July 28th, 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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This week in 1976 gave the world a stark warning of the dangers of warm, undisturbed water in a large building when delegates attending an American Legion convention at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia began falling ill with a form of pneumonia.

This would come to be identified as the first outbreak of Legionnaires' disease and caused the deaths of 29 people.

In the UK, the Dangerous Wild Animals Act was passed and required the possession of a licence for those wishing to keep potentially perilous animals in captivity. This Act is, of course, often brought up as a potential explanation whenever people report spotting big black cats in the British countryside. The claim being that its introduction caused owners of such animals to release them into the wild in a bid to avoid the crackdown.

It's excitement all round, as Marvel UK's flagship title hits the two-hundredth issue mark!

I'm fuzzy as to whether the Hulk's still in Canada but what I am certain of is that we now encounter Crackajack Jackson for the first time.

And that means we also encounter his son.

That's the one who's chained to another prisoner in a double act that's not going well, thanks to them both being violent and anti-social racists.

Still, not to worry. A weird space alien soon shows up and gives them super-strength to thank them for shooting it.

Meanwhile, a quartet of Avengers visit a farm but soon find themselves attacked by a bunch of cows who decide to turn into the Fantastic Four!

What is this madness and what can it all lead to?

Conan continues to battle a living statue made of pebbles. It seems unstoppable until he discovers it doesn't like having solvents thrown at it.

I do believe the Stuntman's in the process of falling out with a movie producer. Which could lead to trouble for Daredevil who's in Hollywood, looking to reunite with Karen Page.

And I believe the sensational Alex Harvey turns up, this week, for an interview about his life, times and - I would assume - comic books.

I have cause to think that Jason and Alexander have finally moved on from defending Abraham Lincoln's nostrils and may well now be confronted by the Demons of the Psychedrome!

Not that I can remember what they are.

Which is odd, as you'd think that demons of a psychedrome would lodge themselves well and truly in your memory.

But there's a shock for us The Reader because, from out of nowhere, the Son of Satan appears in this comic and heads straight towards The Gateway to Hell.

I would assume this is the tale of just how he came to be and of how he gained possession of his magical trident!

Following that, the Man-Thing's still having problems with that pesky dead clown who insists upon telling everyone his life story.

And, then, Ka-Zar continues to have issues with someone called Tomas who hunts to please his father but becomes furious when that selfsame father proclaims his brother Gregor to be the new chief.

Chief of what, I fail to recall but I shall assume it all means that murder is in the air.

But The Son of Satan isn't the only strip turning up from out of nowhere. Even more unexpectedly, the issue closes with a reprint of the first few pages of Marvel's original adaptation of the first Planet of the Apes movie!

I remember this one. It's the one in which Spider-Man keeps trying to prevent the Molten Man from finding a cure for his condition - even though it's clearly in everyone's interests for the Molten Man to find a cure for his condition.

Elsewhere, Moon Knight battles the Conquer-Lord, on a giant chessboard!

Iron Man continues to have trouble with the Unicorn and Red Ghost.

Dr Strange, having freed Eternity from the clutches of Nightmare, gets the galactic galoot to recreate the Earth which he'd managed to destroy while dreaming.

And, somewhere far far away, Odin, possessed by Infinity, attacks Thor! Is it curtains for the long-suffering thunder god?

History's made when the FF do their best to make sure Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin become the first men on the moon - seemingly having forgotten that they themselves have already been to the moon and back on several occasions and have been to the Andromeda Galaxy and have Kurrgo's captured flying saucer on their roof, which would have got Neil and Buzz to their destination in record time.

Rather more terrestrially, the Sub-Mariner's on the hunt for the villain Destiny who, I suspect, has decided to run for the Presidency of the United States - and on a populist platform!

Also untrustworthy is the Supreme Hydra who's successfully disguised himself as a SHIELD agent and is quickly winning the trust of Nick Fury.

Captain America and the Black Panther continue to battle Baron Zemo in Wakanda but make the shocking discovery that he's not the real Zemo!

And, in the Ghost Rider's strip, we discover the shocking origin of the Witch-Woman! Readers will not be surprised to discover that Satanic rituals were involved.