Hitting up the comics shop — 38 years ago! When Diamond ceased shipping because of the coronavirus, we decided to keep our weekly HOT PICKS going but with a twist: Instead of Scott Tipton and me picking the books for the current week in 2020, we’ve been picking titles from the same week — but decades earlier. Well, Diamond is back for those shops able to operate, and so we’ve resumed our regular HOT PICKS. (Click here.) But due to popular demand, we’ve decided to keep RETRO HOT PICKS going as its own feature! Regular HOT PICKS runs Mondays and RETRO HOT PICKS now runs Wednesdays. Now, last time in RETRO HOT PICKS, it was books that went on sale the week of May 20, 1983. (Click here to check it out.) This time, it’s the week of May 27, 1982. (Keep in mind that comics came out on multiple days back then — as has become the case now. So these are technically the comics that went on sale between May 24 and May 30.) So, let’s set the scene: Ronald Reagan was president. The top box office draw was Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Conan the Barbarian — but dig these flicks that came out over the following weeks: Rocky III, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial. Um, wow. That’s a helluva run. The big TV show that week was the special Television’s Greatest Commercials, hosted by Ed McMahon. And, the well-meaning but treacly duet Ebony and Ivory by Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder topped the singles chart. Choice. — Dan Greenfield, editor, 13th Dimension Tales of the New Teen Titans #3, DC. The Titans had become so big by this time that DC had to expand with this four-issue miniseries starring each of the three new Titans — Starfire, Cyborg and Raven — as well as the revamped Changeling. At this age, I could not possibly get enough Titans, so this was Wolfman-Perez gold. In this issue, Gar Logan retells his origin to his teammates. Wonderful, character-building stuff. Scott adds: This origins miniseries for the red-hot New Teen Titans was a real big deal at the time, and even as a kid I never had a problem with more monthly Wolfman/Perez material. — Bizarre Adventures #32, Marvel. In 1982, I would not have given this...