Fifty years ago today - August 1974.

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

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Let us proceed without delay.

My recollections of this one are vague but I do believe the world's mightiest super-team must tackle both Klaw and Solarr in a tale which may feature the Rudyardian ambassador.

Is this the one in which the Scarlet Witch thwarts the villains by smashing them with an asteroid she yanks out of orbit?

Also, I do believe this issue's drawn by a combination of Bob Brown and Dave Cockrum - although there are clear signs of another, mysterious, hand being involved in the inking of certain panels.

Gil Kane and John Romita serve up a dramatic cover when the antediluvian aggro-meister must combat the maddening menace of a hostile tree!

It's a classic tale in which Steve Rogers has one almighty great mard-fit and shocks us all by deciding to quit being Captain America.

Of course, before he does that, we get yet another retelling of his origin.

Daredevil invades Black Spectre's airship but is quickly captured, with a brainwashed Black Widow standing guard over both he and Shanna the She-Devil!

Not only is this bad news for them. It also means nothing can now stop the Mandrill from taking over the White House!

Can it be true? Is the Sub-Mariner finally going to succeed in conquering the surface world?

And doing so with the aid of Sue Richards?

I can't say, because I've never read it but I'm willing to bet good money the whole thing ends with him not conquering the surface world. And with Sue back in the arms of the Fantastic Four.

It's the big one we've all been waiting for!

On Counter-Earth, not only does Adam Warlock get crucified on national TV, he then proceeds to return from the dead.

Its a subtle thing but I can't help feeling there's some sort of Biblical allegory hidden in all of this, somewhere.

Holy Hannah! Iron Man has to deal with a whole quartet of menaces!

I can't help feeling that any tale which features the Mandarin, Unicorn, Sunfire and Yellow Claw may prove a little overcrowded - especially in the ego department.

As if that wasn't enough, the issue also features Ultimo!

Fortunately, deadly as he is, Ultimo's always struck me as being mercifully free of ego.

It's a classic John Romita cover, as Spider-Man and the Punisher set aside their differences, in order to thwart the stabby-shoed menace of the Tarantula.

But, perhaps more significantly, this is the issue in which Harry Osborn discovers the true identity of Spider-Man!

Galactus being a bit of a sad-sack there.

Tragically, not having read this one, I don't have a clue what it is he's being a sad sack about.

I'm not familiar with this story but, to be honest, if I was labelled, "The Sub-Human," I'd probably want to smash things up too.

That's Marvel's finest heroes disposed of but, for every yin there's a yang. Therefore, what news is there of the House of Ideas' closest rival, and a random sample of its comics which bear the cover date of August 1974?

The Spectre materialises, once more, to combat villainy. But, this time, it's villainy with a difference.

This time, the phantom lawman's up against no mere common hood but a man who's bringing shop window dummies to life, in order to enrich and embetter his circumstances.

However, even a foe such as he is no match for a being who can know no rest until he's totally eliminated crime from the entire planet.

And, in fact, this time, there's a second difference because this issue isn't primarily drawn by usual artist Jim Aparo. Instead, it's predominately pencilled by Frank Thorne with able assist from Aparo.

It's another of my fave Legion tales, as Validus reappears to cause consternation in the ranks.

It all begins when Invisible Kid collapses before revealing that, when he uses his power, he can see a hidden world inhabited by a fit bird.

Later, Dream Girl prophesies that Validus is coming to attack the Legion!

It can only mean one thing. That only an act of total self-sacrifice is going to be saving the day.

And it's Invisible Kid who's going to have to make it!

The lord of the jungle gets the 84-page treatment when we're supplied with a multi-part epic sourced from the company's 1972 Tarzan series.

We also get How to Draw Tarzan's Animals, an investigation into whether the hero is based on a real person.

And, of course, there's the table-top diorama no DC Collectors' Edition would be complete without.

I've never read this one but that's a memorable cover while, inside, it would seem Kamandi discovers the mind-numbing secret behind the humans of Chicago!

My guess is those humans have all turned out to be robots.

However, I'm assuming that's only the case in this comic and not in real life.

It's another memorable cover from Nick Cardy.

And I've no doubt the insides are packed with goodness too, as various talents serve up such treats as Something Sinister About Uncle Harry, Bet Your Life, For Whom the Ghost Bells Toll and Ghostly Genie.

Things get inconvenient for the man of steel when his girlfriend keeps turning into a homicidal monster!

What can be behind this revolting development?

From what I can recall, it's being caused by a necklace he gave her as a present. One that came from another world and gives off strange radiation.

You might have thought he'd have checked for things like that before giving her the thing.

Elsewhere, we have a backup strip featuring the Atom. From what I recall, a Professor Myles Adrian manages to trap the under-sized crime-fighter in the magnetic tape of his telephone's answering machine.