September 13th, 1978 - Marvel UK, 40 years ago this week.

It's time to put on your dancing boots and hop around like Bobby Farrell on speed because, in this week of 1978, Boney M were at Number One on the UK album chart, with Nightflight to Venus, living proof that, sometimes, quality really will rise to the top.

But what of our favourite weekly mags? Had their quality risen to the top?

There's only one way to find out.

And this probably isn't it.

I've no idea what happens in this issue but I do know that's a very nice cover from John Buscema and Klaus Janson, although it has to be said it doesn't look very Buscemaesque to me.

I may not know what happens in the comic but I do know that, hot on the heels of the recent back-cover news of Fatty Foulke, this week's back cover tells us about the oldest ever footballer to be capped for his country. According to it, that was Billie Meredith, in 1920, for Wales, at the age of 45. Whether he's still the oldest player ever to have been capped, I couldn't say.

I would love to know just how Thunderbolt Ross's, "Death Helmet," works. I'm assuming it involves gas.

I'm also assuming it's not meant to actually kill, as Ross was generally not a homicidal maniac and usually seemed content to merely knock the Hulk out and then put him in a cell that he'd declare to be inescapable - five panels before the Hulk smashed his way out of it.

Elsewhere, Daredevil and the Black Widow are up against Ramrod and Terrex, in a story drawn by Don Heck.

In his own strip, Tony Stark's being questioned by the Senate about problems with his latest weapons. No sooner has he started his stirring defence than the Capitol building starts to fall down around their ears.

It would appear to all be connected to someone called Demitrius.

I have no idea who Demitrius is. I've just done a Google image search for him and he would appear to be a strange-looking gentleman with horns and polka dots.

I think that, at some point in our lives, we've all uttered the words, "Those battling goblins! I can't tell which one is my friend!" and now it's Spider-Man's turn, as Harry and Bart go head-to-head with each other. I think this may be the last part of the epic tale that's literally gone on for months.

In the back-ups, a John Romita drawn tale sees Spider-Man, the Falcon and Captain America in the process of teaming-up with each other - but not without the obligatory misunderstanding that causes them to get into a short-lived scrap.