May 25th 1974 - 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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If you were a man looking to be startled, this week in 1974, the top of the UK singles chart was not the place for you. It was, after all, still dominated by the Rubettes' glam rock classic Sugar Baby Love.

You might, however, find more joy atop the UK album chart.

For, there, you would find that, at long last, the Carpenters had been dislodged - and dislodged by the not-at-all-likely figure of Rick Wakeman, fluid-fingered flaunter of capes, who had achieved dominance over all who lived, with his LP Journey to the Centre of the Earth.

Is it a good album?

That I cannot say, as I've never heard it but it had better feature a serious dose of dimetrodons or there'll be trouble.

Not requiring dimetrodons of any kind is the Hulk who's been sent to a dimension ruled by the Undying Ones, monstrous fiends who want to take over our world.

After a brief contretemps, the leaf-coloured lump-inflicter and the Night-Crawler both decide to take on the villains and it all leads to the captive Dr Strange being liberated, thanks to an act of self-sacrifice by Babs Norriss.

Also getting away from familiar surroundings is Matt Murdock. Determined to avoid his secretary, he does what any boss would in such circumstances and takes a round-the-world cruise.

And, wouldn't you know it, barely has the ship set sail than it's hijacked by pirates led by the Plunderer.

With true comic book logic, this can only lead to an encounter with Ka-Zar.

But just what is the jungle lord's connection with the Plunderer and how does it connect with his childhood?

And, finally, this issue, the  Frightful Four are back!

However, I think they may be on the brink of becoming the Frightful Five, as I do believe this is the tale in which the Thing quits his usual team and then gets brainwashed into joining its criminal counterpart.

Shock follows shock as Spider-Man helps a bunch of convicts escape the local jail!

Or does he?

Is he just out to trick them - and save their hostage George Stacy while hes at it?

Next, I do believe Iron Man concludes his battle with the evil Mr Doll by using his chest plate's search light to somehow remould the villain's Iron Man doll into something resembling his foe.

Thor, meanwhile, miffed at Tana Nile claiming she owns the planet Earth, sets off to her homeworld of Rigel - and is determined to reach it, even if he has to fight every step of the way to get there.

If that cover wouldn't convince you to buy this comic, I reckon nothing could.

It's true. We get the clash of the martial arts titans we all wanted, as Shang-Chi finds himself up against the Man-Thing!

And, from what I can recall, it doesn't go at all well for our hero because he ends up getting stuck in the monster and carried around the swamp like a wally until he's rescued by a man who looks suspiciously like David Carradine.

Elsewhere, in between bouts of trying to woo the lovely Janet van Dyne, kill Goliath and defeat the Avengers, the Living Laser's now trying to overthrow the government of a South American country!

You have to hand it to him, he may fail at everything he does but he doesn't lack ambition.

And I do believe that, in Dr Strange's strip, we get the origin of the Ancient One which seems to involve a long-ago conflict with this issue's villain of the month Kaluu.