The Marvel Lucky Bag - October 1974.

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It must have seemed like nothing but fear was waiting to greet those who foolishly entered a cinema in October 1974.

It was, after all, a month which saw the release of those never to be forgotten nightmares The House on Skull Mountain, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, It's Alive, The Cars That Ate Paris and Phantom of the Paradise.

For those who wanted less uncanny fare, it also saw the unveiling of The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, Benji, Airport 1975, The Odessa File, Stardust and The Four Musketeers.

The whole world wants to know which is my favourite of those and I can safely say I don't have a clue. I've only seen It's Alive, Airport 1975, Stardust and The Four Musketeers and am struggling to formulate a judgement about any of them. I do, however, suspect that Airport 1975 was not my favourite.

68 pages of giant werewolf action await us, as the tormented lycanthrope bumps into the Frankenstein Monster who's travelled to California to meet someone called Danton Vayla.

Meanwhile, Vayla's Brotherhood of Baal has kidnapped Lissa Russell and plans to sacrifice her, for some reason I'm not aware of.

But, of course, that can only lead to a scrap between the two monsters, with the only winner being the reader!

Following that, we encounter a trio of Silver Age reprints bearing such titles as Mind Over Matter, The Ape Man and The Werewolf of Wilmach!

And it's going to take 68 pages to contain the sheer drama when Spider-Man and Shang-Chi must combine their forces to prevent Fu Manchu from using the Empire State Building for nefarious purposes.

Having said that, it only takes thirty pages for them to do so.

And that means we then get a reprint of the tale in which Spider-Man must audition for the Avengers by trying to capture the Hulk on their behalf.

Judging by that cover, The Joy of Sex Man finds himself in a nightmare when he's surrounded by monkeys wherever he looks.

It's true. Marvel's latest mag hits its second issue with the second instalment of its adaption of the movie we all love.

But that's not all. Within these pages, we also find Part Two of Terror on the Planet of the Apes, as brought to us by Mike Ploog and Doug Moench.

And there are text articles too, dealing with such themes as The City of the Apes, Simian Genesis and Michael Wilson: the "Other" Apes Writer.

How can Luke Cage manage to call himself Power Man when there's already a Power Man in the Marvel universe?

Presumably, by the same method whereby there are about eight different characters called the Destroyer in the Marvel universe.

However, the other Power Man thinks otherwise - and that means Luke's going to have to fight him for the title.

It's the clash that had to happen because I the reader demanded it. Marvel's living vampire comes up against Marvel's other living vampire when Morbius meets Blade!

Sadly, I've never read this one and can shed no illumination upon its contents but suspect that both men are still very much alive and well at the end of it all.

Regardless, that's then followed by a Joe Maneely  reprint the world can only refer to as The Two-Faced Man.

I've not the slightest idea what happens in this one but that cover certainly makes it look dramatic.

Apparently, it features characters blessed with such names as Ezekial Tork, Maybelle Tork and Dawg.

Not content with having numerous other comics devoted to him, everyone's favourite webhead gets yet another title devoted to him.

This time, it's aimed at younger readers and tells us just how the ordinary everyday Peter Parker became the hero we all know and respect.

But that's not all because, in this issue, he gets to meet the Spoiler, Electro, the Vulture and, erm... ...Duane.

A brand new hero gallops into our spinner racks and into our hearts!

Granted, he's not that new because the main story's a reprint from 1967.

School teacher Carter Slade's on his way to a new job when he encounters a gang attacking a family. Attempting to stop them, he's almost killed but is saved when a man called Flaming Star, believing him to be a  promised white warrior, gives him some stardust that enables him to become the Night Rider.

Gives him some, "stardust," you say?

The issue's backup tale is a reprint from 1957, doesn't seem to feature either Night Rider or stardust and is called The Walking Target!

My knowledge of this one is limited but it would appear the Defenders - with the help of the Son of Satan - must thwart Asmodeus and Satannish.

Elsewhere, a 1954 reprint sees the Sub-Mariner tackle the mystery of people who disappear when they fall into the sea.

The 1950s Black Knight, meanwhile, has an adventure which seems to involve Arthur Pendragon.

And Dr Strange goes Beyond the Purple Veil, thanks to Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.

The magazine that daren't go out in daylight brings us such epics as Where Is Gallows Bend and What the Hell Am I Doing There?, Sip the Sweet Poison, Bats and Agents of the Night Road, as created by those undead luminaries of distinction Doug Moench, Howard Chaykin, Paul Gulacy, Billy Graham, Don McGregor and Tom Sutton.

The cover, meanwhile, is painted by someone credited as JAD.