The Marvel Lucky Bag - November 1977.

Grab your Time Hats, pilgrims - because it's time once more for me to take a vaguely random look at what some of the less high-profile Marvel titles were up to forty years ago.

Will I have included this month's issue of Dynomutt in my selection?

Will this month's Yogi Bear mag make the cut?

There's only one way to find out.

Ooh look! Judging by the number of people involved and the identity of the villain and the fact it's an annual, this looks like it's a big important issue.

And I have no doubt it is.

Does this mean it's the one where Thanos gets turned into a statue?

Also, I detect Adam Warlock in the background. Does that means this is the one where he begins his brief flirtation with being dead?

And just what role does Captain Marvel get up to in this tale?

Those questions aside, it has a predominantly purple cover, which isn't something you can say every day in the magical world of comics.

Speaking of Captain Marvel, this is the one where he teams up with Black Bolt who I seem to remember gets beaten up at one point by a gang of ruffians possibly belonging to some Kree villain or other.

But so noble is he that, even then, he refuses to make a sound, for fear of the harm he might do to them.

I have to admit that if I had the power to destroy people just by speaking, you'd never be able to get me to shut up. Frankly, within a week, there'd be no one but me left on the planet.

Somehow, I can't help feeling I'm not cut out to be a super-hero.

Here's a mystery. I took one look at this cover and wondered if Joe Kubert had any involvement in it, which seemed a bit unlikely, seeing as it's a Marvel production.

Anyway, the usually reliable Grand Comics Database furnishes no answers. It merely lists the penciller as, "?"

It also lists the inker as Tom Palmer but the inks don't look very Tom Palmeresque to me.

So, if you know who produced this cover, feel free to say so.

That aside, I was totally unaware that Marvel had done an adaptation of the watery movie that was in no way an attempt to cash in on the success of Jaws.

Come to think of it, I've never seen the movie either.

However, it's hard to believe it could be up to the standards of Jaws 3-D.

If I remember right, the Defenders spend some time in Namor's undersea realm before it's hit by an earthquake.

When they go to investigate, they uncover a plot by an overambitious Russian, which leads to both he and the Red Guardian getting turned into some sort of hyper-beings.

I can't recall what happens after that but I have no doubt that chins get punched and bad guys get thwarted.

I admit it. I'm only featuring this issue because it features Asbestos Lady.

Why do I get the feeling she probably didn't have a long career?

Ever ready to raid the vaults of Horror, Marvel Classics Comics gives us its take on Edgar Allan Poe's The Pit and the Pendulum.

I've seen the Vincent Price version of the tale but can recall little of it. I have no doubt it featured plenty of monologues.

It's the sensation that's sweeping the galaxy, as Marvel gives us its adaptation of George Lucas' filmic phenomenon.

All of which is a bit strange as, even as this hit the shelves, their newly launched monthly Star Wars mag was halfway through serialising the thing. Clearly, Star Wars was so popular that Marvel was happy to have two comics on the bookshelf that were directly competing with each other.

Speaking of which, the cover of Star Wars #5 is clearly happy to take certain liberties with the movie's plot.