The Marvel Lucky Bag - April 1971.

Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon. 

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Have you ever found a suspicious hand in a field?

I haven't but some English villagers have.

Or, at least, they did in the outstanding movie that was released in April 1971.

That film was The Blood on Satan's Claw which was a Tigon production. Tigon was the company which also gave us The Creeping Flesh, The Blood Beast Terror, Witchfinder General, Curse of the Crimson Altar and Doomwatch, suggesting the spirit of Hammer was strong with them.

Over on the UK singles chart, April was dominated by T.Rex's Hot Love but, right at the end of the month, the Rex were finally dislodged by a classic dose of reggae, thanks to Dave and Ansell Collins' instrumental Double Barrel. 

Over on the LP chart, Andy Williams initially held sway with Home Lovin' Man but was soon forced to lose his top spot to Motown Chartbusters Vol 5, for the rest of the month.

It's the one we've all been crying out for, as Dr Doom takes on the Red Skull - with the winner getting to rule Latveria!

I can't help feeling this is all a bit of a comedown for the Red Skull. Once upon a time, he wanted to rule the world. Now, he'll risk it all to gain control of a kingdom the size of Wath upon Dearne.

I mean, it's not like he's trying to take over the vast realm that is Northumbria.

I note the Exiles are also in this tale. Perhaps the man with the scarf will prove pivotal to this epic clash.

In the Savage Land, Ka-Zar finally sees off the threat of Garokk the petrified man, by flinging him into the pool which gave him immortality in the first place. It's an act that robs Garokk of that immortality and, no doubt, sorts out all the jungle lord's problems, for him.

It looks like we're getting a reprint of Crusher Creel's second-ever adventure. The one in which he decides it'd be a good idea to try and take over Asgard by beating up Odin.

Needless to say, that turns out not to be such a good idea.

We also get a tale of Asgard in which Thor has to take on Sigurd who gains his strength from being in contact with the ground.

Obviously, Thor thwarts him by picking him up and flinging him into outer space.

The Absorbing Man's also sent flying into outer space, in his tale, and also gains his strength by touching things.

Call me wrong but I think I'm spotting a certain amount of repetition.

Hooray! It's Namor and Dorma's big wedding day!

Not that everyone's celebrating. Attuma decides it's the perfect opportunity to attack Atlantis.

Inevitably, the Avenging Son puts paid to that plan - only to discover he's not married Dorma at all.

He's accidentally married his deadly enemy Llyra!

Now how's he going to get out of this mess?

And how's he going to explain it all to Dorma?

Somebody call for Sinbad because the Roc's on the loose!

And he's in Egypt!

I'm not sure how he got there.

Anyway, two newly-weds find themselves having to thwart whatever it is he's up to.

In the issue's only other story, we get a "borrowing" of part of W W Jacobs' The Monkey's Paw, the part in which two parents wish their dead son would come back to life.

I assume it goes as badly for them as it did the parents in the original tale.

My first-ever exposure to The Monkey's Paw was in that TV series which always began with Orson Welles emerging from the fog to lecture us before disappearing again to get drunk. I mention this for no reason other than that I can.

It's a pretty thin month for unglamorous Marvel comics of interest, so I'll throw in an issue of Millie the Model, purely because there's a gorilla on the cover and, as we've mentioned before, nothing sells comics like gorillas.