT; the THUNDER AGENTS and EDGAR RICE
BURROUGHS characters; and even FLASH GORDON for King Features. Comic art historian ROGER
HILL has compiled a complete and extensive history of Crandall’s life and career, from his early years
and major successes, through his tragic decline and passing in 1982. This FULL-COLOR HARDCOVER
includes NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN PHOTOS, a wealth of RARE AND UNPUBLISHED ARTWORK, and
over EIGHTY THOUSAND WORDS of insight into one of the true illustrators of the comics.
(256-page FULL-COLOR HARDCOVER) $49.95 • (Digital Edition) $19.95
ISBN: 978-1-60549-077-9 • SHIPS JULY 2017!

their respective owners.

All characters TM & ©
Celebrate JACK KIRBY’s 100th birthday!
THE PARTY STARTS HERE!
TWOMORROWS and the JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR magazine celebrate JACK KIRBY’S 100th BIRTHDAY in style
with the release of KIRBY100, a full-color visual holiday for the King of comics! It features an all-star line-up of 100
COMICS PROS who critique key images from Kirby’s 50-year career, admiring his page layouts, dramatics, and story-
telling skills, and lovingly reminiscing about their favorite characters and stories. Featured are BRUCE TIMM, ALEX ROSS,
WALTER SIMONSON, JOHN BYRNE, JOE SINNOTT, STEVE RUDE, ADAM HUGHES, WENDY PINI, JOHN ROMITA SR.,
DAVE GIBBONS, P. CRAIG RUSSELL, and dozens more of the top names in comics. Their essays serve to honor Jack’s
place in comics history, and prove (as if there’s any doubt) that KIRBY IS KING! This double-length book is edited by
JOHN MORROW and JON B. COOKE, with a Kirby cover inked by MIKE ROYER.
(The Limited Hardcover Edition includes 16 bonus color pages of Kirby’s 1960s Deities concept drawings)
(224-page Full-Color Trade Paperback) $34.95 • ISBN: 978-1-60549-078-6 • (Digital Edition) $12.95
(240-page LIMITED EDITION HARDCOVER with 16 bonus pages) $45.95 • ISBN: 978-1-60549-079-3
PRINTED IN CHINA

SHIPS AUGUST 2017!

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