The Marvel Lucky Bag - October 1975.

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

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What amazing movies were unleashed, released, escaped, paroled or let out for good behaviour, this month in 1975?

These amazing movies were: The Giant Spider Invasion, Rooster Cogburn, Lies My Father Told Me, Shivers, Royal Flash, Lisztomania, Mahogany, Hard Times and Conduct Unbecoming.

And I have a feeling I've never seen any of them.

I do recall The Giant Spider Invasion being on the telly, the other night. However, I didn't watch it, having assumed it to be the one that stars William Shatner, which I've already seen.

But, apparently, it's not the one that stars William Shatner.

I am shocked to discover there's a film called Mahogany, having never before realised that Diana Ross's Theme From Mahogany was from an actual film, rather than it just being a song with a weird title.

My recollections of this one are more than fuzzy but I have a feeling the whole tale might be told in flashback.

And the GCD tells me it's directly narrated, in person, by Steve Gerber who appears throughout the issue.

Conan rides into action, once again, when he occupies a tale called The Forever Phial which sees an immortal sorcerer conspire to get the barbarian to end his life for him.

That's followed by The Gods Of The Hyborian Age, Part III: The Elder Gods then Death Song of Conan the Cimmerian and then Sorcerer's Summit.

But we complete the issue with The Hyborian Age, Chapter 2: The Rise of the Hyborians and, finally, Corsairs Against Stygia!

As you might guess, this issue sees the first full appearance of Starhawk!

And there's plenty more action where that came from, as Nighthawk, Charlie and Martinex get captured by the Badoon, Starhawk helps Vance and Valkyrie return to Earth, and the Hulk and Yondu find themselves engaged in a thing called the Super-Death Sweepstakes!

Warlock's previous attempt to sustain a mag of his own failed after just eight issues but, following his triumphant run in Strange Tales, he's got his old book back, and picks up the numbering where he left off!

Needless to say, Adam's still trying to thwart the Magus and his church and I do believe this issue sees the first appearance of the In-Betweener.

Not to mention the return of Thanos.

At last, after all this time, the Incredible Hulk gets a Giant-Size comic of his very own!

And astute readers will have guessed, from that cover, that it centres around a reprint of 1968's Incredible Hulk King-Size Special #1.

That's the tale in which our superstar encounters the Evil Inhumans who try to recruit him in their latest plot to overthrow Black Bolt.

Marvel Presents #1 introduces us to a contemporary of Conan that the world will, no doubt, take to its heart, as Ulysses Bloodstone arrives to battle a whole array of fiends with names you can't pronounce.

This month, he must tackle none other than Ullux'yl Kwan T'ae 'Sny. It's hard to understand why he's not become one of Marvel's most popular villains.

Needless to say, we also encounter Bloodstone's origin and discover just how someone from the Hyborian Age happens to be around in the 20th Century.

Who needs Dr Strange?

Not us. Thanks to Marvel Chillers #1, we have Modred the Mystic to save us whenever supernatural peril abounds.

And it seems we get his origin. And it seems he's been asleep since the days of King Arthur and is awakened by something or other to do with that pesky Darkhold they're always fighting for in Werewolf by Night.

But hold on. Isn't Modred supposed to be a bad guy?

Regardless, that's followed by the three-page short It Happened in the Attic!, reprinted from the pages of 1957's Mystical Tales #7.

Yet another crack team of super-doers smashes its way into our lives, as the Champions go flying out of the starting blocks.

And how can a comic that features such fan favourites as Hercules, the Black Widow, Ghost-Rider, Angel and Iceman fail?

Come to think of it, I don't have a clue what happens in this issue or just how this disparate group manage to come together.

I do note that various anti-social Greek gods show up, this month. I shall, therefore, assume that it's activity by them which forces the heroes to assemble.

For those of us who never got to read the Doug Moench and George Tuska adaptation of the movie of the talking apes, we get another chance to read it, thanks to a brand new comic.

But what can be the shocking secret of the Planet of the Apes?

What?