Fifty years ago this month - August 1968.

August 1968 was a sad month for all those who love to see smoke belching from chimneys and steam flying in all directions, because it was the month in which the last steam-powered passenger train service in Britain came to an end.

And it wasn't the only thing threatening to hit the buffers because that was also the month in which Ringo Starr quit the Beatles, thanks to frustrations with recording Back in the USSR and arguments with Paul McCartney.

Still, it wasn't all bad news because, during his absence, Ringo was inspired to write Octopus's Garden before returning, which is surely his greatest songwriting contribution to the group.

Proving that nothing could derail the Beatles, even when they were taking it in turns to quit the band, in that same month, Hey Jude came out. It became the Beatles' best-selling 45 and, reportedly,  the world's 10th best-selling single of all time.

It's another classic tale from my personal favourite Avengers era, as our heroes take on the New Masters of Evil and their mystery employer the Crimson Cowl, AKA Jarvis the Butler, AKA Ultron.

I have always thought there's something odd about the Panther on that cover. It always looks to me like his head's been redrawn by a totally different artist.

As it's hard to see why anyone would ever feel the need to redraw anything created by Big John Buscema, I wonder if he originally drew T'Challa with his face completely covered and then someone hastily decided to redraw him with his mouth and nose showing. Marvel never seemed to be able to decide how his mask should look, back in those days.

Captain America finds himself up against the world's deadliest geriatrics, as he battles the Exiles on their island of doom.

At some point in our childhood we'd all asked the question, "Who'd win a fight between Daredevil and Captain America?"

Well, admittedly, I'd never asked it. It always seemed obvious to me that Cap might have been a super-soldier but DD could do everything he could and had the advantage of super-senses, meaning he'd, surely, have the edge necessary to triumph.

As it transpires, in this tale, those senses turn out to be more of a liability because, thanks to them, Hornhead gets turned evil by radiation and decides to beat up Cap in a boxing ring, for no noticeable reason.

As was Stan Lee's normal procedure, by the end of the scrap, we still don't know who'd win a fight between two Marvel heroes.

The FF are still trying to get the Silver Surfer to hand himself into Galactus. And that means they have to defy the will of Psycho-Man who, if I remember correctly, decides to stop fighting them when he realises that if he vanquishes them it'll mean Galactus destroys the world.

He might be called Psycho-Man but it's heartening to know he can be reasonable when he needs to.

The Hulk's still having trouble with the Missing Link and his rather unfortunate tendency to explode without warning.

I love the Missing Link. He should definitely have his own comic.

I'm pretty sure I've read this tale but I can recall nothing of what happens in it.

Because one Vulture's never enough, we get two of them, as the mighty Blackie Drago makes his feather flapping debut.

Admittedly, he's a mere imitator and not a patch on the real thing.

Which is ironic because he promptly defeats Spidey, leaving the original Vulture looking like a chump for having always failed to manage that feat.

Hooray! My favourite marauding monster's on the loose, as Mangog decides to give Asgard the good flattening he thinks it deserves.

But where is Odin while all this is going on?

Why, he's fast asleep, of course. And no one dares alert him because he gets angry with you if you wake him.

Personally, bearing in mind there's an unstoppable monster rampaging around and slaughtering everyone in sight, I'd risk it.