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

Dec07

RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale This Week — in 1962!

Posted by Dan Greenfield on Dec 7, 2022

RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale This Week — in 1962!

Scott and Dan hit up the comics racks from 60 years ago — and highlight three major milestones… This week for RETRO HOT PICKS, Scott Tipton and I are selecting comics that came out the week of Dec. 7, 1962. Last time for RETRO HOT PICKS, it was the week of Nov. 30, 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 Dec. 4 and Dec. 10.) So let’s set the scene: John F. Kennedy was president of the United States — a time of hope intertwined with Cold War anxieties. The epic Mutiny on the Bounty, starring Marlon Brando in one of his most critically savaged performances as Mr. Christian, led the box office this week but was ultimately a massive, if memorable, flop. Brando’s star was tarnished and his reputation as a brilliant actor would suffer for another 10 years — until he starred in 1972’s The Godfather. The Beverly Hillbillies — cee-ment pond and all — was reliably the top-rated TV show. Bonanza, Gunsmoke, The Lucy Show and The Dick Van Dyke Show were also big hits. The 4 Seasons’ Big Girls Don’t Cry was the best-selling single, but I prefer the runner-up: Elvis’ classic Return to Sender, from the film Girls! Girls! Girls! The No. 1 stereo album — as it was for most of the year — was the West Side Story movie soundtrack. But the album that had everyone talking was flying up the mono charts — The First Family, the famed JFK parody starring Vaughn Meader. (Allan Sherman’s comedy smash My Son, the Folk Singer actually led the mono chart for the week.) Let’s move ahead… with great vigah. — Dan Greenfield, editor, 13th Dimension The Amazing Spider-Man #1, Marvel. It made perfect sense in the moment but when you consider that Spider-Man would become globally popular it’s kinda funny that Stan and co. felt Marvel needed the Fantastic Four to help launch the web-slinger’s solo title. Lee and Ditko’s Spidey run would just keep getting better and better. If you haven’t read it in a long time, go back and enjoy. It’s well worth the trip. Scott adds: Not Spidey’s first appearance, nor even stories that are particularly memorable, but it’s hard not to get a...

Nov30

RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale This Week — in 1973!

Posted by Dan Greenfield on Nov 30, 2022

RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale This Week — in 1973!

Scott and Dan hit up the comics racks from 49 years ago! This week for RETRO HOT PICKS, Scott Tipton and I are selecting comics that came out the week of Nov. 30, 1973. Last time for RETRO HOT PICKS, it was the week of Nov. 23, 1988. 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 Nov. 27 and Dec. 3.) So, let’s set the scene: Richard Nixon was in the White House but the scandals were beginning to take their toll: In October, Spiro Agnew resigned as vice president; Gerald Ford would be sworn in as his replacement Dec. 6. “Memories…” The Way We Were, starring Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford, was the box office leader and something of a pop culture touchstone. As we know from many of these columns, All in the Family was easily the biggest show on television. The Waltons finished second for the week, with my favorite, MASH at No. 5. (Season 2’s The Incubator.) The Carpenters’ Top of the World was the best-selling single, but I’ll take Ringo Starr’s signature Photograph, which was in the second slot. Perhaps the most lasting hit, however, was Elton John’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, which was in third. Meanwhile, the album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, which is considered one of Elton’s absolute greatest, was the best-seller, but the charts had other killer LPs too, namely Ringo Starr’s Ringo (No. 2), the Who’s Quadrophenia (No. 3), and the Rolling Stones’ potent, if uneven, Goats Head Soup (No. 6). The album featured the regrettable Angie but it also gave us Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker), a political statement wrapped in an infectious hard-rock groove. Heart breaker, heart breakerYou stole the love right out of my heart — Dan Greenfield, editor, 13th Dimension Detective Comics #439, DC. Detective Comics under editor Archie Goodwin made for some fabulous reading. The main story, Night of the Stalker!, is a high-water mark of Bronze Age storytelling. It was plotted by Vin and Sal Amendola, scripted by Steve Englehart (years before he’d be teamed with Marshall Rogers and Terry Austin), with art by Sal Amendola and Dick Giordano. A classic. Scott adds: The origin of Paul Kirk, Manhunter! From the great Archie Goodwin and Walt Simonson. —...

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