Speak Your Brain! Part XXIX. UFOs and UAPs.

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

***

Image by Tumisu
from Pixabay

This month is so awesome that it's, somehow, managed to accommodate three editions of Speak Your Brain, instead of the usual two

Truly, we've been blessed by the gods.

It is, of course, the feature in which the first person to comment gets to decide what the rest of us get to discuss.

And that could be art, films, flans, plans, books, bagels, cooks, nooks, crooks, pixies, rocks, music, mucous, fairy tales, fairy lights, Fairy Liquid, fairy cakes, Eccles cakes, myth, moths, maths, magic, tragedy, comedy, dromedaries, murder, larders, Ladas, mystery, mayhem, molluscs, Moorcock, May Day, Christmas Day, New Year's Day, Doris Day, Marvin Gaye, the Equinox, parallelograms, pomegranates, sofas, eggs, pegs, legs, dregs, sodas, sausages, eggs, whisky, broth, Bath, baths, Garth Marenghi, Garth Brooks, Garth Crooks, Bruno Brookes, Bruno Mars, Mars Bars, wine bars, flip-flops, flim-flam, flapjacks, backpacks, see-saws, jigsaws, dominoes, draft excluders, dunderheads, flowerpots, flour pots, bread bins, bin bags, body bags, body horror, shoddy horror, doggy bags, bean bags, coal sacks, cola, cocoa, pancakes, pizzas, baking soda, sci-fi, Wi-Fi, Hi-Fi, sewage, saunas, suet, Silurians, Sontarans, Sea Devils, sins, suns, sans, sense, sludge, slumps, sunshine, slime or sandcastles.

Then again, it might not be.

So, let us discover what unfurls before us...

The Marvel UK summer specials for 1982.

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

***

Summer is upon us!

Or, at least it was in May 1982.

That was when, it would appear, Marvel UK launched its unique range of summer specials upon us.

And what specials they were!

Blake's 7 is granted its first (and, as far as I can make out, last) Marvel UK summer special.

I don't know much about its contents, but I do know we get a free poster of our favourite space outlaws.

It's a treat for us all, as we get the return of the Green Goblin, courtesy of 1968's Spectacular Spider-Man #2, in a 38-page epic that humanity will never forget.

Sadly, nothing on the cover relates to that tale in any way, shape or form.

By all accounts, everyone's favourite space knight returns to his home planet of Galador...

...only to discover that someone's duplicated him.

And the duplicate is actively hostile!

I do believe this one contains material from Fantastic Four #155-157 in which Doctor Doom drags the Silver Surfer into his latest scheme by convincing him that a Latverian woman is actually Shalla Bal.

Nothing shouts, "vampires," at you more loudly than long drawn-out days of blazing sunshine.

And so it is that we get a Dracula summer special.

Sadly, I can shine no light upon what actually happens in it.

I'm sure, though, that there'll be plenty at stake.

The Hulk finds himself in Canada and having to fight the government-funded mutant menace of Sasquatch in a tale drawn by John Buscema and Alfredo Alcala.

But forget all those. Let's face it, this is the one you came here for, as Worzel Gummidge gets his first - and last - Marvel UK summer special.

I don't have a clue what's in it but it promises us 48 pages of fun for scarecrow fans and you can't demand any more than that.

May 26th 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. 

***

Who loves water?

We all love water!

And this day in 1982 was a better day than any to get some because it saw the official opening of the Kielder Water reservoir in Northumberland, England, which, thanks to its 200 billion litre capacity, instantly became UK's largest artificial lake.

As if that wasn't enough, it was also surrounded by the brand new Kielder Forest - the largest planted woodland in Europe!

That news is so thrilling that I've no doubt the excitement from it was what motivated the players of Aston Villa to win the European Cup, that self-same evening, by defeating Bayern Munich 1–0, thanks to a 69-minute goal by Peter Withe.

The UK singles chart, that week, had seen some degree of change, with Madness's House of Fun hitting Number One by defeating a challenge from Adam Ant's Goody Two Shoes.

And it was good news for the band when it came to the album chart because that week saw their LP Complete Madness retain the top spot by surviving the threat of Duran Duran's Rio.

Cloak and Dagger get to wrap up their storyline by gaining revenge upon the drug-dealing mobsters who turned them into the people they are now. All through the medium of Spider-Man's comic.

And that's not all. There's also a free poster of Spidey vs the Black Cat.

