Fifty years ago today - October 1975.

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

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Comics.

They need no introduction.

In a shocking twist capable of wrenching a man's sanity from his very brain, the Vision carries out a manoeuvre that's known in the trade as The Reverse Neal Adams.

I seem to recall this all being down to the aftermath of  a fight with the Whirlwind and, possibly, our hero having grown too tall too fast.

My memories of this one are fuzzy but I do believe it includes a battle between a giant scorpion and a killer shadow. I'm going to assume that fight was set up by Conan - and that it leads to the salvation of a city.

No shortage of Kirby Krackle on that cover from Gil Kane, while, inside, Cap and the Falcon must thwart Deadly Nightshade's plan to gain control of SHIELD's male agents, as part of her bid to conquer the whole of the United States. 

This issue's victory for common sense sees the Falcon regain his Sam Wilson persona!

A brand new villain makes his debut!

In fact, two of them do! Because there are no less than two villains called the Torpedo making their first appearance, in this tale.

Sadly, for one of those villains, it's also his last appearance. For no sooner has he started fighting Daredevil than he's crushed by a falling wall!

Fortunately for the world of crime, there's an insurance salesman called Brock Jones who just can't wait to take his place.

It's the moment we've all been waiting for, as Gaard shows up!

But doesn't he turn out to be Johnny Storm?

Regardless, I've no doubt that, next issue, the FF will find themselves up against the deadly threat of Wikketkeeper.

And, the issue after that, they'll be battling the terrifying menace of Centralholdingmidfielder.

Iron Man finds himself confronting a pair of foes I've never heard of but it seems they're called Professor Kurarkill and Quasar.

All I know is I'd stay away from any hill called Murder Mountain. I can't help feeling someone's trying to tell me something.

At last we reach the conclusion of the Jackal saga - and the truth about the return of Gwen Stacy.

Not to mention the launchpad of a Clone Saga everyone will love.

It all happens when our hero must fight another our hero, in order to rescue Ned Leeds from the clutches of Professor Warren.

But, when the scrap's over, how does our surviving hero know he's really our hero and not just a perfect copy of him?

Isn't this the story where, for some reason, Odin decides to do to himself what he usually does to Thor and banishes himself on Earth, with no memory of his true identity?

I have no doubt that, by doing so, he needlessly endangers the whole universe and then, after Thor's sorted it all out for him, decides to punish him for it.

In other news, I do believe Egyptian gods turn up in this one

The Ani-Men may not be able to beat Daredevil but perhaps they'll have more luck against the all-new X-Men.

Then again, they probably won't.

Either way, one of our superstars is going to be dead at the end of it all, thanks to his determination to thwart the evil plans of Count Nefaria.

Hooray! The Hulk comes up against the Loch Ness Monster!

Tragically, for reasons unknown, the tale never admits it's the Loch Ness Monster. Instead, labelling it The Loch Fear Monster, as the green one must endure the jealousies and rivalries of the not-at-all-stereotypical Black Jaimie MacAwber and Angus MacTavish.

That's enough of Marvel's big hitters. In order to see their activities in context, we need to know just what the competition was up to at the same time.

And that means it's vital we peruse a random sampling of DC comics which bear the same cover date.

Drama's piled upon drama when the Avenger finds himself battling the menace of The Monster Bug! which I think is a virus that turns people into murderous fiends.

But who's behind the evil scheme?

And can the putty-faced crime-fighter put a stop to it in his penultimate issue?

My knowledge of this one is especially hazy but I'm led to believe that, while planning the Justice League's next adventure, Cary Bates and Elliott S! Maggin enter Carmine Infantino's office, find a Cosmic Treadmill and accidentally activate the thing.

Thanks to this, Bates appears on Earth-2, as a super-villain. Whereas Maggin appears on Earth-1, in the company of the JLA!

I've picked this one purely for the Joe Kubert cover but I'm sure the insides are just as splendiferous, being filled, as they are, with stories bearing such titles as Old Soldiers Never Die, Twice Dead and The Year 700 After The Bomb! [Part 1]. I'm assuming Part 2 of that thriller must be appearing next month?

It's the first issue of a sensational new comic that will last for just one issue.

But what an issue. Not only is it drawn by Walt Simonson, it features two tales of mystery, intrigue and riddle-solving.

The first such tale is an adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's The Final Problem which, no doubt, involves an appearance by the legendary Reichenbach Falls.

And the second is an adaptation of The Adventure of the Empty House. The details of which elude me but I suspect an empty house may be involved.

As if all the Batman goodness we've encountered over the years hasn't been enough for us, we're set to get even more of it because Batman Family #1 enters our lives!

In our first thrilling tale, Batgirl and Robin must unite to keep British mega-patriot Benedict Arnold from taking over the United States!

Then we get The Origins of Batgirl and Robin the Boy Wonder.

Next, Alfred the butler finds himself battling The Great Handcuff King!

Following that, a crook once caught by Commissioner Gordon uses the detective to lure Batman into a trap!

Now, we encounter a reprint of Batman's first-ever encounter with the Man-Bat!

And, a one-page feature tells us how Alfred became Batman's butler, and of his time as the villain the world could only know as The Outsider!