RETRO HOT PICKS! | 13th Dimension, Comics, Creators, Culture

Apr02

RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale This Week — in 1988!

Posted by Dan Greenfield on Apr 2, 2025

RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale This Week — in 1988!

Scott and Dan hit up the comics racks from 37 years ago… This week for RETRO HOT PICKS, Scott Tipton and I are selecting comics that came out the week of April 2, 1988. Last time for RETRO HOT PICKS, it was the week of March 26, 1970. Click here to check it out. (Keep in mind that comics came out on multiple days, so these are technically the comics that went on sale between March 30 and April 5.) So, let’s set the scene: President Reagan was term-limited from running for re-election and the competition to replace him was fierce. But as March turned to April, the field was solidifying. On the Republican side, Vice President George Bush had “the Big Mo” and locked up the nomination. His main challenger, Kansas Sen. Bob Dole, folded up March 29, leaving evangelist Pat Robertson, who pitched his tent April 6. For the Democrats, Mass. Gov. Michael Dukakis had emerged as the leader of a pack that by this point still included Jesse Jackson, Tennessee Sen. Al Gore and Illinois Sen. Paul Simon. Missouri Rep. Dick Gephardt threw in the towel March 29. Former Colorado Sen. Gary Hart, who became famous for all the wrong reasons during the race, had quit — for the second time — earlier in March. Personal aside: During the campaign, I was working at a movie theater in Boston when we got word that Dukakis and his wife Kitty were coming. I wish I remembered the movie they saw, but I recall his handlers wanting to make a big deal of showing that he paid for the seats, so with a line waiting outside, I came out to greet them and sold him the tickets in front of everyone. (The sequel: Three years later, as a reporter, I conducted his final one-on-one interview as Massachusetts governor.) IN OTHER NEWS — On March 31, Toni Morrison was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Beloved. — Rock chalk, Jayhawk! On April 4, the University of Kansas beat Oklahoma, 83-79, to win the 50th NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Power forward Danny Manning was the big star and was named the tourney’s Most Outstanding Player. A KU student named Wendy Parrett celebrated on campus that night. She and I would meet five years later and get married in 1996. Look at all this personal...

Mar26

RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale This Week — in 1970!

Posted by Dan Greenfield on Mar 26, 2025

RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale This Week — in 1970!

Scott and Dan hit up the comics racks from 55 years ago… This week for RETRO HOT PICKS, Scott Tipton and I are selecting comics that came out the week of March 26, 1970. Last time for RETRO HOT PICKS, it was the week of March 19, 1973. Click here to check it out. (Keep in mind that comics came out on multiple days, so these are technically the comics that went on sale between March 23 and March 29.) So, let’s set the scene: The Vietnam War’s tentacles had reached Cambodia, which was riven by civil war. In mid-March, Gen. Lon Nol, the Prime Minister of the kingdom, led a coup d’etat and ousted Prince Norodom Sihanouk, who was out of the country on a visit to Moscow. Lon then prepared to abolish the monarchy and to declare the Khmer Republic with himself as President. It only led to more upheaval. On March 28, Lon Nil, the prime minister’s brother and a government official, was captured by angry residents and beaten to death in the village of Tonle Bet. According to witnesses, Lon Nil’s liver was cut from his body, cooked, and served to the mob. The next day, North Vietnamese Army forces invaded eastern Cambodia to assist the Cambodian Communist Khmer Rouge. The NVA would come within 15 miles of the capital, Phnom Penh, before being pushed back in a counteroffensive. Meanwhile, Americans were grappling with the revelations that U.S. troops had in 1968 committed the mass murder, torture and rapes of hundreds of civilians in My Lai, South Vietnam. The horrors had become public in late 1969 and on March 17, the Army charged 14 of its officers for offenses related to the massacre. In most cases, the charges were dropped or officers were acquitted. Only Lt. William Calley Jr. would be convicted. He was originally sentenced to life in prison but only served about three years of house arrest. IN OTHER NEWS — On March 26, Peter Yarrow of the whistle-clean Peter, Paul & Mary pleaded guilty of charges related to a sexual encounter he had with a 14-year-old girl. — The first issue of National Lampoon had just hit the stands. Airport — the first of the ’70s disaster flicks and one that begat three sequels and the laugh-out-loud satire Airplane! — was the top movie at the box office. The all-star cast included Burt Lancaster,...

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