October 3rd, 1979 - Marvel UK, 40 years ago this week.

We're just a week away from one of the most important events in the history of Marvel UK. Nay, one of the most important events in the entire history of humanity.

What can it be?

And is it dangerous?

All I can say is I'll leave it as a cliffhanger and leave you to tune in at the same time next week.

In the meantime, what was happening in the seven days preceding that epic event?

That pilot definitely needs some aiming practise. I mean, Luke Skywalker can hit womp rats while he's flying his plane, and they're not much bigger than something or other.

Elsewhere, thanks to the pencil of Genial Gene Colan, Star-Lord finds himself in some kind of ark in space.

In the Guardians of the Galaxy, Nikki and Vance both find their spirits ascending at the same time. Surely it can only be a matter of moments before they collide and a nightmarish bout of space nookie breaks out.

Meanwhile, on the back cover, the Green Cross Code Man's telling us to always look before rushing out into the road to retrieve our footballs.

It's wise advice indeed - and advice I still adhere to, to this very day because the Green Cross Code Man won't be there when I cross the road.

Why not?

He was there for all those other kids.

Hooray! We get the origin of Captain Britain, retold.

And it all happens because I demanded it!

Admittedly, I don't recall demanding it but Dez insists I did, so I must have.

Elsewhere, Ant-Man teams up with Spider-Man to fight some evil or other.

The Eternals finally abandon their totally pointless Uni-Mind.

Nick Fury's up against the Hate-Monger. I don't know if it's the one in which the Nazi ne'er-do-well accidentally steps out of an airlock. I sincerely hope it is.

And, of course, the Hulk's still out to polish off the Corporation.

Spider-Man tangles with Electro in a tale drawn by the unusual combo of Jim Starlin and Bob McLeod.

The rest of this issue's contents are a mystery.

To be honest, even that Spidey story's a mystery. I have no recollection of ever having read it, even though I'm sure I must have done.

You can't help feeling the Grim Reaper should try getting a hobby. Has there ever been a more monomaniacal villain than him?

Even though I know for sure I read this issue, I can't recall either the X-Men or the Ms. Marvel tale.

In fact, I don't remember Ms. Marvel ever even having been in the comic.

I may have thought the combination of Jim Starlin and Bob McLeod was unusual but, in this mag, we get the even more unusual combination of Carmine Infantino and Alfredo Alcala, as Conan finds himself trapped in the lair of the Ice Worm.

From what little I've seen of that artwork, Alfredo manages to make Carmine's work look exactly like Alfredo. You do wonder why Marvel used to bother with a penciller and didn't just let Alcala do it all on his own.

For a moment, I thought that blurb said, "Red Sonja vs the Death Dalek." Red Sonja vs a dalek, who wouldn't pay to watch a scrap like that?

Then again, who wouldn't pay to watch Solomon Kane take on Dracula?

I would. And that's what he does.

The Hulk story's a total blank to me.

The X-Men story isn't, as the Sentinels make their awesome return and abduct Wolverine, Banshee and Jean Grey. I think this is the story in which we first learn that Wolvie's claws are a part of him.

I've no idea what the Doctor Strange story's about.

It's hard to believe but there was a time when Alien was a brand new movie.

And that time is now, as the nation's Number One sci-fi mag looks at the arrival of that film.

Not only that but we get a look at the people behind the awesome special effects of Doctor Who!

Anyone who ever saw their depiction of the Loch Ness Monster running rampant through the streets of London knows that nothing was beyond their ability to pull-off convincingly.