Scott and Dan hit up the comics racks from 78 years ago…
This week for RETRO HOT PICKS, Scott and I are selecting comics that came out the week of Nov. 4, 1948.
Last time for RETRO HOT PICKS, it was the week of Oct. 28, 1967. 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 Nov. 1 and Nov. 7.)
So, let’s set the scene: DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN. Only not. The 1948 presidential election was expected to be a big win for Republican New York Gov. Tom Dewey, who had taken on President Truman, a Democrat who wasn’t terribly popular, even within his own party. As the early returns came in the evening of Nov. 2, Dewey was performing strongly, and the right-leaning Chicago Daily Tribune had a particularly early deadline for its first edition.
Relying on those returns, the expectations going into Election Day, and the expertise of Washington correspondent and political analyst Arthur Sears Henning, the first edition went off with the banner headline, DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN. But the votes were still being counted and Truman’s numbers kept increasing: He not only won — it was a blowout: 303–189–39 in electoral votes (the 39 going to racist Dixiecrat Strom Thurmond). Truman fell shy of a majority of the popular vote, but still beat Dewey by a solid four points, 49.5 percent to 45.1.
Two days after the election, Truman was at a stop in St. Louis, where — with a big grin — he held up the Tribune, and crowed, “That ain’t the way I heard it!”
IN OTHER NEWS
— The Arab-Israeli War was raging and, despite relatively brief periods of calm, it feels like it’s still going, nearly 80 years later. In late October, the flag of Israel was adopted.
— The pivotal Liaoshen Campaign in the Chinese Civil War ended Nov. 2 with a decisive Communist victory. All of Manchuria fell to the Communists.
— On Nov. 5, filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl, a Hitler favorite, was cleared by a German denazification court, much to the chagrin of the German press. The decision would be appealed and Riefenstahl would be tried three more times before getting cleared for good in 1952. She was deemed a Nazi follower, but not a party member.
— Western powers were strengthening their alliance. The previous week, western European foreign ministers announced plans to form a North Atlantic defensive pact together with the United States and Canada. It was one of the stepping stones to the creation of NATO.
Most of the time in RETRO HOT PICKS, a particular movie dominates at the box office but in 1948, 32 different films hit the top spot. This week was Howard Hawks’ Red River, starring John Wayne, Montgomery Clift and one of the greastest character actors of all time, Walter Brennan. Other hits included A Date With Judy, with a third-billed Elizabeth Taylor; and Sorry, Wrong Number, starring Barbara Stanwyck and Burt Lancaster.
Released this week was The Snake Pit, starring Olivia de Havilland as a woman who finds herself in an insane asylum and doesn’t remember how she got there. The film’s grim portrayal of such hospitals actually led to real-life reforms.
Radio was big — the 14th year in a row that the networks set a record for earnings. The top shows included the anthology series Lux Radio Theater, Fibber McGee & Molly, Jack Benny, Walter Winchell’s Journal, Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts, Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy, and Bob Hope.
TV was in its infancy. The top-rated show was Milton Berle’s Texaco Star Theatre, followed by Toast of the Town, starring Ed Sullivan. On Nov. 7, Westinghouse Studio One, another drama anthology, premiered and would run for 467 episodes over the next 10 years.
Buttons and Bows by Dinah Shore reached No. 1 on the Billboard singles chart this week. It would be the biggest hit of Shore’s career. The best-selling album was Theme Songs, a collection of eight signature tunes by popular bands, including I’m Getting Sentimental Over You, by Tommy Dorsey, and Moonlight Serenade, by Glenn Miller.
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Scott Tipton, contributor-at-large, 13th Dimension
Star Spangled Comics #88, DC. I’m not sure Robin knows what “declares war” means. My real question is, who’s Captain Compass?
Dan adds: The Robin stories in Star Spangled Comics are among my favorites of the Golden Age. They’re great fun and they crackle. Unfortunately, they lost something when Batman showed up for good. And who was Captain Compass? Why, a sea-faring detective. He even got a Who’s Who entry!
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Superman #56, DC. Well, as villains go, I guess they can’t all be Luthor or Brainiac…
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Justice #8, Timely. Understated and subtle, yet grim.
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Dan Greenfield, editor, 13th Dimension
Sensation Comics #85, DC. Good lord, here’s the synopsis for “The Girl Who Wanted to Be an Amazon,” according to Fandom: “Wealthy mine and railway owner Leslie H. Greshham has a daughter when he wanted a son, and decides to give her the name he’d wanted to give a son and raise her without allowing her contact with anything feminine or girlish to be his heir.”
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Crime and Punishment #10, Lev Gleason. Bet he wishes he’d taken that left turn at Albuquerque.
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Oscar Comics #9, Timely. Damn, Oscar is a creep. Needs to pull his socks up too. No class.
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