An anthology series with an identity crisis…
Superman Family? Makes sense. Batman Family? Sure. Tarzan Family? OK. Super-Team Family? What?
Super-Team Family was a Bronze Age DC Comics anthology series originally edited by Gerry Conway that featured — you guessed it — team-ups. How “Family” entered into it, I don’t know, but perhaps our old pal Paul Levitz, the book’s assistant editor-cum-editor, will chime in with a comment.
Anyway, I got to thinking about Super-Team Family this week when I realized that material from the first seven issues of the series, which ran from July 1975 to December 1977, was included in DC Finest: Team-Ups — The Impossible Escape, which is dominated by Bob Haney/Jim Aparo stories from The Brave and the Bold.
Evidently, the first seven covers of Super-Team Family are included, as well as two original stories that appeared in the mag — from Issue #2, a Wildcat/Creeper (!) pairing by Denny O’Neil and Ric Estrada that was originally intended for 1st Issue Special; and from Issue #3, a Flash/Hawkman tale by Steve Skeates and Estrada.
Super-Team Family, however, had a super-funky identity crisis. It was originally designed for new stories but quickly changed to an all-reprint book. (The first installment was actually all reprints because of deadline problems.) Its reprints were generally well chosen, but, strangely, they were frequently pulled from series like World’s Finest and B&B, which would have been better homes. Some stories, on the other hand, weren’t really team-ups at all.
Dick Giordano
By Issue #8, DC opted to give the series a regular new, lead feature, probably because Jenette Kahn had arrived as publisher and she was not a fan of reprint books. The Challengers of the Unknown ran for three issues, but after that, the series took a completely different approach: a four-ish run starring the Atom and various co-stars, though the Tiny Titan usually received third billing behind, say the Flash and Supergirl, or Green Lantern and Hawkman. The final issue, meanwhile, was a Flash/New Gods mash-up.
Rich Buckler pencils, Jack Abel inks
Super-Team Family was cancelled not long before the infamous 1978 DC Implosion, with a Supergirl/Doom Patrol story scheduled for the book ending up in Superman Family.
Since then, it’s become something of an oddball footnote in DC history — a hot mess of a title that somehow managed to make it for two-and-a-half years. It’s cool that it’s been recognized in the DC Finest line — but also fitting that there’s no mention of it on the front cover at all.
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Normally, a feature like this would be accompanied by a 13 COVERS gallery. But since there were 15 total, we’re giving them all to you, including the two above.
Because we’re nice like that.
Neal Adams top vignette, Giordano bottom vignette
Frank Brunner
Ernie Chan
Chan
Chan
Jack Sparling pencils, Vince Colletta inks
Buckler and Abel
Buckler and Abel
Alan Weiss pencils, Joe Rubinstein inks
Al Milgrom pencils, Abel inks
Milgrom and Abel
Milgrom and Abel
Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez
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MORE
— BATMAN FAMILY: The Coolest Batbook of the Bronze Age. Click here.
— 13 SUPERMAN FAMILY COVERS to Make You Feel Good. Click here.
