The Marvel Lucky Bag - June 1968.

A mere two days ago, I studied, in-depth, what the major Marvel mags cover-dated, "June 1968," had to tell us about the state of the world at that time.

But, of course, there were things missing.

And those were the adventures of Marvel's lower-profile mags.

So it is that, thanks to the Incredible Steve Does Comics Randomiser TM, I'm now taking a look at the more noteworthy efforts from that month's lesser lights. Can they possibly compete with the big-hitters?

As the cover proudly proclaims, at last we get the origin of Doctor Strange!

Hold on a minute. Hadn't we already had that?

More importantly, after all these years, thanks to the Marvel Expansion, the good Doctor finally gets his own mag and Marvel celebrate that fact in fine style by labelling it issue #169, meaning casual readers would never know the significance of the mag they held in their hands. You can't imagine a comics company doing that nowadays.

Our favourite alien invader finds himself up against the Super-Skrull.

I haven't read this tale in almost forty years but I'm going to guess the Super-Skrull attacks the military base where Captain Marvel works, and Marvel has to protect it while making it look to Yon-Rogg that he isn't protecting it, while also trying to protect his secret identity from Carol Danvers, while the onlooking Una gets all jealous of her.

I could be misremembering but I have a feeling that was basically the plot of every early Captain Marvel tale, with only the name of the villain changing.

More epoch-makingly, was this story the first time we were told the Kree and the Skrulls are ancient and deadly enemies?

Doctor Strange isn't the only one getting his own mag, because so is Nick Fury.

Admittedly, he already had his own mag, in the form of Sgt Fury and his Howling Commandos but now he has one in his secret agent guise as well.

In retrospect, it does seem remarkable that Fury managed to beat all the other Marvel heroes to be the first one to land two books.

With a certain inevitability, Subby comes up against Marvel's other water-based hero.

I've no doubt a misunderstanding leads to a punch-up.

You'd have thought a punch-up between Namor and Triton would be a somewhat one-sided affair but, knowing Marvel logic, you somehow know it won't be.

It's a Steve Does Comics first appearance for Millie the Model. I have a feeling that, for a long time in the 1960s, her book was Marvel's best-selling comic.

Admittedly, I may have made that up.

Then again, I may not have.

I'm not sure.

If I didn't make it up, what an outrage it is, therefore, that she wasn't included in Infinity War.

Unless the second movie contains the startling plot twist that Nebula is Millie the Model.

I could kind of see that being true.

Come to think of it, Karen Gillan once played Jean Shrimpton in a movie.

Could this really be no more than coincidence?

The more I think about it, the more certain I am that it couldn't be.

Regardless, I've never read a Millie the Model story. I do note that the cover has an Archie Comics feel to it. I assume that that also is not mere coincidence.