And there's the chance to win 10 Corgi Kaleidoform kits!

Not that I have a clue what those are but I'm sure they're super, cool and groovy and that, if I get my hands on one, I'll be the envy of all my neighbours.

It looks like the Hulk's in the process of bringing an end to his first encounter with the Mandarin.

I do believe he does this by escaping from a table that uses his own strength against him. Such is the awesome power of the Hulk that even his own strength can't resist him. It may defy logic and science but it's certainly impressive

Meanwhile, Nick Fury and his men are on hand to mop up whatever's left of the Mandarin.

Plus, there's an interview with Bill Bixby, and a free colour poster!

Hooray! Thanks to the sterling efforts of Onboarder, AKA Mark, I have the cover for issue #14 of Scooby-Doo and His TV Friends. And it becomes apparent that the Jetsons make an appearance.

At least, I think they do. That cover doesn't actually name them but they look like the Jetsons. So, I'll assume that's who they are.

We also get action involving Snagglepuss and his friend Yogi Bear. And there's a feature that invites us to draw the Grape Ape.

But surely the highlight of the issue has to be a feature which shows us how to have fun with clothes pegs!

You won't get that in the Hulk and Spider-Man comics!

Speak Your Brain! Part XXVIII. Pre-MCU comic book movies and TV shows.

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

***

Image by Tumisu
from Pixabay

A wise man once declared, "Thank God it's Friday."

I've no idea who he was but all I can say is, "Thank God it's Tuesday," because that means we get to plunge, once more, into the hottest feature the internet has ever bestowed upon the world.

In fact, I'd go as far as to say it's the reason the internet was invented.

It's the feature in which the first person to comment gets to decide what the rest of us get to discuss!

That could be art, films, flans, plans, books, bagels, cooks, nooks, crooks, pixies, rocks, music, mucous, fairy tales, fairy lights, Fairy Liquid, fairy cakes, Eccles cakes, myth, moths, maths, magic, tragedy, comedy, dromedaries, murder, larders, Ladas, mystery, mayhem, molluscs, Moorcock, May Day, Christmas Day, New Year's Day, Doris Day, Marvin Gaye, the Equinox, parallelograms, pomegranates, sofas, sodas, sausages, eggs, whisky, broth, Bath, baths, Garth Marenghi, Garth Brooks, Garth Crooks, Bruno Brookes, Bruno Mars, Mars Bars, wine bars, flip-flops, flim-flam, flapjacks, backpacks, see-saws, jigsaws, dominoes, draft excluders, dunderheads, flowerpots, flour pots, bread bins, bin bags, body bags, body horror, shoddy horror, doggy bags, bean bags, coal sacks, cola, cocoa, pancakes, pizzas, baking soda, sci-fi, Wi-Fi, Hi-Fi, sewage, saunas, suet, Silurians, Sontarans, Sea Devils, sins, suns, sans, sense, sludge, slumps, sunshine, slime or sandcastles.

Then again, it might not be.

Only the unfettered power of democracy - and you - can tell us.

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law . Official Teaser Trailer.

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

***

In the last few days, we've been hit by the news we've all been desperate for.

The She-Hulk's finally made it to the screen.

And it's the small screen which will, no doubt, make her seem even bigger!

It's true. Bruce Banner's favourite cousin's been granted her own series on Disney+. One that'll start streaming from August 17th.

And, thanks to that, there's a teaser trailer to watch which should be visible at the very top of this post.

What are my thoughts on it?

Well, not many. It doesn't reveal that much about what kind of action we can look forward to or what story arcs to expect but, in line with the character's comic book history, it seems a highly flippant series. Will that flippancy make it a cult classic or will it force the show to derail itself when it comes to delivering actual drama? Only time will tell.

Judging by social media, everyone seems to hate its CGI but it seems OK to me, and only a raving lunatic watches any TV show for the visual effects.

But what's this? Is that the Abomination I spy at 1:25? This is the one thing that does excite me. After all, who doesn't want to see a bit more of Abby in their life?

Those are my thoughts on the matter. You are, of course, free to supply your own, thanks to the comments section below.

May 19th 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. 

***

It's madness! Complete madness!

What is?

The title of the album that hit Number One on the UK chart, this week in 1982!

It's true. Exactly forty years ago, Britain's favourite ska band that hardly ever actually played ska dethroned Tug of War - and held off the Clash's Combat Rock - to claim the top spot.

