The Marvel Lucky Bag - July 1968.

I'm all rared up and ready for England's do-or-die game against Colombia in the World Cup but, fifty years ago, I'd have had no World Cup to watch. Whatever would I have done with my time?

I know. I'd have randomly looked at the contents of Marvel's less high-profile titles that bore this month's cover date.

In a stunning development, Captain Savage steals Nick Fury's arch-enemy, as he comes up against Baron Strucker.

I can say little beyond that, as I've never read a single story that contains the good captain. However, I have no doubt he'll triumph over the monocled marauder just as surely as Fury always did.

I'm fairly certain I've read this one. Needless to say, that doesn't mean I can actually recall anything about it.

Apparently, Strange and Nightmare are battling for supremacy within the mind of the Ancient One.

Things aren't looking good for Marvel's greatest space spy.

Didn't he also get captured and strapped to a slab by the Super-Skrull in the Avengers' Kree/Skrull War? It's starting to look like a recurring theme.

I know that's a highly dramatic cover Jim Steranko's given us but all I can ever think when I see it is, "Why's Nick Fury fighting Bender from Futurama?"

It would appear that Nicholas is up against possibly the maddest scientist ever to stalk the pages of a comic book. Happily, Fury defeats him by recruiting the services of a giant robot gorilla from a visiting film production. Is it just me or do all synopses for SHIELD tales from this era
seem to be completely loopy?

Hooray! It's the start of a brand new, giant-size title for everyone's favourite wall-crawler. Given Spider-Man's enduring popularity, I've no doubt at all that it'll be a raging success and...

...oh. Well, never mind.

I do believe this issue contains the Richard Raleigh/Smasher storyline which thrilled us all in the pages of Spider-Man's regular mag, several years later.

I must confess that, although I've read that  reworked version more than once, I've still never read this original take on the tale. I do always wonder in what ways it differs from that version.

It's the meeting that had to happen, as Triton and the Sub-Mariner team up to fight Plantman and the Leviathan. I think my knowledge of Plantman comes entirely from his appearance in a Hostess Twinkies ad.

As for this issue, he launches it by destroying London, with some sort of rampaging seaweed. I'm starting to get the feeling he might not be a nice man.

I've never read this tale but it's drawn by John Buscema and written by Roy Thomas, so it's bound to be great.

I know nothing of Groovy. To be honest, up until now, I didn't even know it had ever existed. I can say, though, that, judging by that cover, it looks to be very much of its time.

Anyway, it clearly wasn't of its time sufficiently enough to hook readers, as this, its third issue, was the last one of its run.