The Marvel Lucky Bag - January 1970.

A wise man once asked, "War! What is it good for?"

He then claimed it was good for absolutely nothing.

He was, of course, wrong because it's useful for giving people things to write songs about.

And proof of that was handed out in January 1970 when Two Little Boys by Rolf Harris reigned supreme atop the UK singles chart for the first half of that month. However, it then had to make way for Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes) by Edison Lighthouse, for the second half of the month, meaning it was a spell in which love and war held equal sway over the singles chart.

But neither love nor war could compete with the power of the Beatles when it came to the British LP chart, and the Fab Four spent the whole of January at Number One with their last recorded album Abbey Road.

So, that was the fate of the popular.

But what of things that were not so popular? What of Marvel's less successful titles which bore that month's cover date?

Well, clearly, some of them were less successful than might be thought because, suddenly, both Captain Marvel and Nick Fury had lost their books. Would they ever recover from this ignominy?

Yes they would but not for a while.

Not content with thrilling us with the adventures of Kid Colt and the Two-Gun Kid, Marvel now treats us to the escapades of the Ringo Kid, a character I know nothing about.

In fact, so ignorant am I that, up until now, I think I'd always assumed he was an actual real historical figure and not a Marvel comics character.

Happily, I am fully aware that Kid Colt and the Two-Gun Kid were not real.

I do suspect that's a Joe Maneely cover, leading me to deduct that this is a reprint mag.

The Surfer takes on the Abomination in the streets of London, thanks to a bunch of occultists.

But, of course, the scaly fiend proves no match for the pewter powerhouse.

Now unable to breathe underwater, the Sub-Mariner's trapped on land and hounded from pillar to post, causing Dorma to threaten war if he's not handed over to the Atlanteans immediately.

With total predictability, things get out of hand very quickly and, the next thing you know, New York's being attacked by giant sea creatures, with the Atlanteans and humans all battling to stop them.

It's the launch of one of my favourite Marvel monster comics of the 1970s, as Where Monsters Dwell gives us three tales of terror.

First, we get a young couple who revive a Cyclops and then have to figure out what to do with it.

Next, an explorer revives an alien called Gorgolla who shows his gratitude by proceeding to summon his people to invade Earth...

...only to discover they've all turned into pacifists while he's been away!

Finally, we get Gor-Kill, a gaseous alien who's using a new home in a dam to harass the locals.

Needless to say, a good dose of dynamite soon stymies his plans.