Marvel Team-Up #40 Value Guide

Marvel Team-Up #40 is a significant 1975 Bronze Age release that successfully integrated the mid-70s martial arts craze into the mainstream Marvel Universe. It is highly collectible for featuring the first full-color appearance of the Sons of the Tiger, who transitioned here from the black-and-white 'Deadly Hands of Kung Fu' magazine.

What Is Marvel Team-Up #40 Worth?

The typical price range for Marvel Team-Up #40 is $15 - $25 based on recent sales. However, values can vary depending on the item's condition, rarity, and other factors such as:

• The physical condition of the paper and staples, as 1970s newsprint is prone to yellowing and oxidation.
• The presence of any spine stress marks or color breaks which significantly lower the market value from the $25 ceiling.
• The centering of the cover wrap, as 'off-cut' copies are common for this era and less desirable to collectors.
• Professional grading by services like CGC or CBCS, which can help realize the higher end of the $15-$25 value range.

How to Identify Marvel Team-Up #40?

• Verify the 25-cent cover price and the December 1975 publication date on the indicia.
• Check for the 'Marvel Comics Group' banner and the iconic corner box featuring Spider-Man and the Human Torch.
• Ensure the interior pages are in color, distinguishing it from the characters' previous black-and-white magazine appearances.
• Look for the Bill Mantlo writing credit and Sal Buscema cover art to confirm authenticity.

History of Marvel Team-Up #40

Marvel Team-Up was a popular series that ran from 1972 to 1985, capitalizing on the success of Spider-Man by pairing him with various Marvel heroes. This specific issue is notable for bringing the Sons of the Tiger, characters originally serialized in the black-and-white magazine *Deadly Hands of Kung Fu*, into a full-color comic book for the first time. The issue reflects the widespread popularity of martial arts media in the mid-1970s, integrating the genre into the mainstream superhero universe.