May 22nd, 1976 - 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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I'm sure that football football football is all that's ever on our minds, round here, and it was even more on our minds, this week in 1976, when Liverpool won the UEFA Cup for the second time, thanks to a 4–3 aggregate victory over Club Brugge.

In a far more high-class vein, the Royal Charter was granted to the Chartered Society of Designers.

Granted, I've no idea what that actually means but I'm sure it's very fancy.

Speaking of being fancy, I do always wonder where super-heroes get those big hoops from, for each other to jump through. I have never yet encountered a shop that sells them.

But I do believe the Fantastic Four are about to get a shock when Sue decides to buy a house in the woods and it turns out to be booby-trapped up to the eyeballs!

Elsewhere, the Red Skull tries to steal America's latest nuclear submarine but, not for the first - and certainly not the last - time, causes his own death.

Speaking of blundering villains, the drones of AIM make a major goof when they steal what they think is a SHIELD LMD - only for it turn out to be Nick Fury!

The Sub-Mariner's about to encounter both Plant Man and Triton in a tale I have no doubt will be packed to the gunwales with drama.

It's a great week for fans of the Ghost Rider, as he doesn't only appear in this week's Dracula Lives. He also has a strip in this book.

And, this week, after an encounter with a bike gang, Johnny Blaze tells the story of how he became the flame-headed fright dispenser.

It's a striking cover, all right but, before we find out what's to do with the Avengers, Conan lands himself in a yarn called the Night of the Gargoyle.

But, now, hold onto your hats, pilgrim because it's the start of what was, at the time, the greatest super-hero epic of them all, as everyone's favourite Kree captain makes the mistake of using the most over-powered hairdryer in history.

And it all begins because he's giving off dangerous levels of radiation the Avengers need to set about draining, pronto.

Meanwhile, I do believe Shang-Chi and his friends have gone to the island of the assassin Mordillo, looking to bring an end to his murderous activities.

As that cover makes clear, there's plenty at stake for Dracula who, having gone to the lair of Dr Sun, must now survive a fight with the villain's blade-wielding lackey Juno.

In the Ghost Rider's strip, Daimon Hellstrom's still preparing to exorcise Linda Littletrees while Johnny Blaze must face the power of the Witch -Woman.

But forget about Kree/Skrull Wars, this is the big news of the month because I do believe the Man-Thing gets a Rick Jones of his very own when he encounters Richard Rory!

I'm sure that Alaric and Graymalkin are still splashing about on that big boat of theirs.

And, for what feels like the 300th week running, Ka-Zar's battling the malevolent machinations of Maa-Gor and El Tigre.

But the Black Panther finally brings an end to the Killmonger saga when he thwarts the homicidal plans of that malcontent's girlfriend and her leopards.

Despite what's claimed on the cover, I do believe that, inside the book, Adam Warlock and the Hulk are getting on like a house on fire, after encountering each other on Counter-Earth.

But tension's running high in Daredevil's strip when Crime-Wave sends the assassin known as Torpedo to kill Willie Lincoln for knowing too much.

And the X-Men are still in combat with Frankenstein's Monster but may have a solution at hand, thanks to its problem dealing with extreme cold.

And, in a separate strip, we discover the ocular origin of that team's man of action Cyclops.

But this is it, the tale that left me traumatised forever, as we get not just the death of Gwen Stacy but, also, the death of the Green Goblin.

In Dr Strange's strip, a crisis point's been reached, as Dormammu decides to liberate himself from the centre of the Earth and, once again, menace mankind.

Iron Man's still up against the power of the Controller.

And it looks like he might be all set to control Iron Man!

It looks like an even bigger clash of the titans is on the books because, upon discovering a French inventor's been kidnapped by Dr Doom, Thor decides it's time to pay a visit to Latveria and teach the maniacal monarch a lesson.

And, lastly, the Thing and Black Widow are in joint action when they attempt to prevent Agamemnon's terrorist organisation from detonating a giant nuclear bomb that will devastate the western world.