Fifty years ago today - August 1973.

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

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Good grief. Is it fifty years ago already? It only seems like ten minutes since it was forty years ago.

But what treachery is this? The supposedly reformed Swordsman and his girlfriend Mantis helping the Lion God invade the Avengers Mansion?

Fortunately, it's all a ruse by the duo and, with their help, the feline fiend's soon sent packing to the Great Cat Sanctuary in the Sky.

Unless I miss my lycanthropic guess, the Falcon's turned into a werewolf!

One who retains his normal hair, despite having turned into a werewolf.

But does this mean Redwing's been turned into a wolf-bird?

I've never read this one but I gather Conan joins the Turanian army of King Yildiz.

And I've no doubt it all leads to him having to rescue a wench from a sorcerer.

The Stilt-Man arrives on the west coast where Daredevil and the Black Widow have to prevent him from using a molecular condenser to knock California into the sea.

I can shed little light upon the contents of this one, other than to say the Shaper of Worlds is involved.

And, seemingly, a giant gorilla with a sea mine for a head.

As for the cover, I'm assuming it's a tribute to the front of Fantastic Four issue #1.

It's one of my faves, as Zzzaxx makes his debut and Hawkeye tries to prove he can succeed without the Avengers.

And he does succeed.

Only for everyone to give the credit to the Hulk instead.

Believe it or not, Iron Man's actually managing to have trouble defeating the Masked Marauder.

Which is bad news, as the villain's threatening to nuke Detroit.

Sweet Mother of Christmas, and other words to that effect. It's one of my fondest-remembered Spidey tales, as our hero must battle Luke Cage who's been hired by J Jonah Jameson.

This is all due to Jameson's belief that Spidey killed his friend Norman Osborn.

In his latest space-bound quest to find missing Asgardians, Thor's up against Mercurio - who, like Baked Alaska, can be hot and cold at the same time.

During all this, our hero discovers Sif and Karnilla are trapped within a giant crystal and unwillingly providing it with the energy it needs to thrive.

Banshee seeks the X-Men's help against a mysterious spider creature but, when they bump into Spider-Man, the not-so-bright mutants assume he's their foe and set out to give him a knuckle sandwich.

That's Marvel accounted for.

But what of DC? What's the company offering us in a random selection of books which feature the same cover date?

Only the senses-shattering origin of the Black Orchid!

Except it isn't. Despite the cover boast, no origin's revealed in this tale. We don't even get to discover her true identity.

It is, however, her first appearance, although details of the tale elude my memory.

We also get a Dr 13 story in which the not-at-all-Michael-Caine-inspired investigator looks into the death of someone called Mr Randolf.

I've never read this one but it seems that Ben Boxer returns with Renzi and Steve.

Not that I know who Renzi and Steve are.

It's a tale of mechanical horniness when a robot from space decides he wants Tina as his mate - and he's willing to bombard the Earth with as many robots as it takes to get her.

Secret Origins gives us the very beginnings of both Wonder Woman and Wildcat!

As far as I can remember, Wonder Woman's sculpted from clay and brought to life by Hippolyta, while Wildcat isn't. I do believe that boxer Ted Grant kills another man in the ring and adopts the identity of Wildcat in order to clear his name.

It's a memorable cover for a tale in which Swamp Thing's rescued from the sea by Rebecca Ravenwood who's fled her hometown after being accused of witchcraft.

And it's one you can't help but love, as Batman and Superman head off in pursuit of goat-fixated blackmailer Capricorn.

Meanwhile, Metamorpho finds himself entangled in the case of The Haunted Millionaire.