Over on the British singles chart, however, there was no wind of change to be detected, as Nicole continued to reign supreme with A Little Peace.

It looks to me like the Hulk's up against the Mandarin, which is an earlier tale than the ones the book's been reprinting lately.

I'm assuming the cover's reference to Nick Fury relates to the attack he and SHIELD launch on the Chinese super-villain's secret fortress, at the tale's climax.

Iron Man's also in this comic but I've no idea what he's up to. He's possibly still having problems with the return of Madame Masque and her dreadnoughts but don't quote me on that.

Elsewhere, we get an interview with TV Hulk Lou Ferrigno.

Our hero encounters a villain who's killing people by using the awesome power of spider manipulation.

And we get the chance to win five great dial a design prizes.

Which is thrilling but I don't have a clue what that means.

We also get what's described as a TV recap. I'm assuming that's a recap of the Spider-Man TV show. Not a recap of the entire history of television.

Now it's time to be scared, because Scooby-Doo and his TV friends hit their 13th issue.

And, as we all know, 13's unlucky for some.

Mostly, it's unlucky for me, as I've yet again been unable to find a cover for or to unearth the contents of an issue.

As so often with Scooby and his mates, mystery reigns supreme.

Speak Your Brain! Part XXVII. The 1990s.

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

***

Image by Tumisu
from Pixabay

Once more, Tuesday is upon us. And, as we're into the second half of the month, that can only mean it's time to revisit the greatest exercise in free speech that humanity's ever seen.

It's the phoenix-like resurgence of the feature in which the first person to comment gets to decide what the rest of us should talk about!

It could be art, films, flans, plans, books, bagels, cooks, nooks, crooks, rocks, music, mucous, fairy tales, fairy lights, Fairy Liquid, fairy cakes, Eccles cakes, myth, moths, maths, magic, tragedy, comedy, dromedaries, murder, larders, Ladas, mystery, mayhem, Moorcock, May Day, Christmas Day, New Year's Day, Doris Day, Marvin Gaye, the Equinox, parallelograms, pomegranates, sofas, sodas, sausages, eggs, whisky, broth, Bath, baths, Garth Marenghi, Garth Brooks, Garth Crooks, Bruno Brookes, Bruno Mars, Mars Bars, wine bars, flip-flops, flim-flam, flapjacks, backpacks, see-saws, jigsaws, dominoes, dunderheads, flowerpots, flour pots, bread bins, bin bags, body bags, body horror, shoddy horror, doggy bags, bean bags, coal sacks, cola, cocoa, pancakes, pizzas, baking soda, sci-fi, Wi-Fi, Hi-Fi, sewage, saunas, suet, Silurians, Sontarans, Sea Devils, sins, suns, sans, sense, sludge, slumps, sunshine, slime or sandcastles.

But it could be something else altogether.

Only time - and you The Reader - will decide...

2000 AD - April 1984.

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

***

Waltzing Matilda? Waltzing Matilda? Who'll go Waltzing Matilda with me?

Not the people of Australia. That's for sure.

Shockingly, in April 1984, they decreed that Advance Australia Fair would be their national anthem, and not the song that's most strongly associated with them.

What was this madness?

And who was going to break the news to Skippy?

 

Sadly, there was no sign of either of those songs on the UK singles chart, that month, although Waltzing Matilda would later make it onto the hit parade, thanks to Rod Stewart.

However, what was charting was Lionel Richie's Hello which threatened to spend the whole month at Number One, until it was deposed, right at the death, by Duran Duran's The Reflex. Or T'Reflex, as Simon Le Bon insisted on calling it.

Lionel, though, was also having success on the British album chart, starting the month at Number One with Can't Slow Down.

But even Lionel is only human and quickly had to make way for the juggernaut that was Now That's What I Call Music 2 by the act known as Various Artists.

Clearly, plenty of drama there but what of the galaxy's greatest comic? What thrills, spills and chills was it dishing up?

It was dishing up its familiar diet of Sláine, D.R. & Quinch, Judge Dredd [guest-starring Dave the Orangutan], Strontium Dog, Rogue Trooper, and Tharg's Future-Shocks. It seems we'd have to wait for future issues for anything new and startling to raise its head.

May 12th 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. 

***

I feel like this site's been making reference for centuries to Nicole and her Eurovision winner A Little Peace but, at last, it all pays off, as I can report that, this week in 1982, the teenaged Teutonic tunester hit Number One on the UK singles chart.

