TEAM ME UP! A $1 SHOPPING SPREE FOR PARTNERS IN CRIME
Mike S: My Comic Shop is open again for a challenge of “If I Had A
Buck…”
The magic comic spinner rack only has nine comics on it and
you only have a dollar to spend. What to
do? What to do? Take heart BABsters,
because this time around you get double the heroes for your money. That’s right, two heroes for the price of
one.
In the past we have looked at comics from many creators on a
single title (Ms. Marvel), or a single creator on many titles (George Perez),
but today we look at an array of titles from a comic genre… the TEAM UP. In the height of the Bronze Age it was common
to find comics from Marvel and DC where two heroes partnered against a common
foe; it was also fairly common that some long running titles added a headliner
to boost sales. So back in the day,
there were plenty of oddball matchups to choose from.
What did you think about these monthly lineups? What teams did you enjoy and what teams
cracked your credibility? Who did the
“Team Up” better, DC or Marvel? Were
the stories classic or klutzy?
To get your wheels spinning and your tandem bikes rolling,
today we have nine comics, eighteen heroes, and only one George
Washington. Make your choices and share
your thoughts. As always, have fun (and
no teaming up and pooling your dollars)!
Marvel Team-Up #66 (Spider Man and Captain Britain): Cover
Price $0.35
Marvel Two-In-One #26 (Thing and Nick Fury): Cover Price $0.30
Power Man and Iron Fist #66: Cover Price $0.50
The Brave and the Bold #158 (Batman and Wonder Woman): Cover
Price $0.40
Captain America and the Falcon #189: Cover Price $0.25
Daredevil and Black Widow #102: Cover Price $0.20
DC Comics Presents #23 (Superman and Dr. Fate): Cover Price
$0.40
Marvel Team-Up #29 (Human Torch and Iron Man): Cover Price
$0.25
Marvel Team-Up #104 (Hulk and Ka Zar): Cover Price $0.50
14 comments:
If I only had $1.00, I'd go for Marvel Team-Up #66 and 104.
I re-read that Captain Britain story recently, great Murderworld story that features nice art from Byrne.
The Hulk/Ka-Zar team-up is a comic I read but don't remember that well. But it has dinosaurs, so that made it automatically good when I was a kid.
Another confounding conundrum, exasperatingly exacerbated by limited liquidity (that's right Martinex, you've driven me to resort to composing alliterative doggerel).
Looking at these covers, I'm surprised to see that I had none of these, even though I was more or less regularly reading Brave & the Bold, DC Comics Presents and PM & IF at the time these came out.
I think the issues I'd want the most are Marvel Team-up #66 (no brainer: it's one of the Claremont/Byrne issues) and Brave & the Bold #158 (hey, it's Aparo drawing Batman). And then I'd use the remaining quarter to get Marvel Team-up #29.
My plan B would be to resort to the "bang for buck" option, i.e. just get the most possible comics given the monetary constraints involved: Marvel Team-up #29, Marvel 2-in-1 #26, Daredevil & Black Widow #102 and Capt. America & Falcon #189, although I'm not very enthused by those last two...
Three comics for a buck? Sold. I had to go for Iron Man and the Human Torch first, two of Marvel's coolest heroes in my view. I was nuts for both as a teen. I'd have snatched that one right from the spinner rack. The same could be said for Batman and Wonder Woman. I found those DC heavyweights magical back then - not as much these days - so that combination would be irresistible. For my third comic I'd choose Cap and the Falcon for a quarter, but I'd much rather read Power Man and Iron Fist. That was a favorite book of mine back then.
I liked team-ups from time to time but wasn't obsessed with them. The format seemed to require that the stories - and the team-up itself - had to be forced. I generally got the feeling that things were being shoehorned so I just stuck with regular titles for the most part. Power Man and Iron Fist was my main exception to this.
I would go for the ongoing series on the basis that I'm invested in the more consistent storyline/character development from previous issues.
So:
Daredevil/Black Widow
Captain America/Falcon
Power Man/Iron Fist
With greater foresight I would have invested the $1 and made enough return to buy all of these copies from dollar bins in 2015.
I would instantly grab Marvel Team-Up 66, as Edo said it's a no-brainer. Claremont, Byrne, Spider-Man and Arcade, with Captain Britain as well- what more can you ask?
Brave and the Bold 158- have never read it, but it looks interesting (more so to the 'adult' me than it would have to the youthful version).
Daredevil 102- always liked the DD / Black Widow run. Plus, it's only 20 cents ; hey, I have to fill these longboxes somehow...
