Fifty years ago this month - November 1968.

We all know that life's full of ups and downs - and this month in 1968 was no exception.

For instance, it was a terrible time in which to be a Sea-Monkey salesman, thanks to it being the month in which Britain's Trade Descriptions Act came into force, making it illegal for shops and traders to describe goods in a misleading manner. That was all very well and good but now what were X-ray specs manufacturers supposed to do for a living?

It was also a terrible time for anyone who lived on the dark side of the moon and wanted a bit of privacy because it was the month in which NASA announced it'd soon be launching three astronauts to orbit that self-same satellite, via Apollo 8.

It was, however, a good month for fans of confusingly titled double albums, as the Beatles released their twin LP The Beatles which, for some reason, everyone has known ever since as The White Album. I wonder at what point after its release it became the universal practise to know it simply by its nickname and totally ignore its real title?

It's another classic, from my favourite Avengers era, as the team debate whether to accept the Vision as a new member, and get to explore his origin.

Doesn't this issue also reveal the origin of Ultron, or is that dealt with in a different story?

I do believe this is the yarn in which Dr Faustus makes his psychiatrical debut and proceeds to take all kinds of advantage of Cap's tortured mind.

Needless to say, that means we get plenty of mithering about Bucky.

Daredevil sets out to bring an end to the Jester's plot to frame him for a murder that never occurred.

Doesn't he do it by appearing on a chat show, dressed as the Jester, in order to troll the villain into revealing the truth about his plan?

Forget Galactus. It's time to learn the true meaning of fear, as Tomazooma the living totem goes on the rampage in the reservation and Wyatt Wingfoot makes his return.

I seem to remember Tomazooma being revealed to be some sort of hoax perpetrated by an evil company, in order to get its greedy hands on the reservation's natural resources, or something similar

Hooray! It's the first story I ever read which featured Ka-Zar!

How exciting he seemed to be, with his sabre-toothed tiger and his hidden kingdom filled with strange beasties and even stranger people.

It was only later that I discovered just what a disparity there was between him and the Hulk when it came to sheer power and that a fight between them was never going to amount to much.

Still, it did set up the thrillingest Hulk yarn I'd read up to that point in my life.

Fed up of being regularly knocked out by Marvel's weakest hero, the Gladiator decides to take on Iron Man instead.

I can't help feeling that might not be the sort of logic that leads to success.

But does this mean we can look forward to a tussle between Iron Man and Stilt-Man at some point?

And why is, "Stilt-Man," hyphenated and, "Iron Man," isn't?

And why is, "Superman," one word and, "Spider-Man," isn't?

Speaking of which, it's another of my faves, as Mysterio returns and has concocted yet another plan designed to drive our beloved wall-crawler mad.

I do believe this is the issue which reacquaints us with the tale of how Don Blake discovered the cane that gave him his Thor powers, and makes a start on explaining the mystery of how Thor can simultaneously be a genuine Norse god and an American doctor.

Speaking of mysteries, I don't have a clue who drew that big Thor face on the cover but I'm fairly certain it wasn't Jack Kirby.

As Sort of the Atom pointed out in last month's comments section, this issue sees the debut of the brand new logo designed by Jim Steranko; not to mention a classic cover.

As well as Lorna Dane and Magnetobot action, this issue gives us the origin of the Beast.