Forty years ago today - November 1978.

There's nothing quite like sitting there, as a giant pair of curtains parts to reveal the latest Hollywood epic that's going to change your life.

In fairness, if they'd parted in November 1978, you probably wouldn't have had your life changed, but there were some movies of interest came out that month.

For instance, it saw the release of Magic, Watership Down and the animated version of The Lord of the Rings.

It also saw the release of Caravans, Paradise Alley and Same Time, Next Year.

Clearly, it was all good news for Mike Batt's bank manager because Batt wrote the theme songs to both Caravan and Watership Down, meaning he wasn't going to have worry about affording Christmas presents that year.

Neither was John Hurt who was in both Watership Down and The Lord of the Rings.

On the other hand, the Avengers might not even live to see Christmas. Things aren't looking good for them as they find themselves up against Michael Korvac.

From what I can make out, this issue seems to guest star just about every character who'd ever previously appeared in a Marvel Comic. Clearly, the tale's author Jim Shooter was determined to give us our money's worth.

Hooray! It's the return of the helmet Conan wore in Zukala's Daughter, all those years earlier.

I know it seems unlikely that a man could become emotionally attached to a barbarian's hat but it featured in the first Conan tale I ever read, so it left a major impression on me.

As for this tale, it seems to involve Conan running into a cave and accidentally bringing a skeleton to life. Frankly, how anyone survived the Hyborian Age is a mystery to me, the sheer ubiquity of occult menaces that were lurking behind every door.

Despite the cover's boast that it's an, "All-new tale," I do believe it's actually adapted from a story by L. Sprague De Camp and Lin Carter and that I read their original version sometime in 1991.

But that was a long time ago and I can, therefore, recall little of it, other than its title.

Hooray! The Black Widow is back in a Daredevil tale, in which Hornhead shows his smarts by attacking the Avengers mansion.

Admittedly, it could be explained by the fact he's been suffering from a headaches lately.

Death-Stalker's also in this tale. Whether he's to blame for our hero's headaches, I cannot say.

Marvel's first super-team reach their 200th issue and, of course, do it by fighting Dr Doom.

I do believe this is the one in which Doom loses control of Latveria and democracy breaks out.

Call me sceptic but I suspect it won't last.

I don't have a clue what happens in this tale but I'm assuming, from the cover, that Doc Samson hasn't realised yet that Moonstone's a bad guy.

It's the story that had to happen!

Spidey goes Disco!

Just when I thought Marvel couldn't come up with a naffer attempt to jump on a craze than the Rocket Racer, the book tops even that by giving us the Hypno-Hustler.

You only have to take a single look at him on that cover to know he's going to be one of the most disastrously misconceived creations in the history of humanity.

Amazingly, for a story set in a disco, this tale would appear to feature no sign of the Dazzler.

Then again, perhaps she hadn't been invented yet.

Sauron's causing trouble in the Savage Land.

Or is he?

I seem to remember that, in his human form, he's one of the good guys in this tale and that the real bad guys are Zaladane and Garokk who're up to some misdeeds or other in a big citadel built over lava, and that it threatens the survival of the entire Savage Land.

Or possibly the entire world.

Or something.

I've no idea what happens in this tale, other than that it involves the Red Skull and an inevitable Bucky Barnes flashback.

To be honest, I think I could live without another Bucky flashback. I mean, just imagine if every Spider-Man story featured a Gwen Stacy flashback. It'd start to send you mad.

This is more like it. Just as Thor and Sif are gearing up for a holiday together, Hela decides to invade Asgard.

I admit it, I'm on her side.

I don't know anything about this tale but the Ani-Men and Spymaster are in it.

There's also a Thor advert for Hostess Fruit Pies.

This is a shock for me.

For some reason, I'd always assumed this cover was created specially for Marvel UK's relaunched Spider-Man Comic in 1979. It just has that sort of look about it.

Therefore, it's a bit of a revelation to discover it was taken from an issue of The Amazing Spider-Man.

And what a landmark issue it is because, in it, everyone's favourite wall-crawler's informed that all charges against him have finally been dropped.

Not that the Chameleon's willing to see it stay that way. He pretends to be Spidey at a press conference, to make him look bad, and it takes Flash Thompson to get everyone to see sense.

Apart from J Jonah Jameson who doesn't see sense and still has it in for Spidey.