Fifty years ago this month - June 1967.

June 1967 was an exciting month for all people who can't wait to get their hands on their money.

Why?

Because it was the month that saw the installation of the world's first automatic cash machine. It was installed in the office of Barclays Bank in Enfield and, famously, the first customer of that cash machine was Reg Varney, the vaguely sinister star of nightmarish sitcom On The Buses.

It still seems weird that the world's first cash machine transaction was done by Reg Varney.

It seems even weirder that Paul McCartney didn't write a song about it for the next Beatles album. I mean, he did once write a song about parking meters. You'd have thought a song about a cash machine would be right up his musical alley.

Speaking of which, Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was Number One on the UK album chart in that very month and it's Number One on the self-same chart even as I type. It seems that some things never change.

Is this the first Avengers story John Buscema ever drew? I remember it taking a few issues for him to fully hit his peak but his potential on the strip was apparent right from the start.

It's also good to see a rare outing for Diablo outside the pages of the Fantastic Four, although he's not dressed like him here and he gets to use a whole host of sci-fi gadgets that seem strangely at odds with his status as an alchemist.

I suppose he's an alchemist in the same way that Hank Pym's a bio-chemist. That is, about as much of one as the writer wants him to be.

I have a feeling DD may have fallen into the hands of the Maggia but am struggling to recall much beyond that.

In this tale, doesn't he approach a house, pretending to be Matt Murdock disguised as Daredevil?

This leads me to suspect that Karen Page or Foggy Nelson or both may be being held hostage in the house. I have no doubt misunderstandings between the three of them quickly ensue.

No doubt, Karen Page goes from thinking Murdock's a heartless coward to thinking he's a hero and the most wonderful man ever. No doubt, Foggy gets jealous and hates himself for resenting his best friend. Oh yes, I've read my copy of The Stan Lee Book Of Character Development.

I did always wonder where Matt Murdock used to get those dark glasses from that could be hidden perfectly under a tightly-fitting mask.

Hooray! Blastaar and the Sandman are causing chaos in the streets of New York.

I've always loved this tale, as I'm a bit of a fan of both those villains.

It's that tale where Spider-Man intervenes when Kraven and the New Vulture decide to fight each other in a confined space. No, I don't know why Spidey intervenes either. I can only conclude that he's not too bright.

Is this the debut of Baron Strucker's Electro-Claw or whatever it was called?

The Red Skull traps Manhattan in a big plastic floating bubble and only Captain America can stop him.

Frankly, I can't remember how Captain America stops him but I'm pretty sure a robot Bucky and the usual sidekick-related soul-searching are involved.

I don't have a clue what happens in this one.

It's the tale that introduces us to Granny Gardenia and proves that even no-good gangsters can have a noble streak when it comes to protecting the Earth from alien invaders.

Was Replicus ever seen again? I liked him. He was my kind of robot.

The Juggernaut's back.

Judging by that blurb, I assume he's either just returned from that dimension where he once had a fight with Dr Strange, or he's about to find himself flung into it.

That's a strange cover. I can see the work of at least three different artists on it; Gil Kane, Werner Roth and John Romita. I wonder just how such a circumstance came about?

Addendum.
Thanks to Joe S Walker for telling me, in the comments section below, just why the above X-Men cover was the product of numerous artists. Here's the Gil Kane original that was rejected.