March 31st 1982 - Marvel UK, 40 years ago this week.

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

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Some might say it was airplanes killed the beast but some would claim it was beauty did the job.

Trouble is, it turned out there was more than one beast.

It's true. By some means never explored, King Kong had a son.

And I know that because, this afternoon in 1982, BBC One was showing Son of Kong, the oft-neglected but, no doubt, charming sequel to the more celebrated original.

Not that they cared about that in Canada. For, that week, they were too busy doing the independence thing, as Royal Assent was given to The Canada Act 1982. A deed which set the stage for the repatriation of the Canadian Constitution.

Hooray! The Hulk's back - with a brand new comic!

Granted, it's not that new. The issue's mostly devoted to a reprint of that Herb Trimpe drawn tale in which the green gallivanter tackles the Evil Inhumans after they take over a Central American republic, with their giant hypno-bot.

Needless to say, Hulkie soon disposes of that particular menace.

We also get the tale that deals with the question of what would have happened had Wolverine killed the Hulk during their first encounter.

And, of course, because it's a first issue, there's a free gift.

In this case, it's a three-legged cardboard hulk that you can make run around the carpet, by pushing it, provided you attach a lollipop stick, to reinforce it.

We also get a free Hulk poster, recycled from a cover of the Hulk's previous Marvel UK comic.

I do believe it's the one in which Peter Parker befriends a new student at ESU.

Only for him to discover he's the latest incarnation of the Fookiller!

Needless to say, he turns out to be as foolish and destructive as the previous one was.

But the Foolkiller may not be the only one who needs to wake up and smell the coffee. And so, there's the chance for us to win a cassette/radio alarm clock.

And we get a puzzle poster.

We also get a TV programme guide. I'm assuming that relates to the Spider-Man television show, rather than being a general TV listings guide, though I can't guarantee it.

I do believe we're being offered the tale in which Steve Rogers' elderly neighbor decides to kill a nearby Nazi. Now what's Steve going to do?

I suspect he's going to try and stop her.

This comic, too, gives us an opportunity to win a cassette/radio alarm clock.

But just what Thor and Iron Man are up to while this is all going on, I cannot say.

It's yet another issue of Scooby-Doo and his TV Friends for which I've been able to gather no intelligence. Not even a front cover.

This time, it's issue #6, which I'm sure is the best one yet!