{"id":34859,"date":"2026-02-02T18:04:47","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T18:04:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=34859"},"modified":"2026-02-02T18:04:47","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T18:04:47","slug":"marvel-team-up-omnibus-volume-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2026\/02\/02\/marvel-team-up-omnibus-volume-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Marvel Team-Up Omnibus volume 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nBy Roy Thomas<\/strong>, Gerry Conway<\/strong>, Len Wein<\/strong>, Steve Gerber<\/strong>, Ross Andru<\/strong>, Gil Kane<\/strong>, Jim Mooney<\/strong>, Sal Buscema<\/strong>, Don Heck<\/strong>, Mike Esposito<\/strong>, Frank Giacoia<\/strong>, Steve Mitchell<\/strong>, Frank Bolle<\/strong>, Don Perlin<\/strong>, Sal Trapani<\/strong>, Wayne Howard<\/strong>, Dave Hunt<\/strong>, Vince Colletta<\/strong> & various (MARVEL)
\nISBN: 978-1-3029-6699-7 (HB\/Digital edition)<\/p>\n

This book includes Discriminatory Content<\/strong> produced in less enlightened times.<\/em><\/p>\n

Inspiration isn\u2019t everything. In fact, as Marvel slowly grew to a position of market dominance in the wake of losing their two most innovative and inspirational creators, they did so less by experimentation and more by expanding proven concepts and properties. The only real exception to this was the assembly line creation of horror and horror-hero titles in response to the industry down-turn in super-hero sales – a move expedited by a rapid revision in the wordings of the increasingly ineffectual Comics Code Authority rules.<\/p>\n

The concept of team-up books – an established star pairing or battling (usually both) with less well-selling company characters – was not new when Marvel decided to award their most popular hero the lion\u2019s share of this new title, but they wisely left their options open by allocating an occasional substitute lead in the Human Torch<\/strong>. In those long-lost days editors were acutely conscious of potential over-exposure – and since superheroes were actually in a decline they may well have been right.<\/p>\n

Marvel Team-Up<\/strong> was the second regular Spider-Man<\/strong> title (abortive companion title Spectacular Spider-Man<\/strong> was created for the magazine market in 1968 but died after two issues). MTU <\/strong>launched at the end of 1971 and went from strength to strength, proving the time had finally come for expansion and a concentration on uncomplicated action over sub-plots\u2026<\/p>\n

This engaging hardback and\/or eBook compilation gathers the first 30 issues of Marvel Team-Up<\/strong> (spanning cover-dates March 1972 to February 1975) and includes crossover fun from Daredevil <\/strong>(and the Black Widow<\/strong>) #103, plus double length larks from Giant-Size Super Heroes <\/strong>#1 and Giant-Size<\/strong> Spider-Man<\/strong> #1-3. As well as a monolithic assortment of nostalgic visual treats at the back, this mammoth tome is dotted throughout with editorial and letters pages (from \u2018Team-Up\u2019<\/em> to \u2018Mail it to Team-Up\u2019<\/em>) and also includes recycled Introductions from previous Marvel Masterworks<\/strong> editions (namely Gerry Conway\u2019s \u2018Behold: An Introduction\u2019<\/em> and Roy Thomas\u2019 \u2018A Long, Loose Leash\u2019<\/em> and \u2018Full Credit – or Blame\u2019<\/em>) plus other contemporary editorial announcements as seen in each original issue, just to enhance overall historical experience\u2026<\/p>\n

Marvel Team-Up<\/strong> #1was crafted by Roy Thomas, Ross Andru & Mike Esposito as a mutual old enemy reared his gritty head in charming seasonal saga \u2018Have Yourself a Sandman Little Christmas!\u2019<\/em>. A light-heated romp full of Christmas cheer, rambunctious action and seasonal sentiment, the story set the tone for all epics to follow. Merry Marvelite Maximii can award themselves a point for remembering which martial arts\/TV hero debuted in this issue, but folk with lives can simply take my word that it was Iron Fist<\/strong>\u2019s sometimes-squeeze Misty Knight<\/em>…<\/p>\n

