April 1983 - Marvel UK monthlies, 40 years ago this month.

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This month in 1983, the pound in your pocket suddenly became a lot rounder and a lot harder.

That's because it was the month which saw the introduction of the one-pound coin. Interestingly, it was only introduced in England and Wales. It would seem Scotland and Northern Ireland were going to have to battle on with the oblong foldy pound we'd grown used to.

Speaking of fancy modern things, it was also the month in which the Space Shuttle Challenger was launched on its maiden voyage.

And also flying high was Richard Attenborough's film Gandhi which smashed Hollywood in the gob by winning a mighty eight Oscars at that year's Academy Awards.

Over on the UK singles chart, the month began with David Bowie's Let's Dance at Number One. But that was soon replaced by Spandau Ballet's True which I do believe went on to be the most-played song on US radio in the 1980s, despite me not liking it. It's almost as though American radio stations paid no attention to my own personal musical preferences.

Over on the British album chart, early April was dominated by Pink Floyd's The Final Cut. But even the Floyd couldn't long see off the challenge of Bonnie Tyler's Faster Than the Speed of Night which, itself, was then forced to make way for David Bowie's Let's Dance.

It's an eye-catching cover and, inside, we soon discover the Slaymaster's no match for the new,  improved Captain Britain.

Meanwhile, Daredevil tries to help Bruce Banner but, instead, gets beaten up by the Hulk.

But what's this? Ben Urich hears Heather call Daredevil "Matt" during the battle? What kind of nightmare trouble could this all lead to?

Elsewhere, we're treated to a three-page Alan Moore piece about sexism in comics.

And, finally, Spider-Man must battle Doc Ock in a Lee/Romita classic from 1967.

This month's Timelordtacular takes a look at the brand new TV stories The Arc of Infinity and The King's Demons. Both, no doubt, destined to be amongst the most loved serials in the show's history.

Elsewhere, there's an interview with Michael Craze who played Ben in the 1960s, and there's a look at the creation of Jon Pertwee's legendary car Bessie.

The cover may claim it's a job for Jarvis but, inside, we get more of the Immortus/Marcus/Ms Marvel tale. None of which is a job for Jarvis.

In their strip, the X-Men begin to train with their new line-up, and Kitty tries to adjust to life as a team member.

More excitingly, Wolverine and Nightcrawler head to Canada to help Alpha Flight track down a certain creature they call the Wendigo...

I know little of the contents of this issue but I do know it contains a picture strip called Target Practice (Part One), as brought to us by Ken Armstrong and Phil Gascoine.

Conan's still enmeshed within The Eye of Erlik.

And we get more from The Fangs of the Serpent, a tale written by Ironjaw scribe Michael Fleisher. Given what he produced for Ironjaw's book, the mind boggles as to what Mike'll come up with for this one.

On top of all that, there's also a look at warfare in Conan's world.

I don't know much about this month's Star Wars epic but I do know that, in his tale, Indiana Jones goes after the Ikons of Ikammanen and quickly gets captured by a homicidal cult.

Holy flashbacks! It's like a return to the mag's early days, as Caroline Munro finds herself once again on the cover of Starburst.

But that's not all.

Inside, we get a review of the brand-new movie 1990: The Bronx Warriors that we'll, doubtless, all be queuing around the block to see.

There's also a look at the French TV show Ulysses 31.

And there's more of The Steven Spielberg Story and another look at The Dark Crystal.