Fifty years ago today - February 1976.

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

***

A wise man once said, "Time, time, time, see what's become of me."

I've no idea what's become of him.

But I do know what's become of time.

And that's because, like a veritable god, I have the power to bend time between my eyeballs.

And watch me do it, right now, as I fling us all back into the past and into the days when all problems in life could be solved by donning Spandex.

My razor-sharp senses tell me Hellcat makes her fearsome debut, this issue.

This is indeed good news but I am interested by the cover's claim that we wanted her.

I don't remember ever wanting her.

That is, I don't remember ever thinking, "If only the half-forgotten Patsy Walker would find the Cat's old costume and become a crime-fighter, from out of nowhere."

I am, of course, perfectly happy that she's done it.

My razor-sharp senses also tell me that this issue features the origin of Bêlit.

I must confess I've totally forgotten what that origin was.

I'm guessing it may have all been somewhat in the Tarzan envelope but I could be wrong.

I've never read this one but, as far as I can make out, someone called William Taurey hopes to use the Madbomb and a mercenary Royalist army to destroy democracy in the United States and return the country to a state of aristocracy.

While he's at it, he also wants to visit vengeance upon Steve Rogers for being the descendant of the man who killed his ancestor.

It all makes perfect sense to me.

From what I recall of this one, Daredevil has problems with Voodoo in Central Park.

Including chicken sacrifice!

I first came into possession of this comic on a Sunday morning and, as I've said elsewhere on this site, I've never encountered a comic on a Sunday without liking it.

More importantly, I believe this was the first time I learned of the existence of that big arch in whatever city it is that the big arch is in.

As for what's going on inside, the Hulk and Thing have teamed up against everybody who wants to stop them.

But is prolonged exposure to the Hulk's radiation going to have a strange effect on Benjy?

The Hulk's still convinced that the Abomination is his best friend.

I fear he may be disappointed.

It looks like trouble for the mighty metal marvel when he has to take on the Red-Ghost and his Super-Apes.

I can't help feeling the Super-Apes should just ditch the Red Ghost and go off on their own. I'm not sure they truly need him.

As reprinted in the 1977 UK Spider-Man Annual, we get a strangely atypical tale of child kidnapping, unfulfilled professors and American college football.

Sadly, in order to make it fit it into that annual, great chunks of the story were excised - including half of the all-important Mary Jane college dance scene - meaning sections of the yarn made no sense.

Happily, I'm sure this comic doesn't suffer from those problems.

The Time-Twisters are still causing trouble in the age of Zarrko.

I do believe Jane Foster's wielding that blade, on the cover, because she's been possessed by the spirit of Sif.

Presumably, this means she'll wave a sword around a lot and go on about being a warrior born, without ever actually being any noticeable use in a fight.

Dave Cockrum's classic early run on the X-Men continues apace and I think this tale may have been the first time I encountered Erik the Red.

I also encountered an airport in it but I'd already encountered the concept of airports before.

Mostly in stories written by Chris Claremont.

Regardless, Havok and Polaris turn up and attack the X-Men, thanks to the manipulations of the aforementioned Erik.

Thus are the major heroes of the Marvel universe accounted for.

But what of that other company?

The one that fair rivals The House of Ideas itself? Just what shall we find if we encounter a random sampling of its mags that bear the same cover date?

If there's one thing you can never escape in the world of comics, it's war.

And so it is that Blitzkrieg #1 arrives to send our spinner racks into a spin.

And this one takes the bold - and some might think potentially foolhardy - step of seeing things through the eyes of the Axis powers.

We kick off the series with thrillers that bear such titles as The Enemy, The Huns and The Anteater; Dornier Night Fighter DO-335A.

Plus, we encounter a one-page Allan Asherman feature which appears to explain just why the decision was made to launch this mag.

1st Issue Special can always be relied on to surprise us and, this month, we encounter the Assassin who I know nothing of but, from that Mike Grell cover, does have a bit of a vibe of an Atlas/Seaboard character about him.

Anyway, I've no doubt it'll look good, as it's drawn by Frank and Nestor Redondo.

We also encounter a one-page Gerry Conway article The Story Behind the Story which, I'm assuming, gives us info about the creation of both strip and character.

The clown prince of crime has yet another escapade and I know nothing of it other than it's called The Joker Goes "Wilde"! and features something called The Royal Flush Gang.

Also, it's brought to us by Martin Pasko and Irv Novick.

Just four more issues remain for this mag.

Just when you thought the 1970s had thrown every sword and sorcery book at us they were ever going to throw at us, the Warlord gets his very own mag and does so with a tale called This Savage World.

Just how savage that world is, I cannot say, as I've never read this, nor indeed any other, Warlord adventure.

However, it would seem we're treated to the Introduction of Travis Morgan into Skartaris - and that Tara and Diemos are re-introduced.

I have no idea what any of that means.

Following that, we get a one-page feature in which Iron Mike Grell discusses the Hollow Earth Theory. Whether this discussion is on a par with Neal Adams' treatises on the Expanding Earth Theory, I cannot say.