Marvel Comics; 40¢

Back in the days when each character didn’t always have their own title – or six of them – series like Marvel Two-in-One and Marvel Team-Up often brought together top selling icons, but they also occasionally served to introduce lesser known characters to the larger audiences of The Thing and Spider-Man, respectively.

Every once in a while these titles also included characters that fell in the middle of the spectrum, ones that were certainly well known, but perhaps they didn’t presently have their own titles. That’s the case with Marvel Two-in-One #51, in which Ben Grimm is joined by The Beast, Ms. Marvel, Nick Fury, and Wonderman. And though he didn’t get a cover billing, Jarvis, the Avengers’ butler, plays a big role in the story too.

Writer Peter B. Gillis, pencil artist Frank Miller, and inker Bob McLeod deliver a one-and-done single issue story that has stayed alive in memory ever since this May 1979 cover-dated issue was originally released. The premise is straight forward: It’s a poker game at the Avengers’ mansion, but since it’s a bunch of heroes trying to relax, something else is going on as well. At a nearby SHIELD base, an army of attackers liberates the Yellow Claw’s Sky Dragon.

Mayhem ensues.

Action, adventure, humor, great dialogue, an early Frank Miller negative space splash page with lots of insets… this one comes close to the cliché of truly having it all.

Super enjoyable, even after all these years.

– J.C. Vaughn