Posted By Dan Greenfield on Dec 25, 2024 | 4 comments

Scott and Dan hit up the comics racks from 80 years ago…

This week for RETRO HOT PICKS, Scott Tipton and I are selecting comics that came out the week of Dec. 25, 1944.

Last time for RETRO HOT PICKS, it was the week of Dec. 18, 1981. 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. 22 and Dec. 28.)

So, let’s set the scene, for our annual RETRO HOT PICKS Christmas foray deep into the Golden Age:

The Battle of the Bulge! Perhaps the most storied battle of World War II’s European Theater (other than the D-Day invasion), the Nazis had pulled off a sneak attack against the Allies in the Ardennes region of Belgium the previous week, and by Christmas Eve, German tanks had reached as far west as Celles. The offensive stretched the Allied line thin, creating an enormous “bulge” on the map.

But the Americans, Canadians and British would not break. On Dec. 22, U.S. Gen. Anthony McAuliffe, whose 101st Airborne troops were surrounded at the Siege of Bastogne, famously responded to the Germans’ demand for surrender with one, typewritten line on a sheet of paper: “N U T S !” On Dec. 26, Gen. George S. Patton’s 3rd Army repelled the German forces and on the 27th, the siege at Bastogne ended in Allied victory, effectively breaking the back of the Nazi war machine.

By Dec. 28, American troops began gaining ground in a counteroffensive, pushing the Germans back east. (Within the next month, the line was close to where it had been and the Nazis continued to retreat. The Battle of the Bulge proved to be the beginning of the end, as the Soviets continued their march along the Eastern Front.)

In the Pacific Theater, the Japanese continued to put up a difficult struggle, with kamikaze missions wreaking havoc on American ships. But important offensives were being won: On Dec. 26, the Battle of Leyte in the Philippines ended in decisive Allied victory, an important stepping stone.

What nobody was aware of publicly, however: The U.S. military had on Dec. 17 activated what was called the 509th Composite Group — the final preparations for the deployment of nuclear weapons.

IN OTHER NEWS

Eisenhower

— On Dec. 16, Benito Mussolini gave a speech in Milan that would end up his last.

— On Dec. 14, Congress authorized the creation of the five-star rank, and over the next week seven men were promoted: Adm. William D. Leahy, Gen. George Marshall, Adm. Ernest King, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, Adm. Chester Nimitz, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, and. Gen. Henry Arnold.

— The nation was mourning the loss of popular bandleader Glenn Miller, whose plane went missing Dec. 15 over the English Channel on his way to play for troops in France. He was 40.

Boy, the way Glenn Miller played…

— Never forget: It shouldn’t need to be said, but the Nazis are always the bad guys. Always. That doesn’t mean the U.S. government’s hands were clean, however: Japanese-Americans were being held in concentration camps, marking one of the nation’s ugliest low points. On Dec. 18, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down rulings that effectively made illegal the incarceration of loyal Americans: The Japanese-Americans held in the camps would be released. The Roosevelt administration, aware of the court’s decision, announced the day before that the detainees could return to the West Coast starting in January.

— Another shameful moment: Over Christmas, racist, murderous whites instigated the Agana race riots on Guam between white and black Marines. The violence lasted Dec. 24-26.

— Meanwhile, the future was taking shape in Southeast Asia: On Dec. 22, in a hardly noticed move, the People’s Army of Vietnam, under the guidelines of Ho Chi Minh, was created to repel French colonialists and Japanese occupiers. The first formation was made up of 31 men and three women, armed with two revolvers, seventeen rifles, one light machine gun, and fourteen breech-loading flintlocks.

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Americans had plenty to take their minds off war news: The top movies at the box office included Meet Me in St. Louis, starring Judy Garland; Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, starring Spencer Tracy and written by Dalton Trumbo; and, the all-star Hollywood Canteen, featuring the Andrews Sisters, Jack Benny, Eddie Cantor, Joan Crawford, Jimmy Dorsey and Roy Rogers. There was also the Universal horror film House of Frankenstein, starring Boris Karloff and Lon Chaney Jr.

At the same time, a 12-year-old actress was starting to get some attention. National Velvet was released this month, starring Mickey Rooney — and Elizabeth Taylor in her first starring role.

The most popular shows on radio included The Shadow; Pepsodent Program, with Bob Hope; Fibber McGee & Molly; Kraft Music Hall, with Bing Crosby; and The Jergens Journal, with Walter Winchell. (The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet debuted that fall.)

On the Town, with music by Leonard Bernstein, book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and choreography by Jerome Robbins, opened Dec. 28 at Broadway’s Adelphi Theatre. Tennessee Williams’ first successful play, The Glass Menagerie, premiered in Chicago on Dec. 26.

Don’t Fence Me In, by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters, hit No. 1 this week on the Billboard singles charts, and other popular tunes included I’m Making Believe and Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall, by the Ink Spots and Ella Fitzgerald; You Always Hurt the One You Love, by the Mills Brothers; and, I’ll Walk Alone by Dinah Shore. Der Bingle’s Swinging on a Star was the biggest hit of the year.

But it was Christmastime, so radios and turntables were filled with holiday music — including a new song that would, as they say, have legs: Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, by Judy Garland, from Meet Me in St. Louis.

Have yourself a merry little Christmas, let your heart be light…

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Dan Greenfield, editor, 13th Dimension

Crime Does Not Pay #38, Lev Gleason. Nothing says Christmas like shootouts, femmes fatale and bloody ears.

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Batman #27, DC. This is one of those weeks where there were actually very few comics that came out. So we’re stretching things and including issues that came out earlier in the month, because you just know kids found them rolled up in their stockings. And, of course, this Jack Burnley cover is one of the all-time classics. There are three Batman and Robin stories, including one with the Penguin, as well as an Alfred solo tale. How could any kid want more?

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Daring Comics #10, Timely. Behind that Alex Schomburg cover are three solo stories — starring the Human Torch, the Sub-Mariner and the Angel!

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Action Comics #81, DC. You don’t see nearly as many New Year’s covers as you do Christmas covers, but this is one of the best known, by Wayne Boring, inked by Stan Kaye. Stars Superman, natch, but the backups? Congo Bill, Vigilante, Zatara… and the unforgettable Hayfoot Henry!

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Archie Comics #12, Archie/MLJ. Cover by Bill Vigoda! (A year later, his brother would go to the mattresses for the Corleone crime family, but would ultimately betray them.)

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Scott Tipton, contributor-at-large, 13th Dimension

Captain Marvel, Jr. #26, Fawcett. Nothing like a Mac Raboy Cap Junior cover.

Dan adds: One of the all-time classics…

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Detective Comics #96, DC. The Caped Crusaders put an end to the rash of railway handcar robberies.

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Comic Cavalcade #9, DC. Who needs Santa Claus when you’ve got the Justice Society?

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Leading Comics #13, DC. The Seven Soldiers of Victory! The Washington Generals of superhero teams. I love ’em.

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MORE

— RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale This Week — in 1943! Click here.

— RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale This Week — in 1942! Click here.

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Primary comics sources: Mike’s Amazing World of Comics, the Grand Comics Database.