While that Robbins tenure for CA&F was a true low-point, Cap and Falc were nearly always my fav team-up, courtesy of Mr. Englehart.
I'd pick DD/BW next because as a kid, their 'relationship' always seemed a bit 'mature audience' to me and with that tight catsuit Natasha wore.., with Bob Brown's art..? Bam, here's my 20 or 25 cents.
The rotating team-up titles (MTU, MTIO) started great and novel but ended up a tad hit/miss for me. It really came down to whether I had extra change in my pocket after heavyweights like ASM, Avengers, CA&F, or the team-up and art were just tooooo good, like MTU 22 with Hawkeye and Spidey, MTIO 4&5 with Ben Grimm and Cap, OR if they were another chapter in a cross-over story, like MTIO 3 with Ben and DD.
I was sooo Marvel back in the day, so unless it had a Titan or perhaps GL involved, I pretty much ignored 'Brave and Bold'.
I'll take DC Comics Presents 23 for Joe Staton's art inside, plus I always liked Doctor Fate. Also Power Man/Iron Fist 66 as it was going through its best time--great stories and art by Duffy and Gammill.
I'd definitely take a peek inside MTU 104, as that's a potent cast of characters. Marvel Two-In-One 26 has a dramatic cover, so I'd also check it out.
Love me some team-up books. My choices from this list just so happen to be the exact same as Edo (great minds and all that).
Marvel Team-Up #66 (Spidey & Cap Britain) 35¢ (Claremont/Byrne nuff said)
Brave & The Bold #158 (Batman & Wonder Woman) 40¢ (Classic Batman with Aparo art)
Marvel Team-Up #29 (Human Torch & Iron Man) 25¢ (because I had a quarter left, and this looks pretty cool).
I almost went for the DD & Black Widow, but I was never a huge fan of the permanent team-up idea.
Same goes for Captain America & Falcon, plus that one has Frank Robbins art, which makes it pretty much kryptonite to my eyes.
I'd go for the PM/IF (I always liked them, and I think this one is part of Jo Duffy's run) and maybe MTU 104 (Hulk and Ka-zar against MODOK? Sounds good to me!) I agree on the Spidey/Capt. Britain team-up being great, but I seem to remember this particular issue being the second half of a two-parter...so I'd only pick it (instead of MTU 104) if I already had MTU 65.
Mike Wilson
Gosh, I have ALL of those MTU issues. The Human Torch/Iron Man one was better upon re-reading than I remembered-- pretty well thought-out with its theme of a maturing Johnny Storm (which never stuck, as far as one can tell). But, given the tight-fisted economy we're working with, I'm simply going to go the quantity route:
DD/BW
Cap/Falc (and then brace myself for buyer's remorse. . . )
MTU 29
MTIO
That's four comics for that one dollar-- am I correct??
HB
I would go for the ongoing series on the basis that I'm invested in the more consistent storyline/character development from previous issues.
So:
Daredevil/Black Widow
Captain America/Falcon
Power Man/Iron Fist
With greater foresight I would have invested the $1 and made enough return to buy all of these copies from dollar bins in 2015.
Thanks all for commenting. For me, it is the MTIO and the MTU with Hulk and Kazar. The Thing / Nick Fury book is just a favorite of mine from childhood. And I still think it holds up well and leads to a good Deathlok appearance. I never read that particular MTU issue, but Modok and Dinosaurs do it for me. But I am tempted by many others; I am a fan of Captain and Byrne art, but the others make me more curious with the cover art. I never followed DC much, but both covers interested me. I should have followed Brave and Bold more frequently. I do like that Power Man / Iron Fist cover though also.
The DC Comics Presents cover really, really deserves a special mention, 'cause it's easily one of the most appealing and eye-catching of the bunch you've offered here. And yet, from a substantive perspective, it really is nothing more than one of those frequently-dumb (often inane) "gimmick" covers that DC was so fond of during the Silver Age and even into the Early Bronze. What's the central image? Superman forced into melodramatic oarsman servitude via Kryptonite chains-- at the mercy of some glowing super-pirate. "Golly, how did Supes get into THIS crazy situation-??" That really is the nub of this cover. But the once-removal of the crystal ball helps take some of the eye-rolling sting out, and- to be perfectly honest- it's almost impossible for any cover with a prominent Dr Fate to come off weak. He's just too blasted cool-looking. (Boy wouldn't he and Mysterio squaring off be a delightful feast for the eyes?)
HB
OK I'd go with PM & IF #66, MTU #29 and Cap & Falcon #189 for a grand total of $1!
- Mike 'still looking for comics for a buck' from Trinidad & Tobago.
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