Fifty years ago today - June 1976.

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

***

I'm going to see if I can launch straight into this, without an intro.

But, hold on. That was an intro.

And so is this.

And so is this.

What's up with me? I can't stop introducing things!!!

Unless my senses betray me, the Avengers have found themselves in a strange and alternate dimension. One which needs saving from a threat involving the Sub-Mariner's old enemy the Serpent Crown.

But who on Earth is the man in the yellow, doing the talking? I assume he's the Squadron Supreme's version of Hawkman but I have no recollection of him.

Also, where's their version of Hawkgirl?

Conan having a tangle with the man whose name he shall inherit.

A man who bears strong resemblance to both Tarzan and Ka-Zar.

But, before he can do that, he, Amra and Bêlit are going to have to defeat an army of underground goblins!

As far as I can make out, Cap and the Falc endeavour to track down the creator of the Madbombs.

But to add complexity to it all, our hero's developing a romantic attachment to the villain's seriously ill daughter.

I detect human drama incoming.

Not to mention a good dose of self-sacrifice by at least one of the characters.

I like that lettering at the bottom of the cover. It reminds me of those multi-coloured Polo mint things I've mentioned before but can never remember the name of, even though people keep telling me their name.

But I do suspect that one of the Torpedoes on that cover is, in fact, the Chameleon who DD and the real Torpedo are both out to get.

Hooray! It's the debut of Gorr! Which means our next encounter with the High Evolutionary can't be far away!

But, first, the Fantastic Four are going to have to burst into action when the glowing golden gorilla lands on our world, in a ship from Counter-Earth, and proceeds to go on the rampage and grow to huge size.

It's time for a celebration, as the Hulk's mag hits its 200th issue!

And I'm going to guess it's the one in which a dramatically shrunk-down Hulk's implanted into Glenn Talbot's brain. Inside of which, he fights imaginary versions of his old enemies.

I'm no doctor but I can't help feeling that can't be good for Talbot's brain.

The Blizzard is in this one.

That is all I know.

And that it's brought to us by the power-packed pairing of Bill Mantlo and George Tuska.

Spider-Man has problems with a Dr Octopus keen on revitalising his romance with Aunt May!

But that might be the least of Webhead's woes because I also believe this is the one in which Hammerhead returns as a ghost!

Not that the criminal's current state will matter much. I bet that Spider-Man still keeps trying to punch him in the head instead of the stomach.

I possess no knowledge of what happens in this one but I'm going to suggest the cover implies it may have a bit of a Jack and the Beanstalk vibe to it.

I must confess I was always on the side of the giant in that fairy tale, even though he kept saying he wanted to eat Englishmen.

Regardless, it would seem this issue introduces us to Brodag, Holvar and Cosak.

Not that I have a clue who they are.

We've got Sentinels! We've got outer space! And we've got Dave Cockrum! How could anyone not love the X-Men in this period?

It seems Stephen Lang may not. After all, the gang must assault his orbiting space station, in a bid to rescue their colleagues from he and his allies.

Those allies being the original X-Men!