The Marvel Lucky Bag - January 1986.

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

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I'm struggling to find films that are worthy of me handing over my ticket money in January 1986. Of the movies released that month, it seems the most promising I can find are The Clan of the Cave Bear, Heathcliff: The Movie, Iron Eagle, Down and Out in Beverly Hills and Youngblood.

Perhaps I'll go and see Heathcliff. After all, who can turn their nose up at a new adaptation of Wuthering Heights?

 

Then again, I may just stay at home and read some of those comics that are known to expand a young man's mind and broaden his horizons so much that he can no longer even get his head out the door.

It's an exciting time for us all, as Marvel's signature character gets his own graphic novel and finds himself in a Susan Putney / Bernie Wrightson thriller in which the man with the sticky fingers encounters both Marandi Sjorokker and Thunder Cockroach.

No. I don't have a clue who they are.

Apparently, Thunder Cockroach dies.

Will we ever see his ilk again?

An understated cover lets us know Marvel's most psycho crime-fighter has his very own book!

From what I can make out, fearless Frank is in prison and takes part in a break-out...

...but then prevents his fellow convicts from escaping!

The warden, meanwhile, promises to free him if he agrees to fight for someone called The Trust.

Web of Spider-Man lands its second-ever annual and does so with a tale in which Warlock of the not-Adam variety goes to New York and impersonates a number of television personalities, thus causing all sorts of, no doubt, hilarious chaos.

That's followed by an eight-page yarn called You're Lying, Peter Parker!

Of that adventure, I know nothing, other than that it seems to contain a dream sequence.

Daredevil too bags himself a graphic novel. One in which the Kingpin abducts a psychologist's wife but is soon thwarted by the man without fear.

And it's all brought to us by fun-filled Frank Miller and bouncing Bill Sienkiewicz.

Then again, it turns out it's not that hard to get your own Marvel graphic novel, because, now, Greenberg the vampire's managed it and I don't even know who he is.

Whatever his identity - and whatever the story involves - it's a whopping 70 pages long and is the creation of J. M. DeMatteis and Mark Badger. 

There's no way the world's greatest vampire's going to be left behind by Greenberg. And, so, he too lands himself a graphic novel!

And I know even less about this one than I do about Greenberg's.

All I do know is it's by Jon J Muth.

Knock me down with a feather. Even the Alien Legion is in on the full-length act!

In this 67-page tome, Alan Zelenetz, Carl Potts and Frank Cirocco give us A Grey Day to Die which features such never-to-be-forgotten characters as Sarigar, Torie Montroc, Jugger and Grimrod!

After all that drama, I need to relax.

And what could be more relaxing than a colouring book?

Nothing could.

Even if it's based on a terrible film.

And, thankfully, we have one to hand, as, not only does Marvel give us its 47-panel adaptation of George Lucas' legendary Howard the Duck movie, it also does it in magical monochrome, so we can entertain ourselves by transforming it into glorious Technicolor.