Fifty years ago this month - June 1971.

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

***

Singer Jim Croce once opined that he wanted to save time in a bottle.

And it seems he wasn't alone because, in June 1971, the presenters of immortal children's TV show Blue Peter set out to save time in a capsule.

Sort of.

It was the month in which they buried a time capsule in the grounds of BBC Television Centre, to be opened in the far-distant future of the year 2000.

And there were others who proved to be equally motivated, for I remember our primary school getting us to do the same thing. Except, we buried ours in the school grounds, rather than BBC Television Centre, what with us not having access to that.

Regardless, I'm assuming this move was inspired by the actions of the Blue Peter team.

Is our time capsule still there?

Was the Blue Peter capsule opened in the year 2000?

I can furnish no answers to either of those questions.

Elsewhere, in Luxembourg, new negotiations began, to enable the UK to join the European Economic Community. And I can reveal that those negotiations were successful.

Also in the field of Politics, it was the month in which Education Secretary Margaret Thatcher ended the distribution of free school milk in state schools, earning herself the nickname, "Margaret Thatcher: Milk Snatcher."

My memory of free school milk is it was always left in crates, outside the school's front doors, meaning that, in summer, it was always rancid from the heat and, in winter, it was frozen solid. To be honest, drinking it was not one of the great joys of childhood.

It's a landmark month in the life of Conan, as he first encounters the not-so-trustworthy Jenna. 

With her gift for making friends, it's not long before she's kidnapped to be sacrificed to a giant bat.

Conan saves her.

Believe it or not, she also saves Conan!

Still, she does steal his gold.

That's the Jenna we all know and love.

Spidey must battle a resurgent Green Goblin while flatmate Harry Osborn battles (not very hard) against drugs.

How can our hero defeat his arch-enemy without the dastardly villain revealing his true identity?

Personally, I'd just break his neck and incinerate the body but that's why I'm not a super-hero.

And, also, why no one knows my secret identity.

Once Spidey, Cap and the Falcon all stop fighting each other, they team up to thwart Stone-Face's evil plans which seem to involve the building Glory Grant lives in.

It does strike me that cover's far too jam-packed, with the red and blue of Spider-Man and Captain America's costumes blending into each other, and the Falcon's outfit suffering the even worse indignity of blending in with girders.

I really don't have a clue what's going on in this one but, if that cover's to be believed, it's clearly not short on incident.

Once again, a Reed Richards attempt to return Ben Grimm to his natural form has led to disaster, as the now-evil Thing goes on the rampage and turns against his teammates.

Not to worry. I've no doubt it can all be sorted out by a quick fight with the Hulk.

Speaking of whom, the Hulk has his first-ever encounter with Jarella - and wedding bells are beckoning.

But will it bring ever-lasting happiness for our green-skinned love lummox?

I think we all know the answer to that one.

And so does Psyklop.

Iron Man with his arm in a sling and about to be killed by mere hoods with mere bullets?

Has our metal-clad mangler ever seemed more weak, feeble and useless than he does on this cover?

Not pleased with Thor's interference in her recent plans, Hela decides it's time for him to die, and sets off in search of him.

I think this issue is the first time we ever see her without her mask.

And, of course, she looks lovely because she's drawn by John Buscema who gives her little skulls where her pupils should be.

Still in bad shape, after their battle with the Sentinels, the X-Men now have to contend with the power of Magneto.

Or, at least, Iceman does, as he's the only team member who's still standing.

Fortunately, the Stranger's on hand to thwart Magneto's dastardly plans.

The Kree/Skrull war gets its overture, as Sal Buscema gives us a classic cover which, thankfully, completely misrepresents what happens inside.

Come to think of it, what does happen inside? I have memories of excess energy having to be siphoned from Mar-Vell, in order for him to survive but I struggle to recall just where that energy came from.

That's Marvel taken care of but what are the month's highlights from their dreaded competition?

Neal Adams gives us a striking cover but, inevitably, doesn't draw any of the interior.

However, we do get tales of terror pencilled by Jim Aparo, Gray Morrow and Don Heck, with scripts by John Albano, Robert Kanigher and Mary Skrenes, in that order.

Relying on my awesome memory, I think this is one of those, "The princess has been kidnapped but, never mind, Wonder Woman looks just like her. So, she can get married on her behalf, instead," type stories.

This one would appear to be both written and drawn by Mike Sekowsky.

It's a momentous moment in the history of comics, as Ra's Al Ghul discovers Batman's secret identity.

You have to say he's a fast worker. As far as I can make out, this is his first-ever appearance.

Then again, how hard is it, really, to work out that Bruce Wayne's Batman? It's a miracle half of Gotham City doesn't know who he is.

It seems to also be the second-ever appearance of the villain's daughter Talia.

I've no idea what happens in this one. I've only picked it because it has a Neal Adams cover.

I'm assuming it involves Batman tangling with a knight on a horse, in a tale written by Frank Robbins and drawn by Bob Brown.

I don't think I've ever seen Bob Brown draw Batman. I'm assuming he portrays him in a similar vein to the way Carmine Infantino did.

Believe it or not, I've actually read this one.

It involves some sort of sand replica of Superman that keeps showing up - and I'm fairly sure it's not just this issue it shows up in but that it keeps reappearing, for issue after issue, gradually draining all of Superman's powers into itself, as the waning hero tries to solve the mystery of its origin.

Sadly, I can't recall what that origin is or why the creature keeps showing up.

I'm fairly certain it ends up dying, though.

Possibly sacrificing itself to save our hero.