Midnight Conference

Midnight Conference (aka TMC) was a 1980s Batman fanzine by Martin R. Noreau of St. Hubert, Quebec, Canada. It probably takes its name from the caption of a 1966 Topps bubblegum card (Black series, Card #4). While the regular cover logo omits the "The" in the title, it is often referred to as "The Midnight Conference" in communications and internal text of the zine. Issue #4 features only "TMC" on the cover.Midnight Conference #4, 1986, cover. 
The fanzine offered "articles by people like you who like to talk about their favorite stories in both the comic-books and the TV show. We are open to any type of material as long as it concerns The Batman. We shall be discussing the many aspects of the new and old The Batman character."Noreau, Martin R., Midnight Conference #2, 1986, p. 11. By Issue #7, Midnight Conference was being "printed by permission from DC Comics, Inc."Noreau, Martin R., Midnight Conference #7, 1987, Editorial, p. 1., a similar arrangement to the one enjoyed by Biljo White's Batmania in the 1960s and Australia's Utility Belt in the 1990s. 
As Midnight Conference evolved, "the pseudonymous lettercol phenom", T. M. Maple (aka Jim Burke), was brought aboard as co-editor. "T. M. Maple, for fans who do not recall him, was one of the greatest letter writers in comic book letter column history, with well over 3,000 letters written. He originally signed his letters 'The Mad Maple', but when Jim Shooter became Editor-In-Chief of Marvel [Comics], he instituted a policy in which Marvel would not publish letters from letter writers using pseudonyms (which isn't a half bad policy, really). Editor Tom DeFalco got around this by abbreviating 'The Mad Maple' as 'T. M. Maple'. Burke liked this abbreviation, and used it for the rest of his letter-writing journey. Sadly, Burke died in 1994 of a heart attack."
One regular reviewer of Batman comics (for seven issues of TMC) was Brian Jones. Jones had also organised an interview with comics writer, Steve Englehart, for an issue.
In 1989, the Los Angeles Times reported: "We’re basically a bunch of guys who like Batman and want an opportunity to express ourselves through writing or drawing him," said Noreau... 'Midnight Caller' [sic] goes out quarterly to about 200 reader/contributors, mostly from the United States." 
When Warner Bros. was preparing to put out the first Tim Burton Batman movie, Noreau supposedly received a cease and desist letter, in order to protect Warners' copyright over their film, and the fanzine ended abruptly at Issue #13.
Image:TMC.jpeg|The Midnight Conference: Join now! Art by Jervas Dudley.
Image:TMC1.jpeg|Cover: Midnight Conference #1
Image:TMC2.jpeg|Cover: Midnight Conference #2
Image:TMC3.jpeg|Cover: Midnight Conference #3
==Issue 1==
Midnight Conference #1 was published in 1986.
==Issue 2==
Midnight Conference #2 was published in 1986.
24 pages. This issue is "dedicated to Robert Lowery & John Duncan", who feature in Martin R. Noreau's reflections on the 1949 Columbia serial in "New Adventures of Batman and Robin". Other articles include "Batty over Batman?" (reprinting the Dwight Whitney article about Biljo White's Batmania and Batman fandom in general, which appeared in TV Guide, March 26-April 1, 1966), "Nostalgia Corner: A Guide for Jokerphiles" by Charles D. Brown, and "Anniversaries and the Future: Batman #300" by T. M. Maple. Art by Lawrence Tisch (a Stan Carrott cartoon), Jervas Dudley, Jack Snider & Scott Rosema and Jeffrey A. Cooke. Cover celebrates the Batman TV series of 1966-68.
==Issue 3==
Midnight Conference #3 was published in 1986.
Articles include "Bat-gadgets" (reviews of past licensed merchandise) and "Conference Review" (of recent comics), both by Martin R. Noreau. Cover celebrates the Batman TV series.
==Issue 4==
Midnight Conference #4 was published in 1986. "The Merry Christmas Issue." 
40 pages. Articles include "Batman's itching to fly again" by Ray Finch, "The Bat" by Phil Latter (regarding the little-known 1926 hardcover book, The Bat: A Novel of the Play by Mary Roberts Rinehart & Avery Hopwood), Martin R. Noreau's "Bat-gadgets" (a review of the Watkins Strathmore 1966-era coloring book, with a new villain called The Bouncer, and art in the style of Carmine Infantino), "The Bat Symbol: What's happening to it?" by T. M. Maple, "The Clock Strikes Twelve" (readers' letters), "Nostalgia Corner: Oh where, oh where, have these seven gone?" by Charles D. Brown (regarding forgotten members of Batman's Rogues Gallery - The Brand, Simple Simon, The Gong, Professor Arnold Hugo, Pete Dale, Mirror-Man, and The Birdmaster of Bedlam), Martin R. Noreau's review of Joel Eisner's The Batman Batbook, a mini-interview with Denny O'Neil by T. M. Maple, and "Conference Review" (of recent comics) by Martin R. Noreau. Artists include Scott Caywood and Phil Latter. Cover by Jervas Dudley.
Image:TMC4.jpeg|Cover: Midnight Conference #4, art by Jervas Dudley.
==Issue 5==
Midnight Conference #5 was published in 1987.
Articles include "Bat-gadgets" (a review of the Winston Lyon novel, Batman vs The Three Villains of Doom) and "Conference Review" (of recent comics), both by Martin R. Noreau.
==Issue 6==
Midnight Conference #6 was published in 1987.
==Issue 7==
Midnight Conference #7 was published in 1987.
40 pages. Features "Confessions of a Female Bat Fan" by Virginia W. Pennick, "The Batman Costume" by Mark Reinhart, a retro reprint ("Dynamic Duo Becomes a Trio") about the introduction of Batgirl to the Batman TV series (which originally appeared in TV Guide, 1967), "The Golden Age Page" by Mic McConnell, "Focus On..." by Phil Latter, "The Joker: A Personal Critique" by Virginia W. Pennick. Regular articles are "Nostalgia Corner" by Charles D. Brown, "The Clock Strikes Twelve" (readers' letters), and two segments of "Conference Review" (of recent comics) by Brian Jones and James Davey. Illustrators: Lawrence Tisch, Rick Bradford, Jervas Dudley and Martin R. Noreau. Cover art by the Caywood Brothers.
Image:TMC7.jpeg|Cover: Midnight Conference #7, art by the Caywood Brothers.
==Issue 8==
Midnight Conference #8 was published in 1987.
==Issue 9==
Midnight Conference #9 was published in 1988.
==Issue 10==
Midnight Conference #10 was published in 1988.
==Issue 11==
Midnight Conference #11 was published in 1988.
Cover art of The Joker by Quinton Hoover.
==Issue 12==
Midnight Conference #12 was published in 1988.
==Issue 13==
Midnight Conference #13 was published in 1989.
Cover art by MAD Magazine artist, Sergio Aragones.
Image:TMC13.jpeg|Cover: Midnight Conference #13, art by Sergio Aragones (dated 1988).
==References==
Category:Batman Zines
Category:DC Zines
Category:1980s Zines