| Merry Marvel Marching Society | |
| Type: | Fanclub |
| Founded Date: | 1964 |
| Founder: | Stan Lee, Martin Goodman |
| Location: | New York City |
| Key People: | Flo Steinberg |
| Area Served: | Marvel Comics readers |
| Focus: | To promote the appreciation of Marvel Comics |
| Owner: | Marvel Comics |
| Dissolved: | 1969; absorbed in Marvelmania International |
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.
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:
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,
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. In a 2002 interview, Steinberg said,
By the end of 1965, Marvel reported that 40,000 members had joined the club.[4] This estimate increased to 50,000 in 1966,[5] and 70,000 by 1967.[6]
Soon, the club offered a range of other money-spinning products, including:
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.[8]
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.