June 21st, 1975 - 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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Little of interest happened, this week in 1975. Therefore, I shall launch straight into my look at the activities and antics of Marvel's mightiest heroes, as they seek to fill, with thrills, spills and heroics, the pages of the UK's favourite comics.

The Prowler makes his not-necessarily senses-shattering return, meaning Spidey faces a battle to reach the airport, before Gwen can use it to take her to England and out of his life forever.

But it's bad news for Iron Man too because the Melter's built himself a new melting gun, used it to escape from prison and is now demanding Tony Stark create an even better one for him.

Next, we take a journey into mystery when it finally dawns on the thunder god that he can't be the real Thor if he's really Don Blake who only got the powers of Thor because he found a magic stick in a cave.

Cue a reprint of Thor's first appearance in the Marvel universe, back when he battled the invading Stone Men.

And cue our hero trying to make sense of it all.

I think we can all see there's a huge development in the pages of the comic's main strip.

But, before that, John Buscema draws a tale in which Shang-Chi decides to invade his father's secret lair.

Following that, with the other Avengers busy elsewhere - and the Black Widow kidnapped by Egghead, the Puppet Master and Mad Thinker - Hawkeye sees no choice but to swallow Hank Pym's growth serum and become the new Goliath!

And then there's a treat for us all, as Barry Smith descends upon Dr Strange's strip, to pencil a tale in which, after narrowly avoiding being run over by a truck, the sorcerer supreme finds himself in a strange reality where nothing makes sense.

I remember acquiring this issue in a city centre stationers that had a subterranean tunnel which linked it to the biggest toy shop in Europe.

I can't help feeling all stationers should have a tunnel linking them to the biggest toy shop in Europe.

As should all houses.

I know what doesn't have a tunnel linking it to a toy shop.

And that's Hydra's HQ.

If it did, they'd all probably act a lot nicer.

As it is, they still have the Hulk running loose in that HQ - and he's got the help of Ant-Man!

But what of the Chameleon?

And, at the story's end, has he, as seems likely, managed to squish Bruce Banner beneath his evil shoe?

Following that, Daredevil's still battling the Exterminator's Ani-Men but, holy smoke, he gets zapped by their T-Ray and flung out-of-sync with the rest of humanity. He does, at least, find himself in the company of Debbie Harris and other earlier victims of that ray.

Elsewhere, the Fantastic Four are not only facing Ronan the Accuser on the streets of New York, they're defeating him!

You might think that's all their current problems over and done with.

But is it?

After all, while that's going on, Alicia's abducted from her apartment, by a man of mystery.

As far as I can make out, Dracula's in nostalgic mood and thinking back to a time when a man told him about the existence of a pool of blood that can confer immortality upon those who drink from it.

Meanwhile, Jack Russell's still a prisoner of the wizard Taboo and his lovely daughter Topaz.

And Frankenstein's Monster's also up to something but I can't say exactly what.

I suspect the pig creature he fought last week will be looking for revenge.

That cover can only mean one thing.

We've finally reached the start of Marvel's adaptation of Beneath the Planet of the Apes, as presented by Alfredo Alcala and Doug Moench.

It, of course, features yet another astronaut landing in the simian wonderland and setting out to discover just what's happened to his predecessors.

Speaking of people who arrived from outer space, Adam Warlock's experiencing Count-Down for Counter-Earth! which, I think, involves him deciding to go on the rampage and destroy that planet.

But the other big news we need to hear is that this issue sees the launch of Marvel's adaptation of The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, thanks to Len Wein and George Tuska!

Conan and Elric continue an encounter that sees them call a truce, so they can travel to the sunken city of Yagala and battle the combined might of people called Xiombarg, Prince Gaynor, Kulan-Gath and Terhali.

Elsewhere, Thongor's vanished from the comic, to be replaced by none other than that puritan purifier Solomon Kane who finds himself in an adaptation of Robert E Howard's Skulls in the Stars.

It's a turning point in the life of the Beach Boy from space, as he meets the Inhumans and it all goes so well that the experience leads him to set out to destroy the entire human race.

How odd that both he and the equally cosmic Adam Warlock should decide to destroy their adopted planets in the same week.

As for the X-Men, they and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants are both trying to recruit the Stranger - only for him to reveal he's an alien and then abduct Magneto and the Toad!