Template:Short description Template:Infobox organization Merry Marvel Marching Society (often referred to by the abbreviation "M.M.M.S.") was a fan club for Marvel Comics started by Marvel editor Stan Lee and/or Marvel publisher Martin Goodman in 1964.
History
Following teaser promotion in Marvel comic books cover-dated November 1964, Marvel Comics introduced the company's in-house fan club, the Merry Marvel Marching Society, in its comics cover-dated January 1965, released in the fall 1964. Generally abbreviated as the "M.M.M.S", the club offered readers a $1 membership kit that initially included a:
- welcoming letter
- membership card
- one-sided, [[LP album|33 - Template:Fraction rpm]] record, "The Voices of Marvel"
- scratch pad
- sticker
- pinback button
- certificate[1]
The company offered permutations of this kit, plus additional promotional merchandise such as posters and sweatshirts, through comics cover-dated October 1969.[2] As author Marc Flores, who writes under the pen name Ronin Ro,[3] described, Template:Quote
The club proved successful, with Marvel secretary and club coordinator Flo Steinberg remarking that they "were working seven days a week just opening these envelopes" containing the subscription fee.[4] In a 2002 interview, Steinberg said,
By the end of 1965, Marvel reported that 40,000 members had joined the club.[5] This estimate increased to 50,000 in 1966,[6] and 70,000 by 1967.[7]
Soon, the club offered a range of other money-spinning products, including:[4]
- Six-foot "life-size, full-color Spidey pin-up" made from a Steve Ditko drawing of Spider-Man[8]
- $1.50 T-shirt with a Ditko-drawn Dr. Strange
- Thing drawing by Jack Kirby on "Official Swingin' Stationery"
- Fantastic Four family portrait T-shirt by Kirby
The M.M.M.S. membership had ranks indicated by three-letter abbreviations (such as Q.N.S. for "Quite 'Nuff Sayer" to F.F.F. for "Fearless Front-Facer"), based on a proposal by young comics fan Mark Evanier.[9]
The M.M.M.S. was absorbed into the subsequent Marvel fan club, Marvelmania International, in 1969. This second club lasted until 1971. A third official Marvel Comics fan club, FOOM (Friends of Ol' Marvel) followed from 1973 to 1976.
References
Citations
Sources
- Pratt, Doug. "The MMMS Records Remastered", DogRat.com, September 23, 2007. The Voices of Marvel and Scream Along with Marvel. Archive.org archive, WebCitation archive.
External links
- ↑ House ad, Marvel Comics issues cover-dated February 1965
- ↑ Ballman, J. The Full-Color Guide to Marvel Silver Age Collectibles from M.M.M.S. to Marvelmania, p. 80. (Totalmojo Productions, 2007)
- ↑ Template:Cite web
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Cite error: Invalid
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