Super-Villain Team-Up 10, 1976 “The Sign of the Skull!”

Don’t be alarmed, but this issue is actually part four, the conclusion to a crossover with The Avengers (155, 156, along with SVTU 9). In this wild story we see everything from Dr. Doom, two of him to be exact…then the Avengers, Shroud, The Whizzer, the Ringmaster and his Circus of Crime, Attuma, and of course the Red Skull!

It was only 1976, but this crossover had a a lot going on. You have Cap and Doom, first fighting, then agreeing to team up against a common foe. Then we have Subby fighting off an attack on Atlantis. And if all that wasn’t enough, you see a fake Dr. Doom (Rudolfo) and Shroud being attacked by the Red Skull and his forces who have taken over Latveria! Yeah, a lot going on, but a ton of fun!

The credits for this book are a roll call of Bronze/Copper Age awesomeness. You get Bill Mantlo (Micronauts, ROM) writing this one, and it fits his style perfectly with all the shenanigans. The art team is Bob Hall (pencils) and Don Perlin (inks), and these two guys work very well together. The rest of the team is Denise Wohl (letters), Don Warfield (colors), and Archie Goodwin (editor)! And the fabulous cover is by Gil Kane and Ernie Chan (some alterations by John Romita)!

 

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Super-Villain Team-Up #1, 1975 “Slayers from the Sea”

After just purchasing this book recently (Baltimore Comic Con 2014), I felt compelled to spotlight this great book! These types of books have always caught my eye, and will always get my money, as well. When you have great characters like Namor and Dr. Doom in a book, it’s difficult to not have a good story, or at least enough crazy action and declarative statements on every other panel! Let’s face it, Doom and Namor have enough hot air between the two of them to float a balloon across the planet. But, that’s why we love them, isn’t it?

As if dealing with Doom isn’t bad enough, Namor must contend with his perennial foes Attuma and Tiger Shark as well! There’s also a third person to contend with too, as Dr. Dorcas is in the mix…wow, what a name for a villain. The story is broken into two “chapters”, with a different set of artists on the second half, but you can’t go wrong with either team to be honest. Written by Tony Isabella, pencils (chapter one) by George Tuska & Bill Everett, inks by Fed Kida, colors by I. Vartanoff, and letters by I. Watanabe. The second chapter was penciled by George Evans, and inked by Frank Springer, and the rest of the same crew from the first chapter to round out the rest of the team! There are some fantastic splash pages in this book, so get ready to be aroused!

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Super-Villain Team-Up #8, 1976 “Escape!”

In my first ever purchase of this title, I’ve found that not only do I love it because of its hilarious action, but also that it has Dr. Doom, and who doesn’t love Doom? I mean, he’s the quintessential villain in the Marvel Universe. Everyone must face him at one time or another, even Squirrel Girl and Power Man had  bouts with him! Doom also had another run in a certain anthology style book from Marvel in the 1970’s, and I’ll get to that in a couple of posts or so.

For now though, marvel at the work of Steve Englehart, Keith Giffen, Owen McCarron, Irv Watanabe, and others! You’ll see the quality of work this team did, and it will leave you wanting more! Some brilliant colors in this one as well, and we have Phil Rache to thank for that. Don’t miss my favorite page, where Namor beats up an elephant! Enjoy!

 

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