In doing so, she knocked Paul and Stevie off the top spot. An act for which some may or may not be grateful.

Not that Macca needed to care because he was still at Number One on the British album chart thanks to Tug of War which was successfully keeping Madness at bay.

Among the tracks I approve of on that week's singles chart are:

Ebony and Ivory - Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder.

Only You - Yazoo.

Island of Lost Souls - Blondie.

View from A Bridge - Kim Wilde.

The Look of Love -  ABC.

Suspicious Minds - Candi Staton.

The Telephone Always Rings - The Fun Boy Three.

Urgent - Foreigner.

and

My Camera Never Lies - Bucks Fizz.

For those who wish to investigate the matter further, the said singles chart may be found by clicking here.

While that week's album chart resides right here.

Get ready for a shock because I actually have a cover for issue #12 of Scooby-Doo and his TV Friends!

And it's all thanks to Onboarder, otherwise known as Mark, who's supplied me with it and other images from the book. I think he can only be described as a true Keeper of the Flame.

And so it is that I know we can win a fancy-looking York radio cassette recorder by finding kites that have been hidden in an image. That recorder has so many knobs and dials on it that it's hard to imagine what they can all be for.

There's also a text adventure for Huckleberry Hound. And Scooby shows us how to do a card trick.

Is that Pluto on the cover? If it is, he seems to have grown remarkably.

Then again, the Stranger seems to have shrunk by a comparable degree. Has everyone been messing about with one of Hank Pym's serums?

Assuming, of course, he is the Stranger and not that other character who looks virtually identical to him.

Elsewhere, we get an interview with Lou Ferrigno.

And there's still time for us to win a Hulk-Trike.

Sadly, I can impart no more information about the contents of this week's issue.

The Black Cat's back - and promising to go straight, in order to gain Spidey's love.

The only problem is that her idea of going straight is going straight to where the city's most valuable treasures are and stealing them. Mostly from the mob.

It all ends in tragedy when she chooses to drown, rather than become a reformed character.

Or does she?

Is it pure coincidence that the Black Cat and Elektra were both appearing in Marvel comics around the same time? Both morally compromised romantic foils for heroes with super-senses? Both inherently doomed?

The Marvel Lucky Bag - May 1982.

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

***

What is best in life?

To crush your enemies, see them driven before you and hear the lamentations of their women.

It's a philosophy I still follow, to this day. 

And it was taught to me by Genghis Khan.

Either that or by Arnold Schwarzenegger.

And he may have taught it to me in May 1982 because that's when the first Conan movie escaped into our cinemas.

However, Arnold wasn't the only one to have a film released that month. We also saw it unveil Annie, Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid and Rocky III.

I'm going to be controversial and say it right here. Of those four movies, Annie is the best.

And I'm sure Genghis Khan would agree with me.

Dazzler and Spider-Woman are still teaming up in order to tackle whoever it is they're teaming up to tackle.

Whoever it is, it's clearly a sewer point for them.

Here's a thing I never expected to see. Fred Hembeck brings us Fantastic Four Roast #1.

I say it's issue #1 but, as far as I can make out, it's also the only issue.

It's the team-up we've all demanded, as Benjamin J Grimm collaborates with Scott Lang.

Judging by the cover blurb, I'm assuming it's happening on a microscopic world.

Which does make me wonder if it's the same one we saw in Fantastic Four #16 when Hank Pym's Ant-Man first encountered the gang.

I must confess it's a bit of a shock for me to see Rom reaching his 30th issue.

But perhaps I shouldn't be shocked at all. A modicum of research tells me his book will manage to make it to issue #75 before folding, forcing me to realise he must be more popular than I ever dreamt of.

Plotwise, it's Christmas Eve and Rom modifies the Torpedo's visor so he's able to see through the Dire Wraiths' disguises.

But there's far more to consider than that. After all, our hero must also battle the Metal Master who wants to use his armour's alloys to conquer Earth.

What's this? Dennis the Menace with spider powers? It can only lead to trouble.

And it does. For, it would appear that, when he's invited to a romance-themed Halloween party, he decides to go as Spidey and starts spraying webbing on everything.

Speaking of Spider-Man. The wall-crawler and Wolverine are attacked by modern-day Roman soldiers who work for the mysterious Professor Power.

And they're faced with a dilemma. They can either go after the Professor or save innocents from the Roman forces.

Except there are two of them. So, I would have thought one of them could do the first task, and the other perform the second.

