The Marvel Lucky Bag - December 1981.

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Sometimes in life, it's the troublemakers you want to spend time with, rather than the responsible people.

And this month in 1981 was a perfect example.

After all, it saw the release of a whole heap of respectable movies, such as On Golden Pond, Reds, Pennies from Heaven and Chariots of Fire.

But I can't deny it. From that December, the film I most want to see is a thing which bears the splendid title Dawn of the Mummy. I've never heard of it before but Wikipedia tells me it was confiscated in the UK, under Section 3 of the Obscene Publications Act 1959, during the, "Video Nasty," panic.

If that doesn't recommend it to the discerning viewer, I don't know what would.

Epic's back to plant another 100 pages of creator created magic slap-bang in front of us.

This time, it's dominated by a mammoth-sized saga called Metamorphosis Odyssey, as brought to us by jaunty Jim Starlin.

Not content with even that, we also get The Last Centaur by Tim Conrad who brings us this issue's cover, as well.

Then we get Charles Vess' Children of the Stars.

Followed by The Dragonmaster of Klarn: A Game the Gods Play, from Doug Moench and John Buscema.

Next up, it's the Dave Kasakove text piece Tales of Torment: Horror-fantasy from the Underground.

And, now, Match & Set from Lee Marrs which I'm going to assume involves tennis.

And we close with Craig Russell's not very cheery-sounding Isolation & Illusion.

Everyone's favourite spider man gets his fifteenth annual.

And, in it, he and the Punisher must unite against the deadly menace of Dr Octopus.

That's followed by a three-page feature which asks Just How Strong Is...Spider-Man?

That's followed by a one-page feature showing us Peter Parker's apartment.

And we finish off with a gallery of Spider-Man's most famous foes.

Except none of them are that famous. It's mostly made up of people like Man-Wolf and the Tarantula.

It's the question we've all wanted answering; "What would have happened if Spider-Man's clone had lived?"

Don't ask me why but I've a feeling it would have led to a two-year-long crossover involving dozens and dozens of issues and would be universally popular with fans and attract no flack whatsoever.

I wonder if that's the conclusion this issue comes to?

But hold on to your hats because we get another treat in this book.

And that's the story of how the Inhumans moved the Great Refuge to the Himalayas.

You've seen the cartoon. Now read the book!

It's true. Spidey gets yet another title, as he, Iceman and Fire-Star all move in together and have buddytastic adventures.

So, it's basically like Friends but with homicidal super-villains thrown in.

According to the Grand Comics Database; this issue, the Green Goblin busts up a college costume party, to steal his secret Goblin Formula.

I don't know what that means.

Why does a college costume party have his secret Goblin Formula?

And why does he not have it?

And can he not make some more?

It's the meeting that had to happen, as Dazzler takes on the might of Galactus!

Does she end up becoming his herald? Or am I just going mad?

If the meeting of Dazzler and Galactus seemed unlikely, we now get an even unlikelier one, when Spider-Man teams up with King Kull.

I don't have a clue how this comes about.

Then again, he did also once team up with Red Sonja. So, anything's possible.

Maybe Kull's spirit takes possession of Flash Thompson, or something.

Here's an odd occurrence, as Marvel gives us its adaptation of The Lawnmower Man, as relayed to us by Stephen King himself and Walt Simonson.

I can pass no judgment upon the merits of the project, as I haven't read it and haven't even seen the later film.

But I do know that, also, in this issue, we get tales with names like My Uncle, the Vampire, The Vampire Excursion and Mirror, Mirror.

It all sounds terrifying.