October 18th, 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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This week in 1975 saw great news for those who aren't keen on deadly diseases, thanks to the planet's last naturally-occurring case of smallpox being diagnosed and cured. The patient was two-year-old Rahima Banu who, Wikipedia informs me, is still with us.

Meanwhile, prehistory is also made because I do believe this is the week that finally brings an end to Conan's Living Tarim story line, thanks to that character being ruthlessly slaughtered by his own guards.

Not that that affects his career trajectory because it turns out a lifeless corpse can carry out the functions of a living Tarim perfectly comfortably.

Elsewhere, the Invaders foolishly take on a trio of Avengers in war-torn Paris.

Not they know that they're Avengers, or what they're doing in Paris. But it does mean the Vision gets to fight himself without knowing it.

Even more dramatically, I do believe we reach the finale of the Kang/Grandmaster melodrama, with the Kangster blowing his chance of revenge upon the team, thanks to him forgetting the Black Knight isn't actually an Avenger!

And I do believe Shang-Chi and Groucho Marx now enter the sewers of New York, as they pursue someone or other for some reason or other.

The cover blurb implies Dracula's inside the room.

The picture implies he's outside the room.

Which is the deadly truth?

I can't remember but I'm fairly sure we're still in the midst of the tale in which he and a young lady must survive a night in a house haunted by the ghost of an Aleister Crowley type figure.

Following that, the Living Mummy proves to be more alive than the Living Tarim but, no doubt, will struggle to keep it that way when he finds himself in The Asp's Big Score.

And the Werewolf by Night's battling to rescue his sister from the clutches of Ma Mayhem and Baron Thunder.

But, this time, he has an advantage!

He has a ring which allows him to retain his normal intelligence, no matter how furry he gets!

Our primate protagonists have escaped the Planet of the Apes but it looks like escaping the forearm of a fellow simian's going to be a far greater challenge.

Beyond the death of poor old Dr Milo, this issue contains the dramatic moment when Zira reveals, to her human hosts, that she and Cornelius can speak!

Elsewhere, Warlock's battle with the Brute continues. A battle that I think climaxes with the death of Counter-Earth's Dr Doom.

And I do believe it may also witness the demise of the strip, as I suspect Adam will not be appearing in the comic again.

Also making his last appearance in the mag is Captain Marvel who aims to go out in style by battling the Sub-Mariner for reasons I don't recall.

It's a classic tale for Spidey who travels to Curt Connors' not-at-all nightmarish beach house, looking to develop a cure for his current condition of having too many arms...

...only to encounter not only the Lizard but, also, Morbius the living vampire!

The Living Tarim? The Living Mummy? The Living Vampire? You can't move, this week, for living people.

But what I remember most about this issue, from when I first read it, is me suddenly realising that the colours on its cover consisted of tiny dots - and me, therefore, subsequently trying to colour in a picture by using tiny, hand-drawn dots.

I soon realised that such an act was more trouble than it was worth, and I never again dared repeat such a dread experiment.

Iron Man, meanwhile, has a scrap on his hands when he must thwart a deadly robot built by the mad scientist father of Tony Stark's latest love interest Janice Cord. This tale is, of course, brought to us by the plucky pencil of Johnny Craig, an artist whose quaint and tidy simplicity I've always had a soft spot for.

And I do believe Thor sees off his love rival Him but, in doing so, succumbs to Warrior Madness.

And Odin hasn't given him permission to become insane.

And that means Thor's in trouble with his dad.

Again.

Its the return of Tiger Shark - and the return of that cover from just five issues ago.

This time, however, the cover's appropriate, as the jade juggernaut does indeed find himself in watery conflict with Prince Namor's old foe.

And it all happens because Bruce Banner decides to gatecrash Glenn and Betty's Niagara Falls honeymoon.

Back in New York, the man without fear's still striving to introduce the knuckles of democracy to the chin of the Stilt-Man who's out to kill Foggy Nelson, in his bid to sink the lawyer's quest to become District Attorney.

And the Silver Surfer's determined to be a threat to all mankind, in a bid to get mankind to grow up. Needless to say, thanks to the Fantastic Four, that bid fails and, seeing the error his of ways, the pewter pontificator agrees not to get up to that sort of thing again.

It's an exciting week for me, as the Human Top makes his debut in the pages of Giant-Man's strip.

I, of course, hold that tale in high regard, simply because I first read it in the pages of an Alan Class comic. Astounding Stories #93, to be precise. A fact which, of course, lent a whole other kind of magic to it.

Following that, the Cat has plenty to worry about, as she must deal with the overwhelming menace of the villain the world knows as the Owl!

And the X-Men must survive their first encounter with the Mimic who seeks to join their ranks but is a bit short-tempered.

And, as we all know, no short-tempered character could ever be accommodated within an X-Men lineup.