Forty years ago today - May 1982.

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

***

Once more, the past has caught up with us.

But isn't it time we caught up with the past?

I don't know what that means, either, but it sounds like it means something, and that's all that matters.

Matt Murdock's refusing to accept Elektra's really dead, and demands her corpse be dug up, so he can prove she isn't.

Except she is. So, he doesn't achieve anything, apart from convincing everyone around him that he's gone mad.

Which he probably has.

I believe the Punisher is also in this tale but is in jail.

It's great news for all Guardians of the Galaxy fans, as Rocket Raccoon makes his debut - in a tale that can only be described as, "unique."

Back on Earth, Betty Ross meets Bereet, for the first time, and pleads with her to save Rick Jones who's brilliantly zapped himself with a load of Gamma rays.

Iron Man's battling a super-intelligent teenager who has no social skills but does have a telepathic mother.

It's another odd tale. One in which Iron Man doesn't seem to have any great reluctance to let people see him without his mask on.

Elektra may be gone but Electro isn't.

And, this time, he's unbeatable!

Until Spidey decides to make himself a new costume from rubber.

Alternatively, he could have just thrown a bucket of water over the villain, like I'm going to keep suggesting until he finally does it.

Can it be true?

Can the Phoenix really be back from the dead?

No, it can't. It's just Kitty Pryde using Nightcrawler's image-generating thingy to terrorise hostile Shi'Ars who own the spaceship they're on.

And it's yet another odd one. A tale in which our hero meets a bunch of motorcycle stuntmen and they all have to team up to fight a giant android that turns out to be the handiwork of the Thinker who's filled a small town with robot replicas of great minds from history.

Terrax is back!

I don't recall what his plan is but it can only cause trouble for the members of our favourite super-team.

Conan meets a beautiful young witch who freely admits to having killed a man. But, because he can't say no to a pretty face, he decides to rescue her from the vengeful wrath of aggrieved locals.

Fortunately, the pair don't have to fight alone, thanks to the help of a friendly snake goddess.

Speaking of odd tales, an actor in a horror film that's being shot in the vicinity of Dr Don Blake, gets accidentally zapped by electricity, and transforms into the unstoppable monster he was playing in the film. Now, Thor has to prevent him from killing his co-stars.

Moondragon abducts the Avengers and recruits them to help halt a war that's broken out on the planet she's currently ruling.

However, as far as I can remember, it turns out Moonie's the one who's been using her mental powers to compel them to have a war, in the first place.

I'm guessing that someone's ordering spiders to murder people - and Spider-Man's the only one who can stop him.

May 5th 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. 

***

Do you ever feel like life's a tug of war?

What with one thing and another, it's a tug of war?

And do you ever want to see Barry Manilow fail?

If so, you were very happy, this week in 1982 because Paul McCartney's LP of that name had just smashed straight in at Number One on the UK album chart, deposing Barry Manilow's latest album, in the process.

It was good news for the McCartney family on the singles chart too, as his and Stevie Wonder's Ebony and Ivory retained its top spot, even in the face of a challenge from the England World Cup Squad - who were at Number Two, thanks to their song This Time (We'll Get It Right).

Reader, having seen that World Cup, I can exclusively reveal that, that time, they did not get it right.

Hold on to your Gamma Guns because this issue gives us the chance to win a Hulk View-Master!

I'm suspecting it relates to the TV version of the character, rather than the comic book one but who can know?

In other news, that's quite an appealing cover by Jerry Paris, an artist I couldn't claim to be familiar with.

Inside, Spider-Man has to team up with Thor when a fish-based monster from outer space interrupts a surgical operation that Peter Parker's taking photos of.

Given that the opening features surgery, and Thor gets involved in events, I'm going to assume Don Blake's one of the people performing the operation.

The Avengers are still battling a rocky monster from space who turns out to be the Grey Gargoyle in a stony cocoon of his own making.

You wouldn't have thought the world's mightiest super-team would have much trouble with the villain but I'm sure they'll somehow contrive to have plenty.

In the pages of Captain Britain, Brian and Jackdaw find themselves kidnapped by strange aliens.

And, in a not totally likely move, Gullivar Jones, Warrior of Mars, joins the book's lineup, thanks to a George Perez drawn tale reprinted from Monsters Unleashed #8.

The most TARDISy magazine in the universe gives us its view of both Kinda and Four to Doomsday.

