comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
s, a team-up is a fictional crossover where two or more superheroes or superhero teams who usually do not appear together work together on a shared goal.
Overview
The first team-up between characters published in different comics from the same publisher was published in 1940 by the
MLJ Comics
Archie Comic Publications, Inc., is an American comic book publisher headquartered in Pelham, New York.Shield, which was continued in ''Top Notch Comics'' #5, by Will Harr and
Edd Ashe
Edd Ashe, born Edmund Marion Ashe Jr., (August 11, 1908 - September 4, 1986) was a creator of comic strips and a comic book artist in the United States. He wrote the strip ''Guy Fortune'' that ran in the ''Pittsburgh Courier'' from August 19, 1950 ...
Timely Comics
Timely Comics is the common name for the group of corporations that was the earliest comic book arm of American publisher Martin Goodman, and the entity that would evolve by the 1960s to become Marvel Comics. "Timely Publications became the name ...
would follow, with a team-up between Sub-Mariner and
Human Torch
The Human Torch (Jonathan "Johnny" Storm) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member of the Fantastic Four. He is writer Stan Lee's and artist Jack Kirby's reinvention of a si ...
.
National Comics Publications
National Comics Publications, Inc. (also known as NCP or simply National) was an American comic book publishing company, and the direct predecessor of modern-day DC Comics.
History
The corporation was originally two companies: National Allied P ...
took the team-up concept one step further and created the
Justice Society of America
The Justice Society of America (JSA, or Justice Society (JS)) is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team was conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox during the Golden Age of Comic Boo ...
, the first superhero group, composed of superheroes who starred their own comic books.
The team-up was an important
worldbuilding
Worldbuilding is the process of constructing a world, originally an imaginary one, sometimes associated with a fictional universe. Developing an imaginary setting with coherent qualities such as a history, geography, and ecology is a key task f ...
narrative device, one that allowed for the creation of a
shared universe
A shared universe or shared world is a fictional universe from a set of creative works where more than one writer (or other artist) independently contributes a work that can stand alone but fits into the joint development of the storyline, chara ...
concept.
Select comics with team-ups
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A+X
An axe ( sometimes ax in American English; American and British English spelling differences#Miscellaneous spelling differences, see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for Millennium, millennia to Wood carving, shape, W ...
The Brave and the Bold
''The Brave and the Bold'' is a comic book series published by DC Comics as an ongoing series from 1955 to 1983. It was followed by two mini-series in 1991 and 1999, and was revived as an ongoing title in 2007. The focus of the series has varied ...
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DC Comics Presents
''DC Comics Presents'' is a comic book series published by DC Comics from 1978 to 1986 which ran for 97 issues and four ''Annual''s. It featured team-ups between Superman and a wide variety of other characters in the DC Universe. A recurring bac ...
Marvel Team-Up
''Marvel Team-Up'' is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics. The series featured two or more Marvel characters in one story. The series was originally published from March 1972 through February 1985, and featured Spider-Man as ...
Superman/Batman
''Superman/Batman'' is a monthly comic book series published by DC Comics that features the publisher's two most popular superheroes: Superman and Batman. ''Superman/Batman'' premiered in August 2003, an update of the previous series, ''World's ...
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World's Finest Comics
''World's Finest Comics'' was an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1941 to 1986. The series was initially titled ''World's Best Comics'' for its first issue; issue #2 (Summer 1941) switched to the more familiar name. Michael ...
Ultimate Spider-Man (TV series)
''Ultimate Spider-Man'' (titled ''Ultimate Spider-Man: Web Warriors'' for the third season and ''Ultimate Spider-Man vs. the Sinister Six'' for its final season) is an American superhero animated television series broadcast on the cable network Di ...