Paul Mellia | Marvel Compilation
Paul Mellia
29 1/8 x 22 7/8 in
This is Mellia's ensemble piece,
"Marvel Compilation", a team-up cover showing five of Marvel's most
iconic characters together: a massive Hulk face looming in the background,
Captain America foreground left with his shield, Spider-Man centre right in his
classic red-and-blue suit, the Thing above, and the Silver Surfer gliding in on
his board at the lower right. The "Mellia's Gang" masthead and
"Marvel Comic Group" top banner dress the whole thing up as a vintage
comic cover, right down to the 35¢ corner price box and the classic red border.
The cover format is an homage, not a real issue. The
masthead, price box, character thumbnails and corner logo mimic the visual
language of a 1970s Marvel cover, most evocatively the team-up titles like
Marvel Team-Up, which ran from March 1972 to February 1985 pairing Spider-Man
with different Marvel heroes each issue . There is no actual "Mellia's
Gang #65" comic; the price, issue number and title are invented set
dressing that places the piece lovingly inside that era's look.
The character line-up is a greatest-hits of early Marvel.
The Hulk debuted in The Incredible Hulk #1 in May 1962 . The Silver Surfer
first appeared in The Fantastic Four #48 in March 1966, created by Stan Lee and
Jack Kirby . Captain America predates them all at Timely Comics in 1941, though
this rendition follows his 1960s Marvel revival look. Pairing them on one cover
has a genuine comic precedent, as Marvel Team-Up itself put Spider-Man
alongside the Hulk, the Thing, Captain America and more over its 150-issue run
.