Gerry Conway assumed the writer\u2019s role and Jim Mooney the inks for \u2018And Spidey Makes Four!\u2019<\/em> in the succeeding issue as our hot and sticky heroes then take on and trounce the Frightful Four<\/em> and Negative Zone bogeyman Annihilus<\/em> before without pause going after Morbius the Living Vampire <\/strong>in #3\u2019s \u2018The Power to Purge!\u2019<\/em> (as inked by Frank Giacoia). The new horror-star was still acting the villain in MTU <\/strong>#4 as the Torch was replaced by most of Marvel\u2019s sole mutant team (The Beast<\/strong> having gone all hairy – and solo) in \u2018And Then… the X-Men!\u2019<\/em>
\n\"\"
\nInked by Steve Mitchell, this boldly enthralling thriller was illustrated by magnificent Gil Kane at the top of his form. Kane became a semi-regular penciller, and his dynamic style and extreme-action anatomy lifted many pedestrian tales such as #5\u2019s \u2018A Passion of the Mind!\u2019 <\/em>(Conway script & Esposito inks), pitting Spidey and The Vision<\/strong> against manipulative mesmeric Puppet Master<\/em> and robotic assassin the Monstroid<\/em>. The bad guy again carried over to the next issue and joined by the Mad Thinker<\/em> in \u2018…As Those Who Will Not See!\u2019<\/em> pitted the wallcrawler and The Thing<\/strong> against cerebral scoundrels in a cataclysmic battle no Fights \u2018n\u2019 Tights fan could be unmoved by…<\/p>\n

MTU<\/strong> #7\u2019s \u2018A Hitch in Time!\u2019<\/em> was produced by Conway, Andru & Mooney: guest-starring Thor<\/strong> with otherworldly Trolls freezing Earth\u2019s time-line as a prerequisite step to conquering Asgard, after which #8 provides a perfect example of the team-up comic\u2019s other function – to promote and popularise new characters. \u2018Man-Killer Moves at Midnight!\u2019<\/em> was most fans\u2019 first exposure to The Cat<\/strong> (later retooled as Tigra the Were-Woman<\/strong>) in a painfully worthy if ham-fisted attempt to address feminist issues from Conway & Mooney. The hard-pressed heroes joined forces here to stop a male-hunting murderer paying back abusive men. These days we\u2019d probably be rooting for her…<\/p>\n

Iron Man<\/strong> collaborated in the opening foray of 3-part tale \u2018The Tomorrow War!\u2019<\/em> (Conway, Andru & Frank Bolle) as he & Spidey are kidnapped by Zarkko the Tomorrow Man<\/em> to battle Kang the Conqueror<\/em>. The Torch returned to help deal with the intermediate threat of a \u2018Time Bomb!\u2019<\/em> (with art by Mooney & Giacoia) before the entire race of Black Bolt<\/strong>\u2019s Inhumans <\/strong>pile in to help Spidey stop history unravelling in culminatory clash \u2018The Doomsday Gambit!\u2019<\/em> – this last chapter scripted by Len Wein over Conway\u2019s plot for Mooney & Esposito to illustrate.<\/p>\n

Deftly delineated by Andru & Don Perlin, Wein scripted a Conway plot for \u2018Wolf at Bay!\u2019<\/em> in MTU<\/strong> #12 wherein wallcrawler meets Werewolf By Night<\/strong> Jack Russell<\/em> to maul malevolent mage Moondark<\/em> in foggy San Francisco, after which we divert to the Man Without Fear\u2019s own title. Here they share some left coast limelight as Daredevil<\/strong> and the Black Widow<\/strong> #103 (Steve Gerber, Don Heck & Sal Trapani). This sees them join the still-California-bound wallcrawler as a merciless cyborg attacks the odd couple while they pose for roving photojournalist Peter Parker<\/em> in \u2018…Then Came Ramrod!\u2019<\/em>…<\/p>\n

