The 1985 Marvel UK Annuals for 1986.

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

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We've already taken a look at Marvel UK's annuals of 1975, in a report that's already achieved almost legendary status wherever sentient life flourishes. 

Now let's see what hardback goodness we were getting a full decade later.

But first...

...television!

BBC One, that Christmas Day, was sharing a whole multitude of treats with us. Amongst which were included such gems as Raiders of the Lost Muppet, Roland's Yuletide Binge, The Noel Edmonds Live Live Christmas Breakfast Show, Top of the Pops, The Queen, The Children's Royal Variety Performance, All Creatures Great and Small, Hi-de-Hi!, Only Fools and Horses, The Two Ronnies and Wogan.

Wogan would appear to have involved a special report from the sets of Dallas. Or possibly Dynasty.

I have no list of which musical artistes appeared on that day's Top of the Pops but am aware it was presented by Gary Davies, Janice Long, Dixie Peach, John Peel and Steve Wright, although I must confess to having no recollection at all of just who Dixie Peach was.

When it came to BBC Two, the corporation's less mainstream channel offered up such gems as Pages From Ceefax, The Man in the Santa Claus Suit, Welles Directs Citizen Kane, Film Buff of the Year, Diva and Kiri Te Kanawa at Christmas, among others.

Included in its goodies, ITV bombarded us with Good Morning Britain, Christmas Fraggle Rock, Dangermouse, The Black Hole, Jim Davidson's Top Pop Videos of '85, Moonraker, Minder on the Orient Express, Des O'Connor Tonight and Gregory's Girl.

Channel 4, meanwhile, managed to muster Mister Skeeter, The Marx Brothers at the Circus, Nothing But Pleasure, The Thief of Baghdad, The Mind of David Berglas, Fonteyn and Nureyev: The Perfect Partnership and Mel Brooks Hails Sid Caesar, among others.

Of all those shows, I remember watching Moonraker, Only Fools and Horses, and The Noel Edmonds Live Live Christmas Breakfast Show which was beamed at us from the GPO/Post Office/BT/Telecom Tower or whatever it was called at the time. I seem to remember Feargal Sharkey singing one of his hits on it. Possibly You Little Thief or a Good Heart.

It's great news for those who missed Secret Wars the first time around, because Marvel UK - via Grandreams Publishing - is reprinting a large chunk of it.

Just how large a chunk, I can't say but, as the original ran for 12 issues of normal-sized comics, I'm assuming we're probably not going to get more than half of it.

Anyway, as I'm sure you know, an all-powerful being called The Beyonder has abducted many of Earth's finest heroes and villains, in order to pit them against each other on an alien world. But it soon becomes clear that Dr Doom and Galactus have their sights set on bigger goals...

Where would we be without a Spider-Man annual?

Then again, this would appear to be the first time in years that we don't get anything from Marvel UK that resembles a Hulk annual.

As for Spidey, we kick off with a reprint of his first encounter with Dr Octopus, followed by a six-page text story called Hot Times.

Then there's another six-page text story, called Hammer-Fist and Knife-Slice.

However, this is far too many text stories in one book. If I wanted to read words, I wouldn't buy comics.

And we finish the tome with a reprint of Marvel Team-Up #106 in which our hero and Captain America must battle the Scorpion.

But that's not quite all we encounter, because also in this annual are Spider-Man's Deadly Checkerboard Game! and Spider-Man's Simplistics.