FOOM #4, Part Two

Continuing on our survey of the fourth and final issue of FOOM, Marvel's fan club magazine, put together by Jim Steranko. As was pointed out in the comments, this cover image was done by Jack Kirby for a Marvelmania poster, not by Steranko at all. It's pretty impressive that, at a time when Kirby was … Continue reading FOOM #4, Part Two

FOOM #4

FOOM #4 was the final issue of Marvel's fan club magazine to be put together by Jim Steranko. After this, production on the irregularly-published fanzine would be brought in-house and done by the people on staff beginning with Tony Isabella This resulted in a change in the design and the aesthetics of the magazine. But … Continue reading FOOM #4

FOOM #3, Part Two

Taking a look here at the back half of FOOM #3, the third issue of Marvel's in-house fan club magazine as packaged and produced by Jim Steranko. In the days before formal indexes and Marvel Masterworks volumes and the internet, these Indexes to the major titles were a bit of a godsend for information freaks, … Continue reading FOOM #3, Part Two

FOOM #3

FOOM #3 was the third issue of the fan magazine put out by the Marvel fan club of the same name, edited and composed by Jim Steranko and evidencing his design sensibilities. It's a window into the world of the Marvel-that-was, the Marvel of yesteryear. When the venture was started, nobody involved was quite sure … Continue reading FOOM #3

FOOM #2, Part Two

Continuing with our survey of FOOM #2, the second issue of the fan magazine published by Friends Of Ol' Marvel, Marvel's in-house fan club of the 1970s. The second issue, like the first, was put together by Jim Steranko and reflects his aesthetics in terms of its design and typography treatment. Another puzzle page. As … Continue reading FOOM #2, Part Two

FOOM #2

This was the second issue of FOOM, Marvel's fan magazine for its in-house fan club of the same name. Established in the early 1970s, the initial four issues of FOOM were produced by Jim Steranko and so contained a variety of graphics from him seldom seen elsewhere. By the fifth issue, production of FOOM was … Continue reading FOOM #2

THE AMAZING WORLD OF DC COMICS #1

Like FOOM over at Marvel, THE AMAZING WORLD OF DC COMICS was an in-house fan magazine produced by DC/National Periodical Publications throughout much of the 1970s and made available by direct mail order only. It was an irregular publication, put together initially largely by interns (nicknamed "woodchucks") at the company; interns who would almost to … Continue reading THE AMAZING WORLD OF DC COMICS #1

FOOM #1, Part Two

Continuing our look through the first issue of FOOM, aka Friends Of Ol' Marvel, the fan magazine published by the House of Ideas throughout much of the 1970s. The first four issues were put together by artist and graphic designer Jim Steranko, and his visual approach is apparent throughout. Having failed twice under publisher Martin … Continue reading FOOM #1, Part Two

FOOM #1

FOOM, a.k.a. Friends Of Ol' Marvel, was the successor operation to the haphazard Marvelmania International once teh latter had gone belly-up. Stan Lee, now Marvel's publisher, still saw value in having a fan publication that could further ingratiate the readership with Marvel, as well as a place where the assorted licensing efforts that they'd begun … Continue reading FOOM #1