Image Comics; $3.99 

While the title of this issue is a bit misleading – it is distinctly not a true facsimile edition – it’s nonetheless fantastic to see this wonderful story back in print. The volume of Marvel Team-Up began in 2005 had a number of really inviting issues, Marvel Team-Up #14 was and remains the cream of the crop for that 25-issue run. 

While the original run of Marvel Team-Up had a crossover with The Not Ready For Primetime Players of Saturday Night Live (Marvel Team-Up #74), this issue was the only one from this run to have Spider-Man team with a non-Marvel character.  

Back in the day, Invincible creator Robert Kirkman had been writing this iteration of Marvel Team-Up, so while it was a pleasant surprise to find his character crossing over with Spidey, it wasn’t the shock it would have been otherwise. Kirkman definitely had a command of vintage Spider-Man’s banter and the things that really mattered to him. 

That made this series a perfect venue to introduce Marvel readers to his creator-owned superhero years and years before they’d see him on Amazon Prime. Invincible, the son of an alien superhero who betrayed his wife, son, and the whole world, had enough weight on his shoulders that it reminded Peter Parker of his early days, only worse. 

The team-up starts with Spidey battling Doctor Octopus when Invincible arrives from another dimension via a green energy portal. In the confusion, Doc Ock gets away. Spidey introduces Invincible to The Avengers before they head off to track the multi-armed villain down once again. 

As to calling it a facsimile edition, that claim is a bit bogus. The credits are on the inside front cover (standard Image style), the colors and some dialogue have been changed (George Lucas style), the ads are different, and the back cover is different. It is, however, a beautiful 20th anniversary edition, and semantics shouldn’t detract from that. 

The story is lively and fun, and it’s beautifully illustrated by Cory Walker and colored by Dave McCaig. If you like either of the main characters, this issue is can’t miss fun. 

Of course, it’s a bit humorous (though understandable) that a facsimile edition of Marvel Team-Up #14 is published by Image, but we live in interesting times, so that’s that. Maybe that will be a trivia answer someday. 

– J.C. Vaughn