Marvel Team-Up #127
Published and © by Marvel, March 1983
Title: “Small Miracles”
Synopsis: A Christmas-Eve appearance by the Watcher sends Spidey scrambling to save a young woman from the mob.
Writer: J.M. DeMatteis
Penciler: Kerry Gammill
Inker: Mike Esposito
Review: An utterly average late-Bronze-Age comic in almost every way. Writer J.M. DeMatteis’ story falls short of the poignancy it strives for, hampered by pacing issues and too much yuletide schmaltz. Kerry Gammill’s artwork is adequate, both in terms of storytelling and rendering. But the art just doesn’t stand out, in part because of Mike Esposito’s unsympathetic inking. The Ed Hannigan cover is pretty cool, though. Marvel Team-Up #127 is not quite coal in the stocking, but it’s also no Christmas gift.
Grade: C
Second opinion: “Fine work by talented writer J.M. DeMatteis and underrated artist Kerry Gammill.” – Daryl Broussard, Comic Effect #25, Winter 2000
Cool factor: Ed Hannigan’s cover’s from this period are quite underrated.
Notable: Cameo appearance by Captain America.
Collector’s note: According to the Grand Comics Database, the is a 75¢ Canadian variant of this issue. … According to MyComicShop.com, there are also Lakeside Tattooz and Mark Jewelers variants.
Character quotable: “… of all the myriad wonders I have ever witnessed, few mean more to me than that which unfolds – tonight!” – Uatu, the Watcher (AKA the Melodramatic Overstater)
Editor’s note: This review was written July 7, 2020.
