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

Aug05

RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale This Week — in 1961!

Posted by Dan Greenfield on Aug 5, 2026

RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale This Week — in 1961!

Scott and Dan hit up the comics racks from 65 years ago… This week for RETRO HOT PICKS, Scott and I are selecting comics that came out the week of Aug. 5, 1961. Last time for RETRO HOT PICKS, it was the week of July 29, 1959. Click here to check it out. (Keep in mind that comics came out on multiple days, so these are the issues that went on sale between Aug. 2 and Aug. 8.) So, let’s set the scene: Tensions over the divided Berlin were reaching a peak, and decisions were being made that would radically alter the geopolitical landscape for decades to come. On August 5, the communist Warsaw Pact nations announced that they’d unanimously agreed to a peace deal with East Germany, with the goal of ousting the American, British and French forces from Berlin. They also desperately wanted to stop the flow of East Germans pouring into the West. (Millions had bolted since the late ’40s.) At the same meeting, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev gave East German leader Walter Ulbricht his approval for shutting down the border with West Berlin using a barbed-wire fence — the first steps in building the Berlin Wall. The fencing would go up eight days later. The Berlin Crisis of 1961 had begun. As the Soviets tightened their grip, they were also succeeding in the Space Race. On Aug. 6, cosmonaut Gherman Titov was launched into orbit, staying up for more than a day and becoming the first human to sleep in space (and also the first to vomit in space). To this day, Titov, at 25, was the youngest person ever to go into orbit, and the second overall. The U.S. had yet to send someone beyond the Earth’s gravitational pull. On Aug. 7, the day Titov returned to the planet, the U.S. Congress approved almost $1.7 trillion to bolster the nation’s space program. There wasn’t even a roll-call vote! The bill included more than $470 million to fund a crewed mission to the Moon. IN OTHER NEWS — It wouldn’t be revealed for another two years, but on Aug. 7, the horrifying Milgram Experiment began on the campus of Yale University. Inspired by the trial of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann, psychologist Stanley Milgram tested just how willing an average person would be to torture others rather than...

Jul29

RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale This Week — in 1959!

Posted by Dan Greenfield on Jul 29, 2026

RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale This Week — in 1959!

Scott and Dan hit up the comics racks from 67 years ago… This week for RETRO HOT PICKS, Scott and I are selecting comics that came out the week of July 29, 1959. Last time for RETRO HOT PICKS, it was the week of July 22, 1970. Click here to check it out. (Keep in mind that comics came out on multiple days, so these are the issues that went on sale between July 26 and Aug. 1.) So, let’s set the scene: Vice President Richard Nixon was in Moscow for the American National Exhibition, an installation that was part of a cultural exchange between the United States and the Soviet Union. But what developed was one of the major turns of the Cold War — the Kitchen Debate, between Nixon and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. The Kitchen Debate was actually a series of impromptu conversations between the two — through interpreters — that pitted the American consumerist way of life against the more spartan Communist philosophy. Khrushchev and Nixon first spoke at the Kremlin but the debate really kicked in when they visited Sokolniki Park, where the Americans had built an entire house that showed off a wide range of appliances and gadgets designed for affordable, easy living. Standing by a cutaway of the kitchen, a dismissive Khrushchev argued that the American viewpoint was to live for the present while the Soviets preferred to build for a sustainable future. Nixon, however, pointed out that the U.S. focus was on innovation and new technologies. It was the first time American and Russian leaders publicly debated the merits of their economic systems face to face, and video of the discussions were watched not just in the U.S. and U.S.S.R., but globally. The Cold War had entered a new phase: Beyond military strength, it was about economics and lifestyle — and appealing not just to homegrown interests but the countries of the developing world. The Kitchen Debate also burnished Nixon’s reputation and strengthened his hand ahead of the 1960 presidential election. IN OTHER NEWS — Fidel Castro had just the week before resigned as prime minister amid internecine fighting within the Cuban leadership. But he quickly resumed his position and on July 26 — National Rebellion Day, spearheaded by the 26th of July Movement — led a major rally in Havana and ultimately consolidated his...

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