Posted By Dan Greenfield on Apr 5, 2025 | 4 comments

The first installment of SCOTT SHAW! SATURDAYS!

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Welcome 13th Dimension’s latest weekly columnist — Scott Shaw! with SCOTT SHAW! SATURDAYS Presents ODDBALL COMICS, the newest iteration of his popular humor-mixed-with-history feature, which dates back to the ’70s. Scott, as I’m sure you know, created the beloved Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew; has a lengthy history in comics and animation; is the winner of four Emmy Awards and an Eisner; and was among the founders of San Diego Comic-Con. He’ll be here every week! — Dan

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By SCOTT SHAW!

Considering that NBC’s Saturday Night Live recently celebrated its existence for half a century in many ways, I thought this would be an appropriate choice for my first of many Oddball Comics from my personal collection.

I’ve been doing my Oddball Comics Live! Shows since the 1978 San Diego Comic-Con and eventually, at comic conventions across the country, online, in Hollywood’s comedy theaters, in a boxed trading card set, and even as a calendar. I usually ad lib comments about each vintage comic book cover, from the late 1940s into the 1980s, but here at 13th Dimension every Saturday, I plan to add more information than before, at least whenever the funnybook of the week merits it. I hope you dig these as much as I do.

After six years, Marvel Team-Up in 1978 seemed like it had used all of its popular superheroes, and most of its more obscure characters, to team up with Spider-Man multiple times (a few issues were different teams not featuring Spidey). They also needed something that was different from the usual fare, to get readers interested to continue following the title. That’s when writer Chris Claremont came up with an interesting idea: how about the “Not-Ready-For-Prime-Time Players,” aka the cast from NBC’s Saturday Night Live?

Pencils and inks by Dave Cockrum on Spider-Man, John Belushi’s body and sword, Silver Samurai’s hands and sword, and background elements. Pencils and inks by Marie Severin on Belushi’s face, Stan Lee’s face, and faces and bodies of SNL members (L to R) Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner, Bill Murray, Garrett Morris, Jane Curtin and Laraine Newman.

It was SNL’s third season, still new-ish, hip, cool and still somewhat obscure to the general public, much like Marvel at the time. Chris’ clever suggestion had the potential to positively affect both outfits. But could they interest SNL in something like this, especially since it would be written and edited outside the show itself?

Marvel Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter told Chris that the only way they were going to learn was to call SNL… and it was Chris’ job to contact Lorne Michaels’ office to pitch his concept. Whoever picked up the phone’s response was rather bland and uninterested. But within a few minutes, Jim received a call from someone at SNL to confirm if Marvel had a Spider-Man writer named “Chris Claremont.” That non-committal response led to a signed contract within six weeks.

Bob Hall pencils, Marie Severin inks

A few days after Marvel Team-Up #74 appeared in July 1978 on spinner racks across America, none other than John Belushi paid an unannounced visit to Marvel’s offices. The trio immediately hit it off, with Chris and Jim acting like John Belushi fanboys and John behaving like a giddy Marvel fanboy.

(I was similarly delighted to work with everyone from SCTV when I produced Martin Short’s The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley (Hanna-Barbera Productions, 1988-89) and John Candy’s Camp Candy (DIC/Saban, 1989-92), two Saturday morning cartoon series. I didn’t work with Harold Ramis, though. He was concentrating on writing and producing films.)

John asked his new pals if they’d be interested in attending the premiere of National Lampoon’s Animal House at Radio City Music Hall. Of course they did! Unfortunately, the famous hall had sold out, so the seating was completely full. So the SNL folks offered Chris and Jim another option: “Would you guys like to come to the launch party instead?” The boys not only attended the event, they brought all of the pages from Marvel Team-Up #74 and gifted them to various members of the crew. It was a wonderful night for them all. “It was totally cool,” said Chris.

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— Within this issue’s indicia lurks a unique bit of business: “Copyright ©1978 by Marvel Comics Group, a Division of Cadence Industries Corporation. Saturday Night Live, the Not Ready For Prime Time Players and the characters, characterizations and likenesses thereof are used with permission of the National Broadcasting Company, Inc.”

— The agreement stipulated that the issue would never be reprinted. And Marvel and NBC never made a dime — all of the comic’s proceeds were given to charity.

— Immediately after I read Marvel Team-Up #74, when I was managing the American Comic Book Company in Studio City, California, I wondered if Smilin’ Stan Lee, the supreme promoter of Marvel (as well as himself) might have OK’d this as a way to get to know Lorne Michaels and pitch to be the host of an episode of SNL. Of course, my imagination had nothing to do with history. Stan had very little input into this decidedly Oddball issue of Marvel Team-Up other than showing up as himself on the cover and throughout the story.

That’s me in the window.

Decades later, in 2010, someone out there did attempt to make Smilin’ Stan an SNL host, with a Facebook campaign that read: “Stan Lee has been known to make many scene stealing cameos, appearing in both movies & TV shows, yet there is one show & one cameo he has yet to tackle, Saturday Night Live. Imagine Stan ‘The Man’ Lee appearing on SNL, think of the possibilities.”

Despite thousands of likes, comments such as “Stan Lee would be the injection of Super Soldier Serum SNL needs!” and a previous Facebook movement that got Betty White to host the show, the effort was futile.

— When you consider that we’ll never see this classic Oddball Comic ever again, maybe it’s time for those of you who don’t own a copy of Marvel Team-Up #74 to trim your pull lists so you can pick one up. (They run about $30.) Believe me — and the much-missed John Belushi agreed — it doesn’t disappoint, that’s for sure.

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MORE

— Introducing… SCOTT SHAW! SATURDAYS Presents ODDBALL COMICS. Click here.

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For over half a century, SCOTT SHAW! has been a pro cartoonist/writer/designer of comic books, animation, advertising and toys. He is also a historian of all forms of cartooning. Scott has worked on many underground comix and mainstream comic books, including: Fear and Laughter (Kitchen Sink); Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie); Simpsons Comics (Bongo); Weird Tales of the Ramones (Rhino); and his co-creation with Roy Thomas, Captain Carrot and his Amazing Zoo Crew! (DC).

Scott also worked on numerous animated cartoons, including producing/directing John Candy’s Camp Candy (NBC/DIC/Saban); Martin Short’s The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley (NBC/Hanna-Barbera Productions); Garfield and Friends (CBS/Film Roman); and the Emmy-winning Jim Henson’s Muppet Babies (CBS/Marvel Productions), among many others. As senior art director for the Ogilvy & Mather advertising agency, Scott worked on dozens of commercials for Post Pebbles cereals with the Flintstones. He also designed a line of Hanna-Barbera action figures for McFarlane Toys.

Scott was one of the comics fans who organized the first San Diego Comic-Con, where he has become known for performing his hilarious Oddball Comics Live! slide shows.

Need funny cartoons for any and all media? Click here! Scott does commissions!