November 10th, 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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It's not every week that an entire city makes it to Number One on the UK singles chart.

But that's what happened, this week in 1976, because a song called If You Leave Me Now by

Chicago seized the top spot on that very Hit Parade.

The accompanying album rankings, on the other hand, saw Led Zeppelin climb four places to secure that summit, with The Song Remains the Same, which seems an odd title for an album if you're trying to get people to buy it. Surely we're going to want at least some sort of variety from the LP?

If You Leave Me Now is tolerable to my ears but there were other tracks I preferred in that Top 50. And they included:

Play that Funky Music - Wild Cherry

Love and Affection - Joan Armatrading

Couldn't Get It Right - the Climax Blues Band

Substitute {1976} - the Who

The Rubberband Man - the Detroit Spinners

Sailing {1976} - Rod Stewart

Dancing Queen - ABBA

I'll Meet You at Midnight - Smokie

Lost in France - Bonnie Tyler

Without You {1976} - Nilsson

Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word - Elton John

and 

Livin' Thing - ELO.

Should further investigation into the issues raised by this post be needed, that week's UK singles chart can be found here.

While its neighbouring album listings dwell within.

It's the beginning of a famine for me because not only did I not own this issue but I didn't own any more issues of Captain Britain until he got his glossy cover and the Red Skull showed up.

Still, that doesn't stop me from talking about the contents of this week's masterpiece.

In it, spills are piled upon thrills, as the comic's star investigates the mysterious villain Hurricane after amateur photographer Sandy York's discovery that the criminal emits radiation!

Hold on. Does this mean he's secretly Radion - another villain who likes destroying London airports in stories written by Chris Claremont?

Either way, we can tell we're in England because we're calling each other "Chum" on the cover.

On the other side of the Atlantic, the Thing battles the Hulk on the streets of New York while Reed Richards tries to concoct a cure for Ben’s personality disorder.

But it may be too late for that because, as Alicia attempts to reach Ben, she's injured by falling debris and a distracted Thing is struck by a seemingly lethal blow from his foe

Meanwhile, Nick Fury, Captain America and the Fantastic Four battle an invasion that's plunged New York into darkness. Undeterred, Reed develops an experimental weapon while Fury destroys something called the Id-Paralyzer.

However, Jimmy Woo suspects the Yellow Claw to be behind it all.

It's the news we've all been waiting for, as we finally reach Marvel's adaptation of Battle for the Planet of the Apes which was the first Apes film I ever saw. This fact alone could explain why I like the movie when everyone else hates it.

Regardless, what it means is we get to see the trouble-making gorilla Aldo in sensational solo action, riding around looking at things in a grumpy manner and helping to fix a cart wheel in a grumpy fashion.

Elsewhere, concerned about the plague ravaging the Savage Land and turning people into homicidal maniacs, Ka-Zar's travelled to London in search of assistance.

But, unknown to him, Klaw and a mysterious ally are also headed that way...

Back in the United States, an evil spirit's in the process of possessing every animal in the swamp.

And only the Man-Thing, a man called Ezekiel Tork and a dog called Dawg can thwart it.

In our latest short tale narrated by Dracula, a Martian takes on the identity of an innocent human in order to gather information for a full-blown invasion of Earth.

However, what he doesn't know is that innocent human is nothing of the sort. 

He's actually a Venusian!

And he has plans to stop him!

"But what of the latest instalment of Marvel's take on the original Apes movie?" you demand to know. I can reveal that, in a cave in the Forbidden Zone, Taylor and his chimp chums have found a doll...

I do believe this cover is a clue that Conan may be up against a giant scorpion, this week.

And I believe this may be connected to his problem of having to deal with a giant shadow that's roaming the land and killing everyone.

But, before we reach that adventure, we encounter the Hulk in a tale that sees the brute befriend a blind girl and set out to capture a serum from the Mole Man. One that could restore her sight.

Needless to say, he succeeds and gives us all the heart-warming ending we may or may not have been demanding.

Next, Luke Cage confronts Diamondback who I believe to be the man who framed him for a crime he didn't commit.

Sadly,  the villain dies during the clash, meaning Luke can't get him to clear his name with a confession.

That's followed by the aforementioned Conan adventure.

And A Life on the Line sees Daredevil and the Black Panther continue to investigate a gang that's recruiting disadvantaged youngsters into a life of crime.

I do detect the return of the Tarantula.

He may not be a great villain but I have always liked his costume.

And I do believe this is the thriller in which he escapes from prison by making himself a new pair of pointy shoes in the prison workshop.

Presumably, it was the same prison workshop in which the Shocker first created his vibra-machine.

Even more importantly, this is the issue in which we discover Gwen Stacy's clone is unwittingly working for the Jackal!

Thor battles to prevent Loki's marriage to Sif but needn't have bothered because Odin finally intervenes, reveals that Loki's magic ring is killing its wearer, then banishes him to another realm.

But is that going to lead to even more trouble?

Tragedy's on its way when Tony Stark decides to retire as Iron Man and recruits Eddie March as his replacement, not knowing the ex-boxer has a potentially fatal blood clot and could die if anyone hits him in the head.

And along comes the Crimson Dynamo, looking to hit him in the head!

The latest instalment of Blitzkrieg at Bermuda sees the Invaders still trying to foil a Nazi plot to assassinate Winston Churchill!

Spider-Man and the Vision continue to battle the Puppet Master's alien robot: the Monstroid.

But, strangely, the issue ends with the Lee/Kirby oldie The Stronger I Am, the Sooner I Die! in which Loki first transforms inveterate jailbird Crusher Creel into the Absorbing Man.

It's more Hellenic hi-jinks from Barry Smith, as the Avengers continue their invasion of Olympus in a bid to stop Ares who I think has turned the Greek gods to crystal!

Elsewhere, SHIELD sends Captain America to rescue Sharon Carter from the Trapster but she's actually a Life Model Decoy and the real Sharon has orchestrated the whole thing to bring down the villain.

Is this the one in which Cap triumphs because Sharon's put nail varnish remover in the Trapster's paste? This after twenty pages of the crook declaring that his paste makes him unbeatable?

Next, Triton visits New York and encounters nothing but fear and hostility wherever he goes. When he gets back home, he warns Black Bolt that mankind is entirely composed of nut jobs and his king decides it's time to urgently move their city to a new location.

Namor continues to work with the Original Human Torch in their bid to prevent the Mad Thinker, Puppet Master and Egghead from menacing America with a nationwide power-disruption weapon.

And The Hell-Bound Hero! sees a weaker-than-normal Ghost Rider defeat Inferno.