Kane & Giacoia limned \u2018The Granite Sky!\u2019<\/em> wherein Wein pits Spidey & Captain America<\/strong> against Hydra<\/em> and Grey Gargoyle<\/em> in a simple clash of ideologies, after which \u2018Mayhem is… the Men-Fish!\u2019 <\/em>(inked by Wayne Howard – and, yes bad grammar, but great action-art!) matches the webslinger with the savage Sub-Mariner<\/strong> against vile villains Tiger Shark<\/em> and Doctor Dorcas<\/em> as well as an army (navy?) of mutant sea-beasts.
\n\"\"
\nWein, Andru & Perlin created The Orb<\/em> to bedevil Spidey and Ghost Rider<\/strong> in \u2018If an Eye Offend Thee!\u2019<\/em> in #15 before Kane & Mooney limn \u2018Beware the Basilisk my Son!\u2019<\/em>: a gripping romp featuring (the original Kree) Captain Marvel<\/strong>, concluding with \u2018Chaos at the Earth\u2019s Core!\u2019<\/em> (inked by \u201ceverybody\u201d!), as Mister Fantastic<\/strong> joins the fracas to stop Mole Man<\/em> inadvertently blowing up the world. Human Torch Johnny Storm<\/em> teams with The Hulk<\/strong> in MTU<\/strong> #18 to stop antimatter malcontent Blastaar <\/em>in \u2018Where Bursts the Bomb!\u2019<\/em> (Giacoia & Esposito inks), but Spidey blazes back a month later with Ka-Zar<\/strong> in situ to witness \u2018The Coming of… Stegron, the Dinosaur Man!\u2019<\/em> (Wein, Kane & Giacoia). His plans to flatten New York by releasing \u2018Dinosaurs on Broadway!\u2019<\/em> is foiled with Black Panther<\/strong>\u2019s help… as well as the artistic gifts of Sal Buscema, Giacoia & Esposito.
\n\"\"
\nDave Hunt replaced Esposito inking \u2018The Spider and the Sorcerer!\u2019<\/em> in #21 as Spidey and Doctor Strange<\/strong> once more battled Xandu<\/em>, a wily wizard first seen in Spider-Man Annual<\/strong> #2, before we pause for a brief lecture.<\/p>\n

Giant-Size<\/strong> titles were quarterly double-length publications added to the schedule of Marvel\u2019s top tier heroes, and the wallcrawler\u2019s were used to highlight outr\u00e9 or potentially controversial pairings such as Dracula<\/strong> and Doc Savage<\/strong>. Here they are represented by try-out Giant-Size Super Heroes <\/strong>#1 which pitted the wallcrawler against Living Vampire Morbius as well as hirsute and manic Man-Wolf<\/em>. In a classic clash by Conway, Kane & Esposito. Within months a quarterly double-length Spider-Man team vehicle was added to Marvel\u2019s schedule….<\/p>\n

Back in MTU<\/strong> #22, Wein, Sal B & Giacoia\u2019s \u2018The Messiah Machine!\u2019<\/em> brings the monthly story glories to a brief pause after depicting Hawkeye<\/strong> and the Amazing Arachnid frustrating deranged computer Quasimodo<\/em>\u2018s ambitious if absurd mechanoid invasion. Then – cover-dated July 1974 and courtesy of Conway, Andru & Heck – Giant-Size Spider-Man<\/strong> #1 saw the webspinner in frantic pursuit of an experimental flu vaccine, improbably carried on an ocean liner in \u2018Ship of Fiends!\u2019 <\/em>The quest brought him into chilling contact with newly-revived vampire lord Dracula<\/strong> and a scheming Maggia<\/em> Capo at \u2018The Masque of the Black Death!\u2019<\/em>…<\/p>\n

