Essential Marvel Team-Up, Volume 3 by Chris Claremont, et al.

Short stories, simple pleasures with Spider-Man and friends

When I was a kid and used to stop at the local drug store after school and pick up the odd comic book, one of my favorite titles was Marvel Team-Up. I liked Spider-Man at the time, and it was always interesting to see who he would be matched up with. The stories usually lasted only one, sometimes two issues, and you didn’t need to know the entire ongoing saga of the Marvel universe to understand what was going on. The paperback volume Essential Marvel Team-Up, Volume 3 reproduces issues 52 to 75 of Marvel Team-Up (with one exception, see below), as well as Marvel Team-Up Annual #1. These issues, originally published from December 1976 to November 1978, are reprinted in black and white on newsprint paper.

The main purpose of the Marvel Team-Up series was to capitalize on Spider-Man’s popularity, not only by allowing him to star in another monthly title but also by using Marvel’s star character to draw readers’ interest to other characters’ titles, sometimes through crossovers. Sometimes Spidey would team up with Marvel heavy hitters like Thor, Iron-Man, the Hulk, and Daredevil. As often as not, however, Marvel used the title to reinforce up-and-comers like, in this case, Ghost Rider, Power Man, and Iron Fist, or showcase minor characters who didn’t have their own book, like the Falcon, Havok, Tigra, and the Black Widow. All of the aforementioned guest stars are included in Volume 3.

No monumental events ever occurred in Marvel Team-Up that would shake the foundations of the Marvel Universe. The most important occurrence of note in this run of issues is the American debut of Captain Britain in issue #65. Chris Claremont, one of Marvel’s hottest writers of this era, wrote 16 of the 24 issues included here. This is not his best work, however, since the short story arcs and guest-star format don’t allow much room for character building. Bill Mantlo writes another half dozen issues. The creative highlight of this collection is the art by John Byrne, who draws 15 issues. His work always looks great even when the story is lackluster. The best overall story is probably Claremont and Byrne’s work in issues 59 & 60, in which Spider-Man teams up with Yellowjacket and the Wasp to fight Equinox, “the thermodynamic man.” When Claremont and Byrne are not at the helm, the issues included here seem almost childlike in their narrative simplicity, just a meet-and-greet in the beginning followed by an extended fight scene.

The most disappointing thing about Essential Marvel Team-Up, Volume 3 is that it doesn’t include issue number 74. That’s when Spidey teamed up with the Not Ready for Prime Time Players of Saturday Night Live—the late ‘70s cast with John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, etc. The Silver Samurai attacks the SNL studio, briefly confronting Belushi’s samurai character. Unfortunately, this bizarre story was omitted from the collection, not because Marvel didn’t consider it “Essential” but because they no longer had the rights to reference NBC’s properties.

Reading Essential Marvel Team-Up, Volume 3 was a nice trip down memory lane for me. This is not a landmark or groundbreaking run of issues in Marvel history, but that’s part of the charm. These adventures of Spider-Man and his colleagues are not overly ponderous, dark, or violent like so many of today’s Marvel products but rather a pleasant reminder of when comics used to be fun.
If you liked this review, please follow the link below to Amazon.com and give me a “helpful” vote. Thank you.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R16V41XR4MKDUP/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_rdp_perm