MARVEL TEAM-UP #76

Cover shows strong gloss and sharp corners with no visible creases or color breaks; spine appears tight with no stress lines visible in this image. Minor handling wear may be present but not clearly visible under the protective sleeve. The book is bagged, which obscures fine surface detail and any minor scuffing. Interior and back cover were not assessed.

Marvel Team-Up #76 (December 1978) pairs Spider-Man with Doctor Strange in a story written by Chris Claremont, with art by Howard Chaykin and Jeff Aclin, and a cover by John Byrne. The issue brings in Strange's supporting cast, including Clea and Wong, along with the sorcerous villain Silver Dagger and the voodoo-inflected menace of Marie Laveau and Basilisk. It arrives during a stretch of Marvel Team-Up when the rotating co-star format let Claremont pair Spider-Man with the mystical corner of the Marvel Universe, a pairing he would return to more prominently in his later Doctor Strange work. Carol Danvers, then operating as Ms. Marvel, also has a supporting appearance, though this is not a first or significant appearance for her.

This is a mid-run issue of a long, high-volume anthology-style title, and it has never carried a published fair-market value in standard guides, which reflects a book that was printed and distributed in large numbers and has traded near cover price for most of its collecting life. The Claremont/Chaykin/Byrne creative lineup gives it some incidental interest to fans of those creators' Bronze Age work, but none of the content here constitutes a first appearance, death, or other event that price guides typically flag as a key. Demand is driven almost entirely by Spider-Man and Doctor Strange completists rather than speculative key-issue buyers.

As bulk stock, this issue is best understood as a reader's or completist's copy: low-grade raw copies move for a couple of dollars, mid-grade raw copies for a modest premium reflecting cover appeal and the Byrne artwork, and only certified high-grade slabs command a meaningfully higher price, largely due to the scarcity of pristine surviving copies rather than any inherent story significance. Buyers are typically series runs collectors, Doctor Strange or Spider-Man team-up completists, and Byrne cover collectors rather than investors seeking appreciation.