Forty years ago today - June 1985.

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

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Once more shall I shall gaze into the waters of my magic pool and see just what activities are occurring in the place that mortals know as The Past.

Remember that really old Thor story in which he tells a group of boys about a recent fight he's had with the Hulk, in order to answer their question as to which of them's the stronger?

Now we get a re-run. Except, this time, it's Hercules who's telling a group of youths about his epic fights with Thor, in order to answer their queries as to who's the stronger.

Needless to say, the crown prince of braggadocio opts to tell them he's easily defeated Thor every single time they've ever met.

Until Jarvis the butler points out to him that the nature of his young audience means there may be good cause for him to take a metaphorical dive...

Not for the first time, that clanking clod Doom has launched the Baxter Building - and its occupants - into space.

But - as Reed Richards starts to suspect - is it really Doom who's done it?

Or is there an impostor at large?

And might that impostor need rescuing even more than they do?

It seems that only a full-on attack on Doom's castle might yield answers.

It's bad news for the X-Men - and the Juggernaut - when Nimrod shows up, from what I assume to be the future, looking to bump off mutants wherever he finds them.

Fortunately, Rogue's on hand to batter him with every single power she can absorb from every available X-Man.

Storm, conversely, is still devoid of her powers.

And that leads her back to her former haunts in Africa...

But it looks like trouble with a very small T, for our hero, when a group of precocious college kids decide to fabricate the existence of a super-villain, in order to vex and bewilder the web-slinger.

Fortunately, he's far too smart to fall victim to that kind of japery.

The Hulk's mag pulls a stunt I shall never recover from, as it reveals the lovable Puffball Collective, that's befriended the brute for all these months, is actually evil and out to lead him to his doom on a world that's been decimated by the N'Garai.

And the Collective wants to unleash them on the whole universe!

Modred is back and out to trash London - unless Marvel's greatest captains of the British and American varieties can stop him.

It's tense times for the Avengers.

And for Ka-Zar.

That's because Terminus - who I think was the giant alien who showed up in The Fantastic Four, a fair bit back - has arrived in the Savage Land and is out to lay waste to the entire area.

Meanwhile, as far as I can remember, Captain Marvel's still trapped on a spaceship in the middle of nowhere, with a bunch of unprincipled space-pirates.

It's a very odd tale, as Frank Miller returns to the strip and creates an adventure in which a mysterious man in dark glasses arrives in a small New Jersey town and sets about bringing to justice the murderers who control it.

I don't think I've ever read this, but the Grand Comics Database informs me a girl with a magic jewel foretells Conan's impending entombment in a Nemedian sarcophagus.

Exactly what he does about it, I have no idea.

He probably sets about stabbing someone or something. That usually works for him.

It seems like every time we see him, the Fox is planning one last job before retiring.

And he's doing it again.

But this time, Silver Sable and her men are out to bring him to justice, and Spidey must decide just whose side he's on.

Rhodey needs to find out just why he keeps having devastating headaches.

And we all know there's only one way to do that.

And that's to visit a shaman and do spiritual quest-type stuff on an astral plane.