MARVEL TEAM-UP #12 - Wanna Play on the Bridge?

Marvel Team-Up was the FIRST regular spin-off series for Spider-man (Spectacular Spider-man Magazine preceded it for two issues) and featured Spidey in all but 10 of its 150 issues and 1 of its 7 Annuals.

Somewhere out there, someone has all 150 issues collected, but amazingly enough all SEVEN Annuals as well. I can picture the first one in my head (Spidey and the X-Men) but for the life of me can't remember the other 6.

On the cover here we have Gil Kane heavily embellished (inked) by John Romita, so that... well so that it looks more like a Romita drawing than a Gil Kane drawing, which is what I prefer. I appreciate Kane's work in my older age, but Romita is, to ME, the greatest, most underrated artist of his era.

And it gives us, really, an amazing type of cover, that both artists are known for, and here working together they've created an almost 3-D like look at these two characters. 

(MARVEL TEAM-UP #12 - Cover Dated August 1973 - on Newsstands May 29th, 1973 - cover art by Gil Kane with inks by John Romita)

Don Perlin isn't someone who I was much of a fan of throughout my young comic book reading days, or even later on, but... looking at some of his work now, especially when he has a strong inker, he has some really quality work out there!
HERE, he's essentially Ross Andru's inker and maybe finisher to some degree, but I can tell these truly are Andru's layouts (I grew up on his ASM), and Perlin's inks/finishes give Andru's work a really smooth appeal. I like this a lot.

(MARVEL TEAM-UP #12 - Cover Dated August 1973 - on Newsstands May 29th, 1973 - art by Ross Andru and Don Perlin)

Now, strangely enough, despite taking place (in real-time) two months after Gwen's death and a month after the Green Goblin/Norman Osborn's death (both remembered in thought here by Peter/Spidey), he isn't freaked out by the Werewolf, at the start of the story, falling to his 'demise' off the side of the Golden Gate Bridge!

(For those that don't know, the love of Peter's life, long-time girlfriend Gwen Stacy was knocked off the George Washington Bridge in New York by the Green Goblin. Spidey used his web to catch her, but the jolt snapped her neck, killing her instantly.)

Hmm... maybe that's why he doesn't shoot his web and try and save the Werewolf here?

(MARVEL TEAM-UP #12 - Cover Dated August 1973 - on Newsstands May 29th, 1973 - art by Ross Andru and Don Perlin)

Ok, so I'll chalk it up to 'its not the same bridge', and he's in a different city (San Francisco on assignment).

As you may or may not know, I'm easily amused by comic book characters (or actors/actresses) getting boinked on the head, and here, later in the story, Wolvie (who survived the fall), lunges at Spidey, Spidey leaps out of the way, and Wolvie knocks himself out by crashing headfirst into the side of some poor guys parked sedan. They've should've put that scene in one of the movies!

(MARVEL TEAM-UP #12 - Cover Dated August 1973 - on Newsstands May 29th, 1973 - art by Ross Andru and Don Perlin)

MTU has some lame villains though, and this one, Moondork, uh, I mean Moondark is a perfect example. As goofy as he is, he'd appear at least 4 other times after this though...

Did you know that whenever Spidey WASN'T one of the Team-Up heroes in the book (18, 23, 26, 29, 32, 35, 97, 104, 105, and Annual 3), it coincided with the release of one of his Giant Size Issues?

Well, it's not true. I fact-checked it and SOME of those issues did:

MTU #23 (Human Torch/Iceman) vs Giant-Sized Spider-Man #1

MTU #26 (Human Torch/Thor) vs Giant-Sized Spider-Man #2

Ah well. When MTU ended (#150) it was replaced by Web of Spider-man.

(MARVEL TEAM-UP #12 - Cover Dated August 1973 - on Newsstands May 29th, 1973 - art by Ross Andru and Don Perlin)

Why I didn't send away for this as a 12-year-old, I don't know. I sent away for the Legion of Super-Heroes issue of Amazing World of DC Comics and I was MUCH more of a Marvel guy than a DC guy. 
It looks pretty cool...

(MARVEL TEAM-UP #12 - Cover Dated August 1973 - on Newsstands May 29th, 1973)

They must've been really impressed with this cover or lacking story to give it a full-page spread. I mean... it's for Doc Savage... issue #3.

You want real Doc Savage from non-Golden Age Pulp, I'd go with the Curtis Magazine Series.

It IS a sweet Gil Kane cover here though...

(MARVEL TEAM-UP #12 - Cover Dated August 1973 - on Newsstands May 29th, 1973 - art by Ross Andru and Don Perlin)

Now at the end of the story, Spidey finishes off Moondark by letting him fall to his death from a BRIDGE! For the 2nd time this happens in THIS comic, just two months after Spidey sees Gwen fall to her death from a BRIDGE.

His attitude about it is pretty breezy, and... yeah, there was no general knowledge of PTSD at that time, but... sheesh. Talk about a weird lack of editorial!

(MARVEL TEAM-UP #12 - Cover Dated August 1973 - on Newsstands May 29th, 1973 - art by Ross Andru and Don Perlin)