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Cover: Ed Hannigan & Al Milgrom

Marvel Team-Up #121

Name: Marvel Team-Up #121
Brand: Marvel
Availability: InStock

Sep 1982 · Marvel · 0.60 USD; 0.25 GBP

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“Look Before You Leap!”

★ 1st appearance — Frog-Man

About this Issue

Marvel Team-Up #121 marks the first appearance of Eugene Patilio, the Fabulous Frog-Man — one of Marvel's most enduring comedic heroes and a rare example of a villain's child reclaiming a disgraced legacy for good. Writer J.M. DeMatteis used the issue to subvert the typical Bronze Age formula: rather than a polished guest-hero, the issue's co-protagonist is a bumbling teenager who defeats Speed Demon entirely by accident, bringing genuine slapstick warmth to a genre that rarely indulged it. The concept proved durable enough to earn the character appearances alongside Captain America, a stint in the Avengers' Fifty-State Initiative, and eventually a live-action MCU role in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022). The issue also exemplifies DeMatteis's deliberate editorial mission during his Marvel Team-Up run: consistently spotlighting obscure or forgotten corners of the Marvel Universe rather than defaulting to marquee guest stars.

writer J. M. DeMatteis · artist Kerry Gammill · inker Mike Esposito · colorist Bob Sharen · letterer Joe Rosen · cover Ed Hannigan, Al Milgrom

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (Fine) $0

CGC 9.8 · 62 in census $144

CGC 9.6 · 32 in census $59*

CGC 9.4 · 27 in census $37*

CGC 9.2 · 17 in census $26*

CGC 9.0 · 13 in census $21*

CGC 8.5 · 10 in census $20*

Show all 16 grades ▾

CGC 8.0 · 6 in census $20*

CGC 7.5 · 6 in census $20*

CGC 7.0 · 3 in census $20*

CGC 6.5 · 3 in census $20*

CGC 6.0 · 2 in census $20*

CGC 5.5 · 2 in census $20*

CGC 5.0 none in existence

CGC 4.5 none in existence

CGC 4.0 · 1 in census $20*

CGC 3.5 · 1 in census $20*

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

This exact issue on ebay

CGC 9.8 $195 1 listing CGC 9.6 $66 1 listing

CGC 9.4 ▾ $35.4–$44 2 listings

CGC 9.4 $35.4 CGC 9.4 $44

CGC 9 $35.4 1 listing

CGC 8 ▾ $25–$75 2 listings

CGC 8 $25 CGC 8 · Newsstand $75

Raw — MINT $15.99 1 listing

Raw — NM ▾ $14.99–$31.97 3 listings

NM $14.99 NM $15.99 NM $31.97

Raw — NM- $25 1 listing Raw — VF/NM $14.96 1 listing

Raw — VF+ ▾ $9.75–$14.96 2 listings

VF+ · Newsstand $9.75 VF+ $14.96

Raw — VF ▾ $8–$24 6 listings

VF · Newsstand $8 VF $9 VF $10.99 VF $13.2 VF · Newsstand $15 VF $24

Raw — FN/VF $9.99 1 listing Raw — FN+ $44.99 1 listing

Raw — FN ▾ $11–$13.5 2 listings

FN $11 FN $13.5

Raw — FINE $5.99 1 listing

Raw — VG ▾ $9.98–$15.99 2 listings

VG · Newsstand $9.98 VG $15.99

Raw — GD $3.99 1 listing

Raw / ungraded ▾ $3.88–$79.99 32 listings

Verified matches for Marvel Team-Up #121 · eBay asking prices, seen 24 days ago

More listings for this title

VG $8.7 Newsstand $27.99 FN $44.96 MINT · Newsstand $49.99 NM $69.99 CGC 9.6 · Newsstand $73 CGC 9.6 · Signed $351.86 MARVEL TEAM-UP "SPIDER-MAN AND THE HUMAN TORCH #121 - Nov 1984 Marvel $12.95

Related listings we couldn't confirm as this exact issue · 9 total · seen 24 days ago

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History

J.M. DeMatteis was in the midst of a lengthy run as Marvel Team-Up's regular writer when he and penciler Kerry Gammill conceived Frog-Man together, with Gammill designing Eugene Patilio's civilian look. DeMatteis later cited the character as one of his all-time favorites, and the creative pair reunited to tell a follow-up Frog-Man story in Marvel Fanfare #31–32 (1987). The issue was edited under editor Tom DeFalco, who had taken deliberate steps to give Marvel Team-Up a more cohesive creative identity and stronger ties to Marvel's other Spider-Man titles during this period. The series at this point was running under Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter's oversight, with the broader Marvel line in its mid-Bronze Age commercial peak.

Trivia · 8 facts

First appearance of Eugene Patilio, the Fabulous Frog-Man (Earth-616), in his debut as a would-be crime-fighter wearing his father's old Leap-Frog suit.
Written by J.M. DeMatteis; penciled by Kerry Gammill; inked by Mike Esposito; cover by Ed Hannigan and Al Milgrom.
Published June 1982 (cover-dated September 1982) by Marvel Comics; part of the long-running Marvel Team-Up series (1972–1985) that starred Spider-Man in all but ten of its 150 issues.
Story title: 'Look Before You Leap!' — Spider-Man teams with the Human Torch (Johnny Storm) to pursue Speed Demon; Frog-Man inadvertently defeats the villain when his malfunctioning suit sends him bouncing uncontrollably into Speed Demon.
Frog-Man's costume is repurposed directly from the Leap-Frog suit created by his father Vincent Patilio, himself a minor Spider-Man/Daredevil villain first introduced in Daredevil #25 (1965) by Stan Lee and Gene Colan.
Issue exists in two print variants: a Direct Edition and a Newsstand Edition (as well as a Mark Jeweler advertisement insert variant of the Newsstand edition).
The issue was reprinted internationally, including in Icelandic (Kóngulóarmaðurinn #1/1985), Swedish (Spindelmannen superseriealbum #10), German (Die Spinne Comic-Album #17, Condor), and Greek (Σπάιντερ Μαν #350, Kabanas Hellas) editions.
Frog-Man's live-action debut came in the Disney+ series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022), with Brandon Stanley playing Eugene Patilio as a bumbling vigilante — a direct nod to the character's comedic comic-book origins.