Fifty years ago today - December 1973.

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

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I may not wish that Christmas might occur on an endless 24-hour loop but, this month, exactly fifty years ago, I did because it was the month in which Wizzard's I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday and Slade's Merry Xmas Everybody first hit the charts, and Yuletide in Britain would never be the same again.

But what of the Marvel comics which bore that date upon their very frontages?

Would they ever be the same again?

I sometimes get the feeling nobody but me likes this tale.

Not that I care. I am, after all, pathologically incapable of hating any story from this era.

And this one brings high drama to our lives, as we get the gravity-thwarting return of the Vulture, intent on snuffing out Mary Jane Watson before she can dob him in to the cops, over a murder she's seen him commit.

But, is everything as it seems?

Also, judging by the cover, we're going to be getting more of Harry Osborn's descent into madness, mayhem and menace.

The Evil Eye saga hits its thrilling climax, as the Avengers and Defenders enter another dimension to confront Loki and Dormammu, while any super-doers who've been left behind on Earth - even the bad guys - get to battle the chaos and confusion the villains have created there.

I do have to announce that Cap looks strangely unbothered by the prospect of being both boiled and zapped at the same time.

All I know of this one is Baron Zemo's demented son's started calling himself the Phoenix and is out to inflict his own brand of vengeance upon the star-spangled superstar.

It's another one I know little of, but that cover makes it clear our hero's going to have to face the Gauntlet of the Seven Deaths which is six more deaths than most of us would bother having.

Judging by the absence of the obligatory cowering blonde on the cover, I can only assume it must be her month off. It seems that even cowering blondes must take a break sometimes.

Daredevil and the Black Widow find themselves up against the menace of Terrex who I assume to be no relation to Terrax.

It's a packed tale that features such luminaries as Kerwin J Broderick, Moondragon, the Dark Messiah, Ramrod and Angar. Not to mention Daredevil and the Black Widow. And, of course, Terrex.

I do believe this is the one in which Hornhead's given his sight back by Moondragon but then demands she send him blind again, as he's no good at fighting when he can see what he's doing.

 

Is this the one where Reed Richards does whatever it is to his son that Fantastic Four fans have been complaining about him doing, ever since?

As you can tell, I remember it all very clearly.

It's another classic - and a strange one, at that - as the Hulk finds himself up against an island full of monsters and a Betty Ross who's still not quite the full shilling.

At last, Iron Man has the sense to do what I'd do if I had a suit of armour. He goes on a murderous rampage.

Apart from that, Dr Spectrum's prism convinces the villain to let Iron Man in on their origin.

But the prism has ulterior motives. You see, it plans to use the distraction created by the story to abandon its current host and take control of the armoured Avenger.

Is this the one where Thor and his mates come up against a giant planet populated by giant people with a giant Hoover?

I'm never sure about this era of Thor. He and his sidekicks seem to spend all their time on quests into deep space; when they could be on Earth, bashing up top-notch foes like Mr Hyde and the Cobra.

Hooray! It's one of the rare stories featuring the Original X-Men that I actually like, as our heroes find themselves confronting the mysterious menace of the Mutant Master and Factor Three!

Sadly, I seem to remember the next issue failing to live up to its standards.

Well, that's Marvel's big-hitter taken care of.

But what of that company's Distinguished Competition? Just what was it producing in the tales that wore the month as their cover date?

The Black Orchid gets her second-ever adventure. And how great is it?

I've no idea. I must confess I can't remember a thing about it.

I've no doubt, though, she'll be up against common, everyday hoods who prove unsuited to tangling with a woman whose powers rival and replicate those of Supergirl.

But not only do we have the adventures of a woman named after an exciting flower, we also get a backup strip featuring Colonel Strong. And, no, I don't recall what happens in that one either.

Can it be? An epic collision between the Justice League, the Justice Society and the Freedom Fighters?

Too right it can, as the three teams split up to tackle machines controlling the Earth. Machines created by the Nazis.

However, those machines turned on their creators - and Adolf Hitler - seeing them as inferior.

Hold on. This is the plot of 1975's Genesis of the Daleks. Could this be mere coincidence?

This is it, my favourite issue of Secret Origins, when we're treated to the grave-defying truth of how the Spectre came to be. And just in time for his impending return, in the pages of Adventure Comics.

Cop Joe Corrigan's killed by hoods. But it takes more than that to stop him, as he's sent back to Earth by a higher power, who's clearly God, in order to put paid to all crime on the planet.

That might seem like a tough ask but Jim now has the power to kill criminals in every conceivable way. Including simply reducing them to skeletons where they stand.

The Original Captain Marvel gets the 100-page treatment - and does so with a batch of yarns that include such fare as A Twice-Told Tale!, The Original Captain Marvel Introduces Mary Marvel, The Mighty Marvels Join Forces!, The Vest Pocket Levitator, Mary Marvel and the Dog-Nappers, The Adventure in Time!, The Talking Tiger and The Return of Mr Tawny.

The Vest Pocket Levitator is the one I most want to read. They don't come up with titles like that anymore.

Holy walking heaps of vegetation, Robin! The Swamp Thing only goes and meets Batman!

It all happens when Alec visits Gotham City to rescue his friends, and stumbles across the location of the Conclave, the organisation to blame for him having become the Swamp Thing in the first place.

And, of course, there's no way someone who looks like him's going to blunder around that city without attracting the attention of the caped crusader...