October 25th, 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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Who was Number One, this week in 1975?

If you were in the UK, and only had eyes for the singles chart, it was none other than Art Garfunkel, thanks to his mega-soothing version of I Only Have Eyes For You.

Equally as relaxing, no doubt, to the British public, was Jim Reeves who was top of the nation's LP chart, courtesy of his 40 Golden Greats.

When it came to television, highlight of the week was, indubitably, that the mummy-packed Doctor Who serial The Pyramids of Mars made its debut.

And it wasn't the only thing entering our lives for the first time. For, in the world of comics, we were about to meet a brand new publication.

One totally unlike anything we'd ever seen before...

And this is it! The mag we've been waiting all our lives for, as The Titans hits both the newsagents' shelves and my eyeballs!

A comic printed on its side, with two pages of artwork occupying each physical page, meaning that twice as much action could be packed into it as in a normal book.

Admittedly, with two pages occupying the space normally reserved for one, you needed a magnifying glass to read it but that never bothered me. All I cared about was that we got twice as much for our money, even if it was from a bunch of B-list adventurers.

And so it is that, this issue, we find action from the Inhumans who are about to declare war on the Fantastic Four, Captain America whose origin is retold here, Nick Fury who becomes head of SHIELD after saving its Helicarrier from an attack by Hydra, the Sub-Mariner who fights an octopus before setting off in search of a magic trident, and Captain Marvel who battles a hapless creature called the Metazoid.

I do recall that some of the pages of that last strip are printed in the wrong order, making the tale partially incomprehensible. Clearly, landscape comics were too mind-blowing a concept for the printers to be able to get their heads around.

And, of course, with this issue, we get a big, full-colour John Buscema poster, originally created for a mid-1970s comics convention and featuring more heroes than we can shake a stick at!

Tragedy hits your tormented blogger, as I never had this issue and, in fact, have now entered a protracted spell during which the Avengers' weekly disappeared without trace from my local newsagents.

However, I do know Conan the Barbarian finds himself having something or other to do with The Blood of Bel-Hissar.

Then, we find the return of the Sons of the Serpent who, I believe, set about framing the Black Panther for murder!

And I think Shang-Chi's still running around New York, with Groucho Marx, and now having flashbacks to his own childhood!

Poor Dr Milo. On last week's cover, he got strangled to death by a gorilla and, on this week's, he's being shot to death by pursuing authorities!

But perhaps he's the lucky one because, unlike Zira and Cornelius, at least he's not about to be grilled by a commission.

Following that, we're treated to an Interview with Paula Crist and William Blake, actors who've played Zira and Cornelius in a touring company dispatched to promote the Planet of the Apes movie franchise. What a strange thing.

And we complete the issue with the Bruce Jones short Kick the Can which is one of those back-up strips I remember not really being able to make sense of, as an 11-year-old.

If the blurb's to be believed, it would seem Dracula's causing terror over the towers of London. That's the last time I ever go anywhere near the Shard.

As for what he's actually doing inside the book, I'm not totally sure but I'll bet there are people looking to stop him.

The Living Mummy has plenty to worry about When Strikes the Asp, as he endures yet more interference from those pesky Elementals who keep trying to gain control of him.

And I do believe this week's Werewolf by Night features not one but three werewolves, as Jack Russell, Ray Coker and Lou Hackett all get into a scrap with each other.

But, at the end of the yarn, Russell is the only one who's still a lycanthrope.

Now I'm confused. That cover screams, "Jim Starlin," at me but the signature beneath Daredevil's leg insists it's by someone called Gemini.

Then again, the Grand Comics Database confirms it is indeed by Starlin. What is this madness?

Speaking of madness, the Hulk rampages around Canada, in search of the newly married Betty but finds, instead, a man-eating monster the locals know by just the solitary word in its vocabulary.

Wendigo!

Daredevil, in his strip, decides its time to quit being Daredevil.

Unfortunately, the deadly robot that's lurking in his closet isn't in the mood to give him the opportunity to do so!

And, in their strip, the Fantastic Four are also out to bash up the man without fear when they go to war with him, Spider-Man and an under-powered Thor, convinced DD is, in fact, Dr Doom!

Now I'm even more confusederer. That cover also screams, "Jim Starlin," at me but the signature says it's by Keith Pollard and Duffy Vohland.

Inside, Spidey still has to contend with both the Lizard and Morbius but the good news is that, as far as I can recall, the Lizard now has the mind of Curt Connors, meaning he can assist the wall-crawler in his bid to shed any excess arms he may possess.

Iron Man's still fighting the Demolisher, a homicidal robot created by the mad father of Tony Stark's latest love interest Janice Cord.

And Thor's about to be sent into exile for going mad. But, first, he must turn back into Don Blake, in order to perform vital surgery on the gravely injured Balder.

A situation that naughty old Loki's determined to take advantage of. Mostly by stealing Blake's stick.

As we can see, Marvel's largest hero's making a right old Horlicks of his attempts to stop the Human Top, quickly discovering he's too slow and lumbering for the task.

I do believe the Cat manages to chase away the Owl, foiling whatever dastardly scheme he was planning to carry out.

And the X-Men conclude their first ever encounter with the Mimic who finishes the story powerless.

Or does he?

The observant reader will have noticed that, continuity-wise, this week's Mighty World of Marvel should feature the Hulk's first encounter with the Mimic and the Beast but, of that tale, there is no sign.