Comments on: John Seavey's Storytelling Engines: Marvel Team-Up

By: John Seavey

John Seavey — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 23:47:42 +0000

Affect=change. Effect=bring about. So to "effect" a status quo would be to bring it into being, to "affect" a status quo would be to change it. I'm guessing you mean the latter, from context. (I try not to nit-pick spelling, as it usually is clear from context, but since you asked, here's the answer. Hope that helps!)

By: MarkAndrew

MarkAndrew — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 09:29:58 +0000

Probably less difficult than From Hell.

Probably MORE difficult than, say, solo Spider-man. Solo Spider-man... You take the character's status quo, you add intrusive elements. You have a story.

Marvel Team-up. You take Spider-man's status quo. You have a guest star, and you have to EXPLAIN their status quo, introduce outside elements that would logically effect (affect? I always forget) both their status quo, and then give the two characters a reason to meet. It's a bit of a challenge, yeah. Some people had SERIOUS trouble with it -- See the Conway written issues of Marvel team-up, produced at the same time as his pretty dang good Spider-man run.

I really like the Beast as a co-star, too, although his appearance in 38 was a little weaker than his subsequent showings.

By: Zarathos

Zarathos — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 22:17:39 +0000

This post seems to treat early-80s Marvel continuity as having the same all-event clusterf- mentality that it did in the 90s and does today that requires reading a hundred books to know a character's backstory and current position within a complex, intricate cosmology. Is there any evidence that MTU was actually difficult to write? As in, from the writers of MTU? I really doubt Chris Claremont (to pick the only MTU writer I'm aware of) sweated as much over his stories as if they were, say, From Hell, but who knows.

By: John Seavey

John Seavey — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 13:44:35 +0000

It is amazingly fun, innit? For my money, the best team was Spidey and the Beast--I felt like I could read a whole series of those two together, they fitted so well. It's amazing that more writers don't pair those two up.

By: I am MODOK

I am MODOK — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 13:42:00 +0000

Marvel Team Up remains one of my favorite comics ever. I'm only missing about 5 or 6 issues at this point, all expensive early ones. Almost every storyline in MTU kicked butt, and it is a ton of fun seeing so many random villains pop up to get taken out.

By: John Seavey

John Seavey — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 12:05:37 +0000

It's not a question of coming up with "a" way, it's a question of coming up with one every month for 150 months, even when the heroes you're teaming Spidey up with are guys like Killraven, Deathlok, the Black Panther, Ka-Zar...guys who don't tread in Spidey's usual Big Apple stomping grounds. And he did try to join the FF--just read that yesterday, in fact--but he was only in it for the money, and when they told him it wasn't a paying job, he essentially flipped 'em the bird and stomped off. I'm up to issue 17 now, and he's still getting into fistfights with the Torch every time they meet.

By: Punch

Punch — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 08:00:19 +0000

Is it really that hard to come up with a way for two heroes to meet? I always thought that MTU was a no-brainer, especially back then. Also I'd say that describing Spider-Man as "notoriously anti-social" is inaccurate. Lone wolf maybe, but I'd say he's one the most "sociable" of the Marvel heroes.Didn't he try to join the Fantastic Four? That description sounds closer to Daredevil, or the Punisher even.

By: John

John — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 05:41:41 +0000

Damn shame that John Belushi never got to meet the Marvel Universe's Speedball.

By: stephen cade

stephen cade — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 04:18:01 +0000

I have that Not Ready for Prime Time Players team up--it's one of my favorites.

For hockey fans of that era there's a character named Ken Morrow in it as well, not the hockey player, but the same name.