''Marvel Fanfare'' was an

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and g ...

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

series published by American company

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

. It was a showcase title featuring a variety of characters from the Marvel universe.

Volume one

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

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

, and it included stories of varying lengths by an array of creators. The title was published every two months and ran for 60 issues, cover dated from March 1982 to December 1991. It was edited throughout its run by

Al Milgrom Allen L. Milgrom (born March 6, 1950) is an American comic book artist (penciller and inker), writer, and editor, primarily for Marvel Comics. He is known for his 10-year run as editor of '' Marvel Fanfare''; his long involvement as writer, penci ...

, who also wrote and drew an illustrated column, entitled "Editori-Al", in most issues. ''Marvel Fanfare''s original working title was ''Marvel Universe'', which was later appropriated by Marvel editor-in-chief Jim Shooter for the encyclopedia series ''

The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe The ''Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe'' is an encyclopedic Guide book, guide which details the fictional universe featured in Marvel Comics publications. The original 15-volume series was published in comic book format in 1982, followed b ...

''. The series began with a

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...

Angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

team-up story by

Chris Claremont Christopher S. Claremont (; born November 25, 1950) is an English-born American comic book writer and novelist. Claremont is best known for his 16-year stint on ''Uncanny X-Men'' from 1975 to 1991, far longer than that of any other writer,Clarem ...

and Michael Golden. Other Spider-Man appearances in the title included team-ups with the

Scarlet Witch The Scarlet Witch is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The X-Men #4 in March 1964, in the Silver Age of Comic Boo ...

in issue #6 (Jan. 1983) and the

Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk ...

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

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

Weirdworld ''Weirdworld'' was a fantasy series created by Doug Moench and Mike Ploog for American company Marvel Comics, set in a dimension of magic. A comic book series titled ''Weirdworld'' debuted in 2015 as a tie-in to the ''Secret Wars'' storyline, f ...

, the

Warriors Three The Warriors Three are a group of fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The characters served as supporting cast members in ''Thor (Marvel Comics), Thor''. The Warriors Three are the Asgard (comics), As ...

, the

Black Knight The black knight is a literary stock character who masks his identity and that of his liege by not displaying heraldry. Black knights are usually portrayed as villainous figures who use this anonymity for misdeeds. They are often contrasted with ...

, and

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

. Writer

Roger McKenzie Roger McKenzie may refer to: * Roger McKenzie (musician) (1971–1995), English musician and DJ * Roger McKenzie (comics) (born 1950), American comic book writer *Roger McKenzie, British activist associated with the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmamen ...

wrote several stories for ''Marvel Fanfare'' including a two-part

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

vs.

Doctor Octopus Doctor Octopus (Dr. Otto Octavius), also known as Doc Ock for short, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko and first appeared in ''The Amazin ...

tale drawn by

Ken Steacy Ken Steacy (born January 8, 1955) is a Canadians, Canadian comics artist and writer best known for his work on the NOW Comics comic book series of ''Astro Boy (NOW Comics), Astro Boy'' and of the Comico: The Comic Company, Comico comic series of ' ...

. A

Captain America Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely C ...

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

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

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

The Jungle Book ''The Jungle Book'' is an 1894 collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, who ...

'' in issues #8–11, the Black Widow serial in #10–13, the Hulk story in #29, and the

Silver Surfer The Silver Surfer is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character also appears in a number of movies, television, and video game adaptations. The character was created by Jack Kirby and first a ...

story by

Steve Englehart Steve Englehart (; born April 22, 1947) is an American writer of comic books and novels. He is best known for his work at Marvel Comics and DC Comics in the 1970s and 1980s. His pseudonyms have included John Harkness and Cliff Garnett. Early li ...

and

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

in #51.

Stories in Volume 1

Volume two

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

Scott Kolins Scott Kolins (born 1968) is an American illustrator, writer, and creator of multiple different superhero and science fiction comic books. His main credits are as a penciler but he is an established inker as well as colorist and has some credits ...

Stories in Volume 2

Collected editions

In 2024, Marvel Comics announced it would be collecting the entire series of Marvel Fanfare in three omnibus volumes.

Other Collected Editions

* ''

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, the team first appeared in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 (September 1963). Although initial ...

: In the

Savage Land The Savage Land is a fictional prehistoric land that features in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is a tropical preserve, hidden in Antarctica. It has appeared in many story arcs in '' Uncanny X-Men'' as well as other relate ...

'' collects ''Marvel Fanfare'' #1–4, 96 pages, June 1988, * ''Marvel Fanfare: Strange Tales'' collects ''Marvel Fanfare'' #1–7, 244 pages, April 2008, * ''

'' includes material from ''Marvel Fanfare'' #8–11, 64 pages, April 2007 * '' Black Widow: Web of Intrigue'' collects ''Marvel Fanfare'' #10–13, 176 pages, April 2010, * ''Thor: The

'' collects Warriors Three stories from ''Marvel Fanfare'' #13 and #34–37, 136 pages, September 2010, * ''

Doctor Doom Doctor Doom is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in '' The Fantastic Four'' #5 in April 1962, and has since endured as the arch ...

: Triumph & Torment'' includes

Namor the Sub-Mariner Namor McKenzie (), also known as the Sub-Mariner, is a Character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-artist Bill Everett for comic book packager Funnies Inc., the character first appea ...

stories from ''Marvel Fanfare'' #16 and #43, 160 pages, 2013, * '' Cloak & Dagger: Crime and Punishment'' includes ''Marvel Fanfare'' #19, 264 pages, June 2012, * ''

'' includes ''Marvel Fanfare'' #24–26, 312 pages, April 2015, * ''

The Incredible Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of '' The Incredible Hulk'' (May 1962). In his comic book ...

Visionaries — John Byrne'' includes the Hulk story from ''Marvel Fanfare'' #29, 208 pages, June 2008, * '' Essential Moon Knight'' vol. 3 includes

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

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

story from ''Marvel Fanfare'' #1–4, 912 pages, April 2014,

References

External links

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