September 27th, 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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Everest. It's not just a brand of double-glazing. It's also a mountain.

And, this week in 1975, it was a newsworthy one because it was a week which saw Dougal Haston and Doug Scott become the first Brits to climb it.

Almost as historical was the opening of the National Railway Museum in York, making it England's first national museum outside London.

This claim does lead me to want to discover just when the National Pencil Museum opened in Keswick, Cumbria.

I have now checked, and the Internet informs me it opened in 1981.

I do believe this is the launch of the six-armed saga that's long divided fandom.

Personally, I loved Spidey having six-arms and think he should have kept them.

As for Tony Stark's opinion on the matter, I cannot say and, right now, he's probably too busy to express a preference, as he's still lumbered with Whiplash on the Maggia's gambling ship which may now be under attack by the forces of AIM and under imminent danger of submersion.

And Thor is about to have his first encounter with Him whom has taken a shining to Sif. A decision that's in danger of getting a hammer wrapped around Him's head.

We encounter a pivotal moment in the life of Conan the Barbarian, as John Buscema takes over from Barry Smith on the pencilling chores, in order to unleash a thriller called The Mirrors of Kharam Akkad!

The Avengers, on the other hand, find themselves dispersed to the four corners of the world, in a bid to prevent the Grandmaster's Squadron Sinister from destroying such landmarks as the Statue of Liberty, Big Ben, the Taj Mahal and the Egyptian pyramids!

And Dr Strange finds himself up against the horror of Dagoth thanks to the words of Gardner F. Fox and the pictures of Craig Russell.

While it's nice to be treated to so much concentrated Lovecraftian goodness, it is hard to avoid the feeling that this Shuma-Gorath-related serial is starting to grow a little repetitive.

It sometimes seems like life is one long, non-stop fight, for the Hulk who arrives back from Counter-Earth - only for the Abomination to finally recover from his plunge from space - during the Klaatu storyline - and be instantly recruited for Thunderbolt Ross' latest doomed scheme to tackle the Hulkster.

Daredevil concludes his encounter with Willie Lincoln, by helping the blind ex-soldier to thwart the evil intentions of Biggie Benson and his henchman Whitey Barton.

This involves both a court case and a punch-up. Whether Whitey is any relation to Clint and Barney Barton, I cannot say.

The Thing, meanwhile, has finally overcome his desire to be evil.

But it will it be in time to save Sue from an attack by one of the Mad Thinker's androids?

I assume this is a reprint of the Drac adventure that owes more than a small debt to The Legend of Hell House, with added Aleister Crowleyness thrown in for good measure, which sees he and a young woman having to survive a night in a domicile that wants them dead.

Elsewhere, the Living Mummy concludes his fight with the Living Pharaoh. Strangely, he seems to have less difficulty against the Kemetic committer of criminal misdeeds than the X-Men did.

Werewolf by Night gives us the origin of Tigra, revealing her to have once been the super-heroine the world would have known as the Cat had she been around for long enough for the world to have known of her.

And we wrap up the issue with a short tale called The Monster in the Mist! followed by the single-page yarn Peter Snubb: Werewolf!

It seems we're still aboard that Tom Sutton pencilled apes-on-a-ship tale and about to meet a man called Alaric who just can't wait to lead the local humans into conflict with their ape masters.

Elsewhere, fresh from his encounter with Counter-Earth's heroic version of Dr Doom, Adam Warlock now has a meeting with its incarnation of Reed Richards.

Only to discover he's a monstrous villain called the Brute!

And Captain Marvel's still battling the Super-Skrull!

This cover does look weirdly like it was coloured in with a felt-tip pen. I suspect, though, that that was not the case. Even Marvel UK's ofttimes idiosyncratic approach to reprinting probably didn't extend that far.

Rather more importantly, I have a suspicion this may be the Surfer's last appearance in this book.

Also in danger of making their last appearance are the X-Men. Thanks to their clash with the Sentinels, Hank and Bobby are hospitalised, while the others find themselves attacked by a mysterious stranger at their mansion.

It's only when the Angel's parents drop in for a visit that we discover the mysterious assailant is none other than that ferrous-fondling felon Magneto!