RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale This Week — in 1975!
With new comics not shipping this week, Scott and Dan pick the comics they would have been looking forward to — decades ago…
Scott and Dan hit up the comics racks from 48 years ago… This week for RETRO HOT PICKS, Scott and I are selecting comics that came out the week of Sept. 16, 1978. Last time for RETRO HOT PICKS, it was the week of Sept. 9, 1966. 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 Sept. 13 and Sept. 19.) So, let’s set the scene: On Sept. 17, after decades of violent animosity, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat signed the Camp David Accords, brokered by President Jimmy Carter. It was the highlight of Carter’s tenure in the White House and a seminal moment in 1970s geopolitics, bringing hope that a lasting peace could be achieved in the Middle East. (Sadly, it’s a hope that was ultimately unfounded.) Sadat and Begin would share the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize because of the agreement, but it was met with widespread frustration and anger throughout the Arab world, in part because it was perceived as a unilateral deal and failed to establish a Palestinian state. The treaty led to Sadat’s assassination three years later. But for a brief moment, those watching thought that maybe, just maybe, things would be OK after all. Elsewhere in the Middle East, the Iranian Revolution was boiling over. The week before, the army fired on followers of Ayatollah Khomeini who were protesting in Tehran, and killed up to about 100 people. (Estimates vary.) What was called Black Friday was the point of no return, galvanizing opposition to the Shah. His days leading the nation were numbered. Meanwhile, on Sept. 16, a 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit central Iran, leaving a death toll of between 15,000 and 25,000 people. Thousands of miles away in South America, the Sandinista rebellion in Nicaragua was in full swing. On Sept. 9, simultaneous attacks across the country were launched by opponents of the Somoza regime. Days later, the rebels controlled northern Nicaragua. But this week, the pendulum swung back and the National Guard put down the rebellion by Sept. 20, with more than 1,000 killed. The conflict, however, was far from over. — IN OTHER NEWS — The world of rock was reeling in the aftermath of Who drummer Keith Moon’s...
1966 WEEK! Scott and Dan hit up the comics racks from 60 years ago… — Welcome to 1966 WEEK — a 60th anniversary celebration of an extraordinary, landmark year in popular culture. For seven days, we’re bringing you a whole host of features on everything from Star Trek, to Batman, to the Beatles, to the Monkees, and much, much more. (Just check out Walt Grogan’s latest fab banner, above!) Click here for more of the far out fun! — Dan — This week for RETRO HOT PICKS, Scott and I are selecting comics that came out the week of Sept. 9, 1966 — part of 13th Dimension’s 1966 WEEK celebration. Last time for RETRO HOT PICKS, it was the week of Sept. 2, 1975. 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 Sept. 6 and Sept. 12.) — So, let’s set the scene: Public sentiment against the Vietnam War was growing but that didn’t sway President Johnson’s commitment to send more young men to fight in Southeast Asia, amid signals the conflict was far more complicated and difficult than initially anticipated. On Sept. 7, the Department of Defense announced what would be the largest draft call for the war — with 49,200 registered men to be inducted into the military come October. It was the highest call since the Korean War. But again, the signs were there that things would get much worse before they got better. The week before, United Nations Secretary-General U Thant of Burma announced he wouldn’t seek re-election, because the U.N. had been unable to end the conflict: “Today it seems to me, as it has seemed for many months, that the pressure of events is remorselessly leading toward a major war,” he said Sept. 1. “In my view the tragic error is being repeated of relying on force and military means in a deceptive pursuit of peace.” Meanwhile, on Sept. 10, USAF Capt. Douglas “Pete” Peterson was shot down in his F-4 Phantom over Vietnam. Peterson would be captured and be held as a prisoner of war at the “Hanoi Hilton.” Five days earlier, Nguyen Van Bay became the first North Vietnamese fighter ace when he shot down his firth airplane. The American pilot, USAF Capt. Wilfred K. Abbott, also survived and would be held as a POW, including...
With new comics not shipping this week, Scott and Dan pick the comics they would have been looking forward to — decades ago…