Here that bizarre battle is accompanied by its original editorial text feature \u2018An Illuminating Introduction to Giant Size Spider-Man\u2019 <\/em>before we move on to monthly MTU<\/strong> wherein the Torch & Iceman<\/strong> fractiously unite to stop Equinox, the Thermo-Dynamic Man <\/em>on \u2018The Night of the Frozen Inferno!\u2019 <\/em>(Wein, Kane & Esposito). Still embracing supernatural themes and trends, the webslinger learns \u2018Moondog is another Name for Murder!\u2019<\/em> in a defiantly quirky yarn illustrated by Mooney & Trapani which brings the decidedly offbeat Brother Voodoo<\/strong> to the Big Apple to quash a Manhattan murder cult…<\/p>\n

Wein, Mooney & Frank Giacoia then determine that \u2018Three into Two Won\u2019t Go!\u2019<\/em> as Daredevil<\/strong> joins Spider-Man in thrashing inept kidnappers Cat-Man, Bird-Man <\/em>and Ape-Man<\/em>, after which Giant-Size Spider-Man<\/strong> #2 sees the amazing arachnid drawn into battle with Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu <\/strong>as sinister immortal Fu Manchu <\/strong>frames Spider-Man in \u2018Masterstroke!\u2019 <\/em>The duped heroes clear the air in \u2018Cross… and Double-Cross!\u2019 <\/em>before uniting to foil the cunning Celestial\u2019s scheme to mindwipe America from the \u2018Pinnacle of Doom!\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

MTU<\/strong> #26 finds the Torch and Thor battling to save the world from Lava Men <\/em>in The Fire This Time…\u2019 <\/em>by Wein, Mooney, Giacoia & Hunt. At this time, in a desperate effort to build some internal continuity into the perforce brutally brief encounters, the scripters introduced a shadowy trio of sinister observers with an undisclosed agenda who would monitor superhero episodes and eventually be revealed as providers of outrageous technologies for many of the one-shot villains who came and went so quickly and ignominiously…<\/p>\n

They weren\u2019t involved when the Chameleon<\/em> frames Spider-Man (again) and tricks the Hulk into freeing a man – for the most unexpected reason of all – from the New York Men\u2019s Detention Center in #27\u2019s \u2018A Friend in Need!\u2019<\/em> (Wein, Mooney & Giacoia). They did, however, have a cloaked hand in \u2018The City Stealers!\u2019 <\/em>(#28 by new regular creative team Conway, Mooney & Vince Colletta) when strange mechanoids swipe the island of Manhattan, necessitating Spidey and Hercules<\/strong> (mostly Hercules) having to drag it back to its original position…
\n\"\"
\nAfter that implausible minor miracle Spider-Man experiences time-displaced disaster as Giant-Size Spider-Man<\/strong> #3 (Conway, Andru & Esposito) explores \u2018The Yesterday Connection!\u2019 <\/em>Now lovely alien Desinna<\/em> seeks the aid of Spidey in 1974 and – in \u2018The Secret Out of Time\u2019 –<\/em> the hands-on help of legendary 1930s adventurer Doc Savage<\/strong>. Across a gulf of four decades the heroes individually discover something is not right in \u2018Other People in Other Times!\u2019<\/em> With the escape of a savage rampaging monster, two eras seem doomed to destruction, at least until wiser, more suspicious heads and powers prevail in \u2018Tomorrow is Too Late\u2019 <\/em>ensuring that \u2018The Future is Now!\u2019<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n

Marvel Team-Up<\/strong> #29 displays a far less constrained – or even amicable – pairing as flaming kid Johnny Storm and patronising know-it-all Iron Man butt heads whilst tracking a seeming super-saboteur in \u2018Beware the Coming of Infinitus! or How Can You Stop the Reincarnated Man?\u2019<\/em> before in #30 Spider-Man and The Falcon <\/strong>find \u2018All That Glitters is not Gold!\u2019<\/em> whilst tracking a mind-control drug back to its crazy concoctor Midas, the Golden Man<\/em>.<\/p>\n

