Forty years ago today - July 1986.

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

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You know what I was doing on this date in 1986?

I've no idea but let's pretend I was reading these comics.

Thor's found Balder, living in a floating castle with three beauteous maidens who turn out to be malevolent trolls manipulating his senses.

Needless to say, a punch-up between the two gods can only be moments away.

But I do recall both heroes being worryingly happy to kill trolls in this one. Which seems somewhat out of character for them.

It's the clash that had to happen when the Fantastic Four meet Adolf Hitler!

Granted, they've already met him, back in his Hatemonger days but, now, they get a crack at his younger self.

Anyway, it turns out it's all an illusion and they've been in the present all along and that, contrary to earlier reports, Reed Richards is still very much alive.

Well, that was all a waste of 75 cents.

And there's yet more illusions in this one, as Rachel Summers keeps dreaming that Wolverine's out to kill her. 

Good gravy! Are we to experience no reality, this month?

Despite now being powerless, the Black Cat manages to thwart the plans of some bad guy or other and, so, Sabretooth sets out to gain revenge on his behalf.

But the Walmart Wolverine hasn't counted on the presence of Spider-Man!

Just about everybody on the planet is now fighting the brainless Hulk - and getting nowhere with it.

As a result, the heroes decide they have no choice but to kill him.

As they've not even managed to slow him down at any point, it's a bit hard to see how they think they're going to achieve that.

Not that it matters because it turns out that being separated from each other has left both the monster and Bruce Banner dangerously unstable and the pair of them are going to die of their own accord if they're not reunited!

Captain America's finally got wind of the existence of Scourge the vigilante assassin who's been wiping out minor super-villains.

But can even the wing-headed wonder succeed where an entire bar filled with super-villains can't?

The Avengers manage to free themselves from Kang's trap - with the help of Ravonna - and Immortus reveals he's been controlling the 31st Century tyrant all along. 

The drama continues when Matt helps Karen Page overcome her drug addiction and a frustrated Kingpin recruits a patriotically deranged super-soldier to murder the man without fear.

From what I can recall, Conan and his army set out to kill a king who sent them off to die. And there's nothing going to stop the barbarian from getting what he wants.

Then again, he has an army, a demon and a monster on his side. So, perhaps his victory isn't that surprising.

Peter Parker's a man in a quandary. Torn, as he is, between his friendship for Flash Thompson and his enmity for Flash's alter-ego the Hobgoblin.

But his mind's quickly made up for him when Scourge breaks into the prison where Flash is being held - looking to kill him for being the Hobgoblin - and Spidey knows at once that he must save his friend.

I struggle to recall what happens in this one but I'm going to assume Tony Stark's out to get back at AIM for tricking him into launching their killer death-satellite for them.

Maybe there's an island involved in somewhere like South America.

Maybe there isn't.