September 1st, 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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Get down the disco and cover yourself in glitter because, as recently mentioned by Colin Jones, this week in 1976 saw ABBA's Dancing Queen hit the Number One spot on the British singles chart. A move which cemented their position as the late 1970s' supreme musical force. Was there anyone not excited by this development?

Of course there wasn't!

The album chart, however, was still being dominated by the Beach Boys, thanks to their 20 Golden Greats album.

It may have been a good week for those two bands but it wasn't so great for the people of Yorkshire who saw drought measures introduced in their county.

I do believe the FF have finally managed to convince Subby that Magneto isn't his friend and that invading the surface world on his say-so is a bad idea.

But it may be too late because the foul, ferrous-flinging, fiend of infamy has kidnapped Sue Storm and Lady Dorma and is now holding them hostage!

In Ghost Rider, Johnny Blaze prepares for a demolition derby but someone called Dude Jensen - presumably no relation to Kid - has hired a killer to eliminate rival driver Red Thompson! Presumably no relation to Emma.

Elsewhere, the Red Skull's agents kidnap Sharon Carter, causing Cap to visit Exile Island, home, not surprisingly, to the Exiles. I am suspecting this is their first appearance in the pages of Marvel UK.

Speaking of geriatric Germans, Nick Fury infiltrates Hydra Island but is captured after discovering their leader is none other than his old World War Two adversary Baron Strucker!

And the Sub-Mariner returns to Atlantis - only to find his people worshipping someone called Naga and rejecting their prince as their rightful ruler.

And it's all the fault, I'm assuming, of the Serpent Crown!

I spot a cover by Happy Herb Trimpe.

It does strike me that having your eyeballs on stalks may do wonders for your image if you're trying to look disturbing but I can't help feeling it's a serious disadvantage in an actual fist-fight, making it far too easy for your foe to do you a mischief.

Elsewhere, Ka-Zar finds himself confronted by the Devil-God of Sylitha! although I suspect it may just be its cult of human sacrifice he has to contend with.

Deep in the Everglades, after a clash with rapidly ageing conquistadors, the Man-Thing finds a village built around the legendary Fountain of Youth.

The Steve Ditko short, Behind My Door Waits... Medusa!, sees a curio shop owner tell his customers that a strange statue is a burglar turned to stone by a Gorgon. Can such a claim be true?

And in the latest instalment of Marvel's adaptation of the first Planet of the Apes movie, Taylor finds himself Captive of Hate! Not to mention being a captive of Zira who starts to suspect he may have more smarts than the average human.

It's another classic issue, as the Inhumans get attacked by the Mandroids and then Triton shows up.

But, before that, the Hulk accidentally defeats Warlord Kaa when the setting sun and floodlights destroy the villain's shadow-based powers.

But what's this? The tale ends with Colonel Armbruster shooting Bruce Banner dead!?!

It's wolf-based action for Conan when a woman called Lupalina agrees to help him rescue Stefanya from Torkal Moh.

And Daredevil's still in Hollywood and trying to get to the heart of just which member of a TV show's crew is the murderous Brother Brimstone.

Drama hits ever-new heights, when not only does Harry Osborn kidnap Flash, MJ and Aunt May, he also straps a time-bomb to one of them and challenges Spider-Man to work out which one most needs rescuing!

But what's this? A brand new strip for us to peruse?

Sadly, it's just The Invaders in which Captain America, Bucky, the original Human Torch, Toro and Sub-Mariner must join forces to thwart the aims of Nazis everywhere.

And there's trouble for Tony Stark when he's replaced by an evil Life Model Decoy. An act that leaves Stark penniless, before Madame Masque shows up and captures him!

In the Savage Land, the human race is saved because the Thing and Ka-Zar defeat the man called Volcanus and his plan to devastatingly exploit the area's volcanic energy.

But it looks like it's game over for Thor, as Hela catches up with him and forces him to surrender to prevent her from ageing a bunch of firefighters to death!