June 6th, 1979 - Marvel UK, 40 years ago this week.

Nothing whatsoever noteworthy was happening in the whole world in this week of exactly forty years ago, which, bearing in mind there were 4.36 billion people on Earth, was a remarkable achievement. I can only assume everyone was far too busy, reading their Marvel comics, to create history.

In which case, I shall follow their lead and also completely fail to create history.

It would appear that Darth Vader and Valance are in search of Tyler Lucian. Why they want him, I cannot claim to know.

Then again, apart from Darth Vader, I don't have a clue who any of those people are.

Elsewhere, mostly in the Everglades, the Micronauts find themselves having to battle the swamp-spawned horror of the Man-Thing.

The Strange Death of Adam Warlock is still going on. He's not half dragging it out. I'm sure I could have managed to top myself in half the time he's taken over it.

Meanwhile, Nick Fury and his Howling Commandos are still fighting World War Two in outer space, courtesy of the Watcher and What If?

Hooray! We get an interview with the living legend that is Tom Baker!

We also get a look at the non-stop action-packed thrill-fest that wasn't the first Star Trek movie. I'm not saying it's slow-moving but, forty years after the film first came out, the Enterprise still hasn't managed to get out of that space dry-dock.

The thing that most intrigues me, though, is that we get a look at a remake of The Shape of Things to Come.

The original was, of course, a startlingly lavish glimpse of mankind's future, one which got worryingly close to arguing the ideal society is one which doesn't waste its time worrying too much about human beings.

As for the remake, did it ever materialise? I've certainly never seen it, nor heard anything about it.

I have no recollection of either what the Hulk or Dr Strange are getting up to in this month's issue but I'm assuming, from the tale's title, that we're given the New X-Men's clash with Count Nefaria and his Ani-Men - the one that sees the villain take over NORAD, and causes the death of Thunderbird.

Speaking of deaths, the Hulk's out to avenge the murder of Bigfoot by hunters.

Meanwhile, Ant-Man's abducted by window cleaners.

Seriously.

He really is.

The Eternals are still trying to stop the Deviants smashing up New York, as Sersi sets about rescuing Ikaris from his prison at the bottom of the ocean.

Not content with having a story in Star Wars Weekly, the Watcher also has one in this comic, in which he asks, "What if the Hulk had always had Bruce Banner's brain?"

Night-Raven's out to stop some crooks in a stolen car.

Nick Fury and SHIELD are messing about in the desert.

Captain Britain and the Black Knight are messing about in Britain, with elves.

Godzilla's still on the rampage.

But, then, when isn't he?

Hooray! We've reached the only issue of the UK Savage Sword of Conan monthly I ever owned! How well I remember The Logical Song playing on the radio, as I was reading it.

From what I can recall, there's some sort of tale of royal intrigue drawn by Pablo Marcos, and a Dick Giordano drawn tale in which Red Sonja fights a satyr type creature in either an abandoned temple or tomb.

As for Solomon Kane, I don't remember his tale at all. From the title, I'm assuming skeletons are involved.

Spidey's been blinded by the Masked Marauder and is saved from plunging to his doom, by the last moment intervention of Daredevil.

But can they stop the curtain-faced crim who caused the crisis?

And can Spidey get his sight back?

And isn't that the robot bird that belonged to Lord Hawk in the old Captain Britain stories?