Fifty years ago today - September 1962.

Hooray! It's September, the only month ever to have been named after the septic tank.

But just what were our favourite Marvel heroes up to in this month of 1962?

Were they victims of dirty deeds - or were they busy, instead, cleaning up society's mess?

It's a sign of Marvel's expansion that we can now have super-villain team-ups and four super-hero titles a month.

I confidently predict that, if Marvel plays its cards right, it could yet become a major force in comic book publishing.

Meanwhile, the Fantastic Four's two greatest foes unite to thwart, bemuse and banjax our heroes.

With such dastardliness, it can surely be only a matter of time before the Mole Man and Miracle Man too unite to defeat our heroes.

The Hulk gains the power to leap, and loses the power to think, as Lee and Kirby battle to create a successful strip from a comic about a man who wants to kill us all.

What a pair of defeatist sad sacks Thor and Don Blake reveal themselves to be as the thunder god's crime-fighting career looks to be over virtually before it's begun.

Still, at least it's a victory for communism and I think we could all do with a little communism right now.

Forget Thor; you'll never see such defeatism from Ant Man. He knows exactly what to do when confronted with a petty crook - hide behind a bunch of ants.