MOUNTAIN COMICS #13 – MARVEL TEAM-UP #111
Rob welcomes podcaster Greg Arujo to the cabin to discuss MARVEL TEAM-UP #111, “Of Spiders and Serpents” by J.M. DeMatteis, Herb Trimpe, and Mike Esposito, starring Spider-Man and Devil-Slayer!
Check out images from this comic by clicking here!
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Fun show! I definitely met a LOT of characters in the Team-Up titles at both Marvel and DC. Nowadays folks can just find a wiki site to look up even the most obscure of IPs, but back in the day, the team-up title was the way to go.
Nice to hear Greg enjoy a comic for once. I just listened to his and Sean’s episodes on SWII’s #3 and 4. Great episodes, but I felt so sorry for them!
Chris
Did you ever read the King Kull one? Those are the kinds of crazy team-ups you know I love!
I enjoy how this series spotlights “regular” comics that probably wouldn’t be covered otherwise.
I agree with most of your points on the issue. I enjoyed Herb Trimpe’s art on the Hulk, but I think he lacked the fluidity in his characters’ movement that is a requirement for a Spider-Man artist.
I enjoyed most of J.M. DeMatteis’s MTU issues. DeMatteis did pull the doppelgänger card in a later issue of team-up with the “real” Spider-Man not appearing. To avoid spoilers, I won’t mention the issue number. Yeah, I’m worried about spoiling a 30+ year old comic. One of the fun things about collecting MTU, as well as DC Comics Presents and Brave & the Bold was being introduced to characters I wasn’t familiar with.
Anyway, Rob, do you really not have the conclusion to the issue? Come on, dude. MTU back issues are not very expensive at all. In fact, I gave away a duplicate of MTU 112 to a friend just the other day. Get the conclusion and see what happens!
I will reveal that’s it’s pretty crazy!
Aw, man! I wanted to talk about that other non-team-up issue! I know exactly which one it is. Please, Gothosmansion? Pleeeeeease?
Does everybody else already know what MTU issue had the faux Spider-Man? I wonder if any of the guys are going to feature it on a podcast.
I still can’t believe I’m worried about spoiling a 30+ year old comic.
LOL! Pretty sure the statute of limitations has passed.
That was the Dr. Faustus arc, which begins with EveryMan in #132, then the FF/ Spidey Team-Up in #133. An early favorite! Seemed so very intense to me then.
Rob, it’s great to hear your fond memories of these comics from your childhood. Makes this show so special. Glad you’re keeping it going.
Ok, not a nitpick about the story, an honest question. When Spidey recites the magic phrase the first time, is the fake Devil-Slayer in the room with him? If yes, I don’t get why he didn’t turn into his snake-person form right then. I probably missed that in the synopsis.
Herb is Very fond of the ‘Web Ball”- i’m not sure how many other artists used that technique, but you’ll see it throughout the #106-118 run.
It’s true that there’s no real team-up til th eend, but we do get a preview of all of DS’ powers. I thought he was so great, after this. I learned ‘placate’ and other words, here, and looked up his appearances in Defenders, #58-60, My love of that led me to explore Blue Oyster Cult- and led to my direct friendship with David Anthony Kraft in 2012.
You mentioned Dazzler: DAK scripted that one, but not this one. He and Rich Buckler created the original DS.
You mentioned ROM: yes, that November cover date issue did carry the log. I bought that and this at the very same time- I hadn’t had my first ten comics yet, and there’s a story behind me and that dollar. I think the clerk at the Fina Service Station used the ‘Give/ Take a Penny’ to get the four or five cents tax!
Herb’s Spider-Man is growing on me: some weird distortions, yeah, but upon reflection, this was the best Spider-Man title of 1981- would you think so? Especially the first half of the year, like #106-111, to bound it with Trimpe’s run. I love the visit to the ruins, best. From the old man scene: Lao Tzu isn’t from Japan, though, is he?
ASM has #224-228 going for it later in the year, and those are better than the MTU at the time, but I digress.
I love the ending. I wish the climax could’ve lasted longer.
How did a fake Devil Slayer read Peter’s mind to teleport him to the apartment, though?
It helps that Iron Man was the co-star, just the issue before. It’s cool that the writer had this opportunity to choose, just as Trimpe had designed Magma, in #110.
Not an obvious follow-up audience, Shellhead to Devil-Slayer (or any Defenders), but if you were lucky enough for the local store to carry it, and you liked Team Up, you could try very different superheroes. All this RE Howard-inspired stuff, then a Gruenwald fill-in with science fiction, Falcon with street crime, then Thor (that makes the three most popular Avengers in 1981)- definitely part of the fun, poking around!
I agree the Serpent Man have conquered much bigger odds, knocking out seven Defenders! While it’s not the greatest plan, it sure fills out the issue. These were written so fast, relatively.
FOOM, a reference to the fan magazine produced by Marvel? Oh, yeah.