January 24th, 1979 - Marvel UK, 40 years ago this week.

This is it! We've reached the 40th anniversary of the most important event in human history - and I don't mean Ian Dury getting to Number One with Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick.

No. Four decades ago, we were being hit with a whole other kind of stick; the sort of stick that could bash a man into a madness no straitjacket could contain. That stick was the, "Marvel Revolution," and the wielder of that stick was Dez Skinn.

But what could it mean?

And, like all revolutions, would it devour its young?

Even the one book that, on the face of it, is blissfully unaffected by the Revolution is still a different beast to what it was a mere fortnight ago. That fancy new corner box is still there, as is the concept of using a photo for the main cover image.

We also get four sci-fi strips. Obviously, one of them's Star Wars and another is, presumably, Adam Warlock. What the third is, I know not. On recent form, it's likely to be a one-off tale with a twist ending.

But the big news concerns the comic's other strip. And that's because, after plenty of trumpeting, the adventures of the Micronauts are finally unleashed upon us, and my oft-mentioned confusion as to their merits begins.

If Star Wars has got off lightly, the company's flagship certainly hasn't. It's not merely flagging, it technically no longer exists, as The Mighty World of Marvel is gone, replaced by the brand new Marvel Comic.

Or is it brand new?

Interestingly, the top of the book's intro page declares it to be the very first issue. Then again, the small-print at the bottom of that page declares it to be issue #330, while the front cover ascribes no issue number to it at all.

So that's not confusing.

Regardless, gone are the glossy covers, replaced by the same matte paper stock as the interior pages.

Those interior pages feature tales which star the Hulk, Skull the Slayer, Dracula, Conan, Daredevil and Shang-Chi who's been rebranded as an agent of, "SI-6," in what I believe is an attempt to cash-in on the popularity of The Professionals TV show by making him seem more like a government agent than a martial arts expert.

In fairness, five of those strips are perfectly good strips (Skull being being the odd one out) but their identities are not the problem.

The problem is that it'd be nice to say the comic's managed to fit in six stories thanks to an increased page count or a Titans style formatting masterstroke but, sadly, it's achieved purely by giving each of its stars a feeble three to four pages in which to do their stuff. I remember this making it a choppy, frustrating read and, even more than the switch to matte covers, an instant passion killer.

As for what happens in those strips this week, sadly, this is another - admittedly unforeseeable - consequence of the relaunch. "Marvel Comic," is such a generic title that it doesn't half make it tough for those living in the 21st Century to unearth info about the book via the power of Google.

Consequently, the only tale I've been able to find anything out about is the Hulk's. In this week's mighty instalment, Bruce Banner catches a glimpse of his green alter-ego's TV show and becomes so enraged by it that he instantly turns into the Hulk who decides to go to Hollywood and teach them all a lesson.

I'm getting the feeling there may be a bit of satire here of comic fans angry that the TV version of Hulkie isn't a fair representation of their hero.

As it is with Mighty World of Marvel, so it is with Super Spider-Man which now becomes Spider-Man Comic.

The good news is we have the chance to win pogo sticks.

The bad news is that, "Spider-Man Comic," is just as un-Google-friendly a title as, "Marvel Comic." Dez was clearly determined to make my job a hard one.

What I do know is that, when it comes to the main strip, The DA announces all charges against Spidey have been dropped.

Not that it does anything to dampen the ambitions of the Chameleon who uses his powers to try and discredit our hero, but Flash Thompson talks sense into everyone's heads and the day is saved. I cannot comment on whether any Rick Jones masks are involved.

I do believe, from memory, that the Avengers are still up against The Human Chicken's attempts to control Wonder Man. I don't have a clue what happens in the Thor, Nova or Fantastic Four strips and I have no memory at all of the Sub-Mariner ever even having been in the comic.

Anyway, there you have it. It's a revolution and I have survived it. Technically, that makes me a victor.

Well done to me.