Marvel Fanfare

Editor Al Milgrom in May 2005 on Marvel Fanfare: "It was intended that [Marvel Fanfare] would appeal especially to the fans. [I] tried to get the best possible stuff (as you say--by either established pros or talented newcomers). At least part of the purpose was to use better paper, more elaborate, detailed coloring and, by charging a higher cover price, to eliminate all those unsightly ads. The creators were paid a bonus 50% rate, too. I was sometimes 'accused' of just using up inventory material--as if that was necessarily a bad thing. I did use some inventory stuff--if I thought it was of high enough quality. As with any grand vision, the results sometimes fell short of the goal. But hey, I tried. It was sometimes difficult to keep on top of the book, since I went off staff after awhile, and had to try to coordinate its publication while working at home and juggling a full-time freelance career. What finally killed it was the advent of incentive payments to freelancers--top creators could make far more than the rate-and-a-half Fanfare paid if they worked on many of the better selling regular titles. That and my workload and family obligations made it tough to keep the book going. And sales had begun to drop as well."