Forty years ago today - August 1981.

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

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Can life have any meaning now the Olympics are over?

No, it can't. So, let's seek solace, instead, in nostalgia.

For once, it's not just the British who're obsessing over the weather, as nightmarish meteorological manoeuverings hit the whole world - including New York City.

What can be behind this frightful phenomenon?

It's a weather-monitoring satellite that's got too big for its boots and decided to control the climate instead of just watching it, also creating a group of mindless but super-powered slaves to enforce its global catastrophe.

Fortunately, despite having been shamefully ignored by her teammates, Jocasta comes to the rescue and saves the day while the others flounder around uselessly.

Following a recent spate of escapes from it, Captain America agrees to be sent to prison, in order to put its security to the test.

Not only does he have to contend with his fellow inmates trying to kill him but, when there's an attempted breakout, what should Cap do? Does he stop it or assist it?

In the meantime, he helps, of course, to reform a young offender he's encountered there.

Concerned about a recent spate of escapes from the local prison, Spider-Man breaks into it and finds himself behind bars and confronted with...

Hold on. This all sounds strangely familiar from somewhere.

Anyway, once in prison, he encounters an attempted breakout by the Grey Gargoyle and Jonas Harrow.

Needless to say, he thwarts it.

To my knowledge, he doesn't manage to reform any young offenders he encounters there.

When Will-O'-The-Wisp takes control of Killer Shrike's battle suit and forces the villain to kidnap Marla Madison, Spider-Man, inevitably, rushes to the rescue and does something or other to a machine, which sorts everything out.

My recollections of this one are a bit vague.

When Thor manages to quickly reform a gang of muggers, Mephisto's not at all pleased about it, spotting a potential threat to his realm if super-heroes suddenly start reforming bad guys, rather than just thumping them.

Thus it is that we get an epic confrontation between Lord of Evil and God of Thunder.

One which neither combatant has the power to win, even though the villain has the power to defeat the Silver Surfer and should, therefore, be able to beat Thor.

It's a strange one in which a mutant called Caliban turns up and tries to kidnap Kitty Pryde because he wants a friend.

It's mostly strange because Caliban looks like Death-Stalker after a prolonged bout of drug and alcohol abuse. I'm not sure if that design choice is an accident or not.

Elsewhere, Cyclops is in solo action and on some island where he blunders across the latest secret HQ of Magneto.

The Human Torch is in sizzling solo action, as he sets out to clear the name of a condemned man and discovers the real killer is none other than Hammerhead, who he should be able to make mincemeat of but, instead, makes a right old Horlicks of fighting.

This is more like it!

For the first time I can remember, Marvel's two greatest armoured characters come up against each other, as Iron Man breaks into Latveria to forcibly reclaim some high-tech his company's illegally sold to Dr Doom.

While the pair battle, the villain's current Head Lackey takes the distraction as a chance to use his boss's time machine to send the combatants into a past from which they may never return.

Well, this is a downer.

Conan discovers the two amiable youths he's befriended and travelled with for the last few issues are, in fact, evil godlings and that he's now going to have to slaughter them.

Which I'm fairly sure he does.

Because he's Conan and that's what he does.

After a series of attacks on young women, it becomes clear the Gladiator's to blame and that Daredevil's going to have to stop him.

Except the Gladiator isn't to blame. It's some other wrongdoer who looks exactly like him.

At least, he does in his civvies. In his costume, he bears no resemblance whatsoever to the buzzsaw-bearing bruiser.

It's a very odd issue in which Bruce Banner encounters a barking mad sculptor who wants to turn him into glass.

Needless to say, the Hulk soon smashes her plans to pieces.

That means there's time for him to have a second adventure. One in which Bruce goes to the aid of a child who's clearly being mistreated by his scientist parents.

Except he's not a child.

In a sinister inversion of the Superman story, he's a Dire Wraith who they found, as a baby, in a crashed space capsule and adopted as their own.

But, now, that Dire Wraith has realised he's not like other boys, and is out to create nothing but mayhem.