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

Oct21

RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale This Week — in 1986!

Posted by Dan Greenfield on Oct 21, 2026

RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale This Week — in 1986!

Scott and Dan hit up the comics racks from 40 years ago… This week for RETRO HOT PICKS, Scott and I are selecting comics that came out the week of Oct. 21, 1986. Last time for RETRO HOT PICKS, it was the week of Oct. 14, 1960. 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 Oct. 18 and Oct. 24.) So, let’s set the scene: Nationally, the midterm elections were the dominant story, as Democrats hoped to strengthen their majority in the House and take Senate control back from the Republicans. With President Reagan in his second term, conventional wisdom held that the Dems would make gains but Reagan was still pretty popular, with a growing economy. (In a few weeks, the Democrats would indeed flip the Senate and tighten their hold on the House but it was still very much the Reagan ’80s.) Otherwise, it was a fairly slow news cycle except for a bizarre and tragic accident in New York on October 22: WNBC Radio’s afternoon traffic helicopter crashed in the Hudson River live on the air, with popular reporter Jane Dornacker’s terrified final scream of “Hit the water! Hit the water! Hit the water!” heard by listeners of the popular AM station. Dornacker, 39, was something of a character, with a career in San Francisco as an offbeat actress, comedian and rock musician, as well as a back-up singer and dancer for cult-favorite band the Tubes. She became a popular traffic reporter for KFRC in San Fran, and in the mornings would tell her daughter Naomi to get up and get to school over the air. She eventually moved to New York. Oddly, Dornacker was in a WNBC helicopter crash in April 1986 but survived and swam to safety. It took her a month or two for her to steel herself and return to the air. One of the most exciting World Series in baseball history was playing out: The New York Mets were in the Fall Classic for the first time since 1973 and the Boston Red Sox for the first time since 1975. The Mets were a raucous bunch led by Dwight Gooden, Darryl Strawberry, Keith Hernandez, Gary Carter and Lenny Dykstra — perfect for a loud and...

Oct14

RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale This Week — in 1960!

Posted by Dan Greenfield on Oct 14, 2026

RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale This Week — in 1960!

Scott and Dan hit up the comics racks from 66 years ago… This week for RETRO HOT PICKS, Scott and I are selecting comics that came out the week of Oct. 14, 1960. Last time for RETRO HOT PICKS, it was the week of Oct. 7, 1956. 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 Oct. 11 and Oct. 17.) So, let’s set the scene: Only weeks remained in the 1960 presidential race and on Oct. 13, Republican Vice President Richard Nixon and Democratic U.S. Sen. John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts made history by engaging in a live debate while in separate cities. It was the third of four between the two, and because of their campaign schedules, Kennedy was in New York while Nixon was in Los Angeles. The debate was shown in split-screen and the candidates could react to each other in real time. The race was incredibly tight but Nixon had stumbled badly in the first debate in September: Declining makeup and wearing a gray suit, Nixon came off as ashen and clammy, as he sweat under the hot TV lights. Kennedy, on the other hand, seemed cool and confident. With television playing a bigger role in presidential politics than ever before, Kennedy came away the victor (though the story goes that radio listeners felt that Nixon had the upper hand). In any event, they debated again Oct. 7, and in this week’s showdown, Nixon arranged for air conditioning in the Hollywood studio from where he was televised. Nikita Khrushchev’s most famous moment as Soviet leader was when he took off his right shoe at a U.N. General Assembly meeting and banged it at his delegate desk, and that moment was this week. If it actually happened at all. Here’s what we know: On Oct. 12, Khrushchev lost his shit when Filipino delegate Lorenzo Sumulong criticized Soviet policy and the lack of civil rights in Eastern Europe. What happened after that is in question, because there is no video footage or photographic evidence one way or the other. The story goes that Khrushchev slammed his fists, then his right shoe on the desk (there are variations of this) while others say he slammed his fists and just brandished his shoe....

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