The Marvel Lucky Bag - May 1984.

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

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There was a time when every single one of the world's biggest grossing movies was made by either George Lucas or Steven Spielberg.

Except for one.

Which was made by both of them.

That film was Raiders of the Lost Ark and, given its success, it could only be a question of time before it got a sequel.

And, in May 1984, a sequel is what it got when Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom whipped its way into our cinemas.

Except, Wikipedia informs me that it's actually a prequel.

Off the top of my head, I'm struggling to remember much of what happened in it but I'm going to assume it's the one with the big rolling ball, the roller coaster ride in a cave and the annoying child.

Also, every time I see the title Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, the Sisters of Mercy song Temple of Love starts playing in my head.

And I declare that to be a good thing.

It's tragedy for all lovers of great art, as the A-Team's comic reaches its demise after just three issues. Was it always intended to last for just three outings or had it suffered from disappointing sales?

That I cannot know and I pity the fool who would dare to even speculate upon such a subject.

 However, what I do know is that stuff happens in this comic.

And I also know that I don't know what that stuff is.

I'm sure, though, that much unlikely derring-doing is bound to be involved.

Can that cover be true? Can Marvel's greatest comic devoted to a non-team now be little more than an X-Men spin-off?

It would appear not to be, as the internet informs me that, in addition to the Angel, Iceman and Beast, the comic does still feature the Valkyrie.

It also features a character called the Walrus - as well as Leap-Frog and Frogman for any who've ever wondered if those two amphibious villains have ever been seen together at the same time.

Tragically, I can unleash no information upon just what the plot entails.

It may be 1984 but some of us can't get enough of that Lee/Kirby magic.

And so it is that a brand new set of reprints enters our lives, with its one and only issue.

In it, we get a 41-page epic, thanks to the Sub-Mariner acting totally out of character, losing his rag and declaring war upon the human race.

This tale was, of course, first presented to us in the pages of Fantastic Four Annual #1, way back in 1963.

But that's not all. We also get a bunch of Fantastic Four pin-ups drawn by none other than John Byrne.

Prepare to mourn because it turns out the A-Team's book isn't the only publication hitting its doom this month.

The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe also bows out. 

In this case, it does so with a look at the weapons, gadgets and hardware used by our favourite characters, including such treats as Ant-Man's helmet, Hawkeye's Skymobile and the Book of the Vishanti!

But who cares about any of that?

There's only one thing matters, right now!

And this is it, as Marvel's biggest event to date enters our lives and boggles our brains!

It all kicks off when the company's greatest heroes and heels find themselves abducted, in order that they can fight each other on behalf of a character called The Beyonder.

Will any of our best-loved characters survive the encounter?

Too right, they will.

We know that because each and every one of them returns from it, in the pages of their own mags, this very month.

It's a long time since I looked at Marvel Team-Up in this slot but how could I continue to ignore it when its cover gives us such a good view of Spidey's brand new suit?

Inside, Daredevil and the Black Widow seek to gather the evidence needed to clear a boy wrongly accused of murder.

Spider-Man joins in the fun but ends up at odds with Hornhead who's had to make a deal with the Kingpin in order to solve the crime.

And here's another title I've tended to overlook.

But that cover asks so many questions that I can no longer neglect it.

Tragically, for humanity, I can shed no light upon what happens in this one but, given the Thing's disappearance from the pages of The Fantastic Four, I can only conclude that its circumstances tie in with the events of The Secret Wars.