November 25th, 1972 - Marvel UK, 50 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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This week in 1972 brought us the comeback some may never have expected to see, as Chuck Berry suddenly returned from chart oblivion to score his first and final UK Number One.

The track responsible for that success was My Ding-A-Ling and, being a fair-minded man, I shall leave it to others to decide whether or not it deserved to top the charts.

At the summit of the UK album chart, meanwhile, was an LP that would, no doubt, have interested Chuck because it was 20 All-Time Greats of the 50's by Various Artists. Tragically, none of those artists of variousness was called, "Chuck Berry." So, he may have justifiably felt left out.

Yet again, we find the Mighty World of Marvel dragging out, for all its worth, the mystery of our free poster.

Fortunately, the mag isn't so slow when it comes to giving us Hulk action. And, so, we kick off the book with him meeting Mongu, the Gladiator from Outer Space! who turns out to be a rudimentary robot and part of a communist plot to capture our hero and create an army of Hulks.

Needless to say, the all-American brute makes short work of his socialist foes.

Not that you'd know it because, as so often, Marvel UK carefully removes all references to Russians and communists from the tale.

Spider-Man, meanwhile, is in the second part of his first encounter with Dr Octopus.

And the Fantastic Four are struggling to win their first-ever battle with the Namor the Sub-Mariner.

But what's this? This issue features a letter from someone called Rick Jones?

It can't be that Rick, of course.

Or can it?