Kinda is, of course, a classic. Sadly, I've no memory at all of Four to Doomsday. So, I'm assuming it's probably not a classic.

On top of that, we get an interview with Janet Fielding, and a look at Doctor Who in the comics during the Jon Pertwee era. I'm going to assume, therefore, that TV Action is going to get a mention.

Marvel UK's newest mag hits its second issue and does so, it seems, with the return of Frankenstein's monster.

If the cover's any guide, it would appear this edition reprints Doug Moench and Val Mayerik's Always a Monster from the pages of Monsters Unleashed #6. The one in which our hero's original brain's returned to his body. Where it's been in the meantime, I wouldn't even want to speculate.

We also get a look at vampires from stage and screen, and Steve Moore looks at the history of vampire legends.

The mag dedicated to the galaxy's most nihilistic sci-fi show returns, and it offers us a journey into the unknown.

So, for once, I don't have to apologise for not knowing what's in a publication, as the whole point of it is that it's a journey into the unknown.

But what really matters is it would appear that Avon actor Paul Darrow writes for us.

What he writes, I cannot even speculate upon. Is he the writer of this issue's advertised picture story? Or has he, instead, written some sort of article? I suspect we may have to buy the thing if we wish to find out.

Mere weeks after he last fought them, the Hulk's up against the Fantastic Four again.

I don't know much about the contents of this week's issue but I suspect the Stranger may be involved.

My memories of this tale are always vague but I think Torchie decides to storm Attilan, in order to get Crystal back. And, of course, the rest of the FF have to go chasing after him.

Whatever the details, I'm sure it's a matter of mere pages before Maximus launches yet another takeover bid.

But that's not the only story in town. We also get the final part of the epic in which Doctor Doom's acquired the Silver Surfer's powers and is using them to menace humanity.

It would appear this issue continues the adaptation of L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter's Conan the Buccaneer, otherwise known as Quest for the Cobra Crown.

Beyond that, we get Fred Blosser's look at the history of the Kozaks, and a poem Robert E Howard once wrote about Solomon Kane.

It's time to panic, as Howard the Duck meets the deadly Space Turnip.

For those for whom even that's not enough, we also discover what happens when Baron Von Doomstein builds Frankenstein's Monster.

Sadly, I can shed little light upon the contents of this one but I do know that, as seemingly always, we can win a Star Wars watch.

Spider-Man encounters his deadliest foe yet. The Shocker. A villain so awesome he can only be defeated by gluing his thumbs together.

How can our hero possibly hope to defeat such a menace?

Well, probably by gluing his thumbs together.

The X-Men may be the official stars of the book but it's Ben Grimm who makes the front cover.

And it looks like he's joined by the Impossible Man.

Which may turn out to be handy, as our hero finds himself under attack by Alicia's statues.

Unless, of course, it's Impy who's behind the attacks.

For the X-Men, the battle with Prometheus is finally over but a whole heap of other trouble's about to break out, thanks to the Hellfire Club and their plan to recruit brand new character Kitty Pryde to their cause.

As for Iron Fist, he's in the process of discovering the Big Apple is rotten to the core.

It's the one we've all been waiting for, as Dracula takes on Werewolf by Night!

As far as I can remember, it all kicks off when Jack and Topaz visit Transylvania to investigate his past - and end up entering Drac's Castle!

The X-Men must endure the Juggernaut's latest attack when they find themselves heading Into the Crimson Cosmos!

It's more scarecrow-based fun from Marvel UK.

And we get a chance to win a Worzel lunchbox!

There's been talk, lately, on this blog, of DC's tendency towards crucifixion covers in the early 1970s but here we have an example from Marvel UK, a decade later.

It's true. Britain's greatest sci-fi mag takes a look at the film Arnold Schwarzenegger was born to star in.

We also get coverage of Mad Max 2, Alligator, Swamp Thing, the Creature from the Black Lagoon and The Return of Captain Invincible.

I'd probably be excited about that last one, except I don't have a clue who Captain Invincible is.

I shall check with Wikipedia to find out.

I've now found out. It's an Australian movie starring Alan Arkin and Christopher Lee. It's about a super-hero who's forced into retirement when he's accused of being a communist. It grossed $55,110 at the Australian box office, against a budget of $7 million.

Hanna Barbera's Scooby-Doo and His T.V. Friends hits its mighty eleventh issue.

And I don't have a clue what it looks like or what's in it. I guarantee, though, that it's packed with cartoony goodness.