F.O.O.M.
FOOM #16 (Dec. 1976), with wraparound cover depicting the Marvel office layout at the time.
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| Editor |
Jim Steranko (issues #1-4) Tony Isabella (issues #5–7) Scott Edelman (issues #8–11) Duffy Vohland (issue #12) Chris Claremont (issues #13–14) David Anthony Kraft (issue #15) |
|---|---|
| Categories | Marvel Comics news and publicity |
| Frequency | quarterly |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First issue | Feb. 1973 |
| Final issue | Fall 1978 |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
FOOM was Marvel Comics' self-produced fan magazine of the mid-1970s, following the canceled Marvelmania and preceding Marvel Age. Running 22 quarterly issues (Feb. 1973 - Fall 1978), it was initially designed and edited by celebrated comic book writer-artist Jim Steranko.
FOOM, though spelled without periods in both indicia and cover treatments, is an acronym for "Friends of Ol' Marvel". The name is unrelated to either the computer software acronym FOOM (Functional and Object-Oriented Methodology), or Australia's annual Songwriters, Composers and Lyricists Association (SCALA) Festival of Original Music Song Competition (FOOM).
Steranko, in his first-issue introduction, wrote that he had "dropped in at the Marvel bullpen to rap with [publisher] Stan Lee about the current comic scene", and that Lee told him about plans to start an in-house fan club. EC Comics had had its "EC Fan-Addict" club in the 1950s, and Marvel the Merry Marvel Marching Society beginning 1964; after the MMMS had run its course by 1969, Marvel licensed a small company in Culver City, California to produce the fanzine/product catalog Marvelmania, which lasted a year. Steranko, writing that he nostalgically "recalled the days of radio, with all the clubs and super-premiums that were perpetually offered over the air", volunteered "my services as a designer, writer and comic historian". Ken Bruzenak served as associate editor, with Marvel editor-in-chief Roy Thomas as consulting editor and Ed Noonchester, Joel Thingvall, and Gary Brown as staff.
A four-issue subscription was US$3. An additional dollar bought a club membership I.D. card, six decals, and a poster. The membership kit was also available separately for US$2.50.
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