Longshot by Art Adams

Arthur was just a puppy when he did this amaz'n cover.  Here's an oddity-he signed and dated it with the white ink he did all the stars in, and it's dated 7-8-84, but when you open the comic, it's dated October of 1985.  Did he date it wrong?  Did Marvel sit on the mini for a year?  I remember grabbing this off the shelf when it came out, but I don't recall any back story to it (and believe me, Chuck and his cohorts would've told me any gossip about anything I bought).  Hhhmmmmm......