However, adding extra lustre are visual treats aplenty in the form of contemporaneous house ads; covers and frontispieces from seasonal tabloid treasury Giant Superhero Holiday Grab-Bag<\/strong> (with art from John Buscema & John Romita Sr.) and original art pages and covers from Andru, Kane, Esposito, Perlin, Mooney, & Giacoia plus Kane pencil layouts. Also on view are covers from Marvel Tales<\/strong> #234, 249, 254, by Todd McFarlane, Marshall Rogers, Brian Stelfreeze, complete with new bridging pages by Jae Lee. Jan Harpes & Renee Witterstatter, and another gallery of Spider-Man Megazine<\/strong> covers (#1-6) by James Fry, Hector Collazo, Stelfreeze, Jung Choi, Ron Frenz, Al Milgrom, Stuart Immonen, Kirk Jarvinen, Jason Moore and Mark Buckingham, plus the unpublished cover of #7 as crafted by John Romita Sr & Jr.. Closing the book is a truly unique unused cover for #8 by Brian Bolland.<\/p>\n

These stories are of variable quality but nonetheless all exhibit an honest drive to entertain and please. Artistically the work is superb, and most fans of the genre would find little to complain about so, although not really a book for casual or more maturely-oriented readers, there\u2019s bunches of fun on hand and young readers will have a blast, so there\u2019s no real reason not to add this tome to your library…
\n\u00a9 2025 MARVEL.<\/p>\n

Today in 1892 Korky the Cat<\/strong> creator James Crighton<\/strong> was born as was Golden Age great Creig Flessel<\/strong> in 1912 and Al McWilliams<\/strong> in 1916. Writer\/editor\/publisher Bob Shreck<\/strong> joined the party in 1955, three years after Crocket Johnson<\/strong> released the final episode of Barnaby<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Back in 1938, the very first Donald Duck<\/strong> newspaper strip was syndicated and in 1987 the astounding Ken Reid<\/strong> drew his last breath – as did Dutch comics maestro Lo Hartog van Banda<\/strong> in 2006. As always, look in the blog for more or just buy anything with these guys\u2019 names on it…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Roy Thomas, Gerry Conway, Len Wein, Steve Gerber, Ross Andru, Gil Kane, Jim Mooney, Sal Buscema, Don Heck, Mike Esposito, Frank Giacoia, Steve Mitchell, Frank Bolle, Don Perlin, Sal Trapani, Wayne Howard, Dave Hunt, Vince Colletta & various (MARVEL) ISBN: 978-1-3029-6699-7 (HB\/Digital edition) This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times. Inspiration … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Marvel Team-Up Omnibus volume 1”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[191,351,165,237,74,18,75,85,290,312,393,300,372,159,332,247,288,98,320,189,120,292,326,146,79,277,174,213,219,107,249,155,231,100,301,70],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34859","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventure","category-apes-monkeys","category-black-panther","category-black-widow","category-captain-america","category-captain-marvel","category-crime-comics","category-daredevil","category-dinosaurs","category-doc-savage","category-doctor-voodoo","category-dracula","category-falcon","category-ghost-rider","category-gil-kane","category-hawkeye","category-hercules","category-hulk","category-human-torch","category-inhumans","category-iron-man","category-ka-zar","category-kung-fu","category-marvel-horror","category-marvel-superheroes","category-morbius","category-nick-fury","category-iron-fist","category-s-h-i-e-l-d","category-science-fiction","category-shang-chi","category-sub-mariner","category-the-thing","category-thor","category-werewolf-by-night","category-x-men"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-94f","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34859","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34859"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34859\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34866,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34859\/revisions\/34866"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34859"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34859"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34859"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}