Posted By Dan Greenfield on Dec 17, 2025 | 3 comments

Scott and Dan hit up the comics racks from 75 years ago…

This week for RETRO HOT PICKS, Scott and I are selecting comics that came out the week of Dec. 17, 1950.

Last time for RETRO HOT PICKS, it was the week of Dec. 10, 1980. Click here to check it out.

(Keep in mind that comics came out on multiple days, so these are the comics that went on sale between Dec. 14. and Dec. 20.)

Korean War: Blowing up Hungnam port at end of evacuation.

So, let’s set the scene: It was the thick of the Korean War and international tensions were high. On Dec. 16, President Truman announced in a national radio address that he would declare a national emergency: “Our homes, our nation, all the things we believe in are in great danger. This danger has been created by the rulers of the Soviet Union.” He added, “The future of civilization depends on what we do— on what we do now, and in the months ahead.”

Truman’s comments came amid the famous Hungnam evacuation, which included the retreat of 105,000 U.N. troops and 91,000 civilians from North Korea. The withdrawal, from Dec. 15 and 24 — dubbed the Miracle of Christmas — included 17,500 vehicles and 350,000 tons of cargo. The evacuees were protected by U.S. Navy air support and shelling from 13 ships. As Harvey Kurtzman wrote in 1951’s EC classic Two-Fisted Tales #26, “What equipment they hadn’t brought, they had destroyed!”

Art by Wally Wood

IN OTHER NEWS

— On Dec. 19, retired General Dwight D. Eisenhower was brought back by Truman to serve as the first Supreme Allied Commander of Europe. (Eisenhower had been serving as president of Columbia University.) This as NATO agreed on the gradual rearmament of Germany and its integration into the defense of Western Europe.

— The day before, Truman ordered the establishment of the Nevada Proving Ground so that nuclear weapons testing could be performed within the continental United States, and the American stockpile could be rapidly increased. The Atomic Energy Commission would, within days, lease a portion of the Air Force’s Tonopah Bombing and Gunnery Range in Nye County, Nevada, 65 miles from Las Vegas. The ground was renamed the Nevada Test Site.

This is fine.

— On Dec. 20, by a vote of 247–1, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Federal Civil Defense Act of 1950, providing $3 billion for fallout shelters nationwide and other nuclear war preparation. The lone dissent was from hard-right lunatic Clare Hoffman, a Michigan Republican.

— Washington was abuzz with the news of dangerously destructive, Red-baiting thug Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s fistfight with news columnist Drew Pearson on Dec. 13 at the city’s Sulgrave Club. McCarthy, not known for his truthfulness, claimed he knocked Pearson down with a slap. Pearson countered, “The senator kicked me twice in the groin. As usual, he hit below the belt.”

— On Dec. 19, the Chinese invasion of Tibet forced the Dalai Lama — who was all of 15 — to flee Lhasa.

— Having nothing to do with the Cold War, Dec. 15 was a notable/infamous day in New York history: The Mid-Manhattan Bus Terminal — known now as the Port Authority Bus Terminal — opened.

The adventure flick King Solomon’s Mines, starring Deborah Kerr and Stewart Granger, was the biggest hit at the movies. Also popular were John Ford’s Rio Grande, starring John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara; and the savagely entertaining drama All About Eve, starring Bette Davis, Anne Baxter and George Sanders. Marilyn Monroe had a minor role, one of her earliest. About to open was the James Stewart comedy Harvey.

Meanwhile, on Dec. 16, Shirley Temple announced her retirement from films. She was the ripe old age of 22.

Temple at the age of 20

On Dec. 15, Hear It Now, a CBS news program hosted by Edward R. Murrow, premiered. It would be cancelled within six months, so it could be converted for television as See It Now. The phenomenon of radio-to-TV was taking hold, as audiences flocked to the increasingly popular medium.

Radio was still a force, however. The biggest hits included the anthology series Lux Radio Theater (this week’s installment was Holiday Affair, starring Robert Mitchum and Laraine Day); The Jack Benny Program; and Edgar Bergen’s The Charlie McCarthy Show.

Texaco Star Theater, starring Milton Berle, was the most popular show on television, followed by another comedy classic, Your Show of Shows, with Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca. Across the program’s three-and-a-half-year run, its writers included Mel Brooks, Neil Simon, Selma Diamond, and Carl Reiner, who was also a cast member.

And if you weren’t running to the bathroom during the commercials, you might have seen a new ad for Pepsi this week:

The young man who bangs on the piano to get it to work properly was named James Dean. It was his first screen role.

The novelty song The Thing, by Phil Harris with orchestra conducted by Walter Scharf, was the most popular song, along with The Tennessee Waltz, by Patti Page with orchestra conducted by Jack Rael.

The albums everyone had to have? The South Pacific original Broadway cast recording and Merry Christmas by Bing Crosby, which was first released in 1945 and subsequently available in different formats. (It’s still in print today, on disc and digitally as White Christmas, and on vinyl as Merry Christmas.) By the way, the single White Christmas is the best-seller of all time. OF ALL TIME.

Ever hear William Shatner’s version? You have to!

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Dan Greenfield, editor, 13th Dimension

Detective Comics #168, DC. One of the touchstone comics in Batman history — the origin of the Joker, featuring his back story as the Red Hood. How this has not been released as a Facsimile Edition yet is beyond me. I have to guess it’s just a matter of time, given how many Bat-firsts we’ve gotten, including, most recently, Detective Comics #66, with the debut of Two-Face.

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Captain Marvel Jr. #94, Fawcett. That’s a Kurt Schaffenberger cover. Did you see our Schaffenberger birthday salute the other day, coincidentally featuring 13 Captain Marvel Jr. covers? Well, here it is!

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Crime and Punishment #35, Lev Gleason. Y’know, with Lev Gleason, I almost would have expected the shot to be from right after he hit the third rail.

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Lash LaRue Western #13, Fawcett. There were sixteen Western titles this week. I’m having Lash Larue represent because of the Wolf’s line in Pulp Fiction.

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Authentic Police Cases #11, St. John. Here’s some Matt Baker for you.

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The Adventures of Alan Ladd #9, DC. Most people today don’t know who he was, but Alan Ladd was a big enough star to rate his own DC comic. It only lasted to this issue, but still.

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Paul Terry’s Mighty Mouse Comics #24, St. John. Of the many funny-animal books out there, I’m going with Mighty Mouse.

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Boy Meets Girl #8, Lev Gleason. Happy New Year!

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

The Marvel Family #56, Fawcett. Sometimes a simple cover is enough. This must have leapt off the rack.

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Action Comics #153, DC. That gangster should be arrested just for that suit.

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Marvel Tales #100, Timely. The Eyes of Doom!

Dan adds: The title originally called Marvel Mystery Comics, which began life as the landmark Marvel Comics #1.

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Adventure Comics #161, DC. Does Pa Kent know he’s using his powers for monetary gain?

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MORE

— RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale The Week of December 10 — in 1980! Click here.

— RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale The Week of December 3 — in 1989! Click here.

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Comics sources: Mike’s Amazing World of Comics and the Grand Comics Database.