Posted By Dan Greenfield on Sep 17, 2025 | 8 comments

Scott and Dan hit up the comics racks from 72 years ago…

This week for RETRO HOT PICKS, Scott and I are selecting comics that came out the week of Sept. 17, 1953.

Last time for RETRO HOT PICKS, it was the week of Sept. 10, 1976. 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 Sept. 14 and Sept. 20.)

McCarthy and his disgusting henchman, Roy Cohn

So, let’s set the scene: McCarthyism was at its height. The deplorable Republican senator from Wisconsin was in the midst of stoking fears that the U.S. Army had been infiltrated by Communists.

The damage to the American psyche wrought by Joe McCarthy’s self-aggrandizing political hooliganism would be felt for decades.

Meanwhile, one of the United States’ greatest legitimate Communist antagonists was solidifying his power: On Sept. 14, Nikita Khrushchev was appointed first secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

IN OTHER NEWS

— Love and glamor were nevertheless in the air: Massachusetts’ handsome 36-year-old Democratic Sen. John F. Kennedy had just married 24-year-old Jacqueline Bouvier. It was a bona fide society event.

— Let’s play two! Ernie Banks on Sept. 17 became the Chicago Cubs’ first Black player. Three days later, he hit his first major-league homer.

— Meanwhile, it was the thick of New York’s Golden Age of Baseball: On Sept. 12, the Brooklyn Dodgers clinched the National League pennant earlier than any team in history. Two days later, the crosstown rival New York Yankees won their fifth straight American League championship.

— On the flip side, the AL on Sept. 16 approved the lowly St. Louis Browns’ move to Baltimore, where they would become the Orioles.

The Robe, starring Richard Burton and Jean Simmons — the first movie in CinemaScope — was released Sept. 16. The epic would go on to become the year’s best-grossing film. The top entry at the box office this week, however, was the classic From Here to Eternity. The all-star cast included Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Donna Reed — and fading Frank Sinatra, whose career was jump-started by his performance.

Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe’s Gentlemen Prefer Blondes was also huge, and The Band Wagon, with Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse, was also a draw.

Dragnet, Racket Squad, Arthur Godfrey, See It Now, You Bet Your Life, The Jackie Gleason Show, and Toast of the Town were among the most popular TV shows. (I Love Lucy’s third season hadn’t started yet.)

The Adventures of Superman began its second season on Sept. 18 — with Noel Neill making her first series appearance as Lois Lane.

Perry Mason, Amos-n-Andy, and the Lucky Strike Program, starring Jack Benny, were among the popular radio shows.

Hit songs included Vaya con Dios, by Les Paul and Mary Ford; No Other Love, by Perry Como With Henri Rene’s Orchestra and Chorus; and, I’m Walking Behind You, by Eddie Fisher With Hugo Winterhalter and His Orchestra.

Music for Lovers Only was a monster album for… Jackie Gleason. For real!

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Dan Greenfield, editor, 13th Dimension

Three-Dimension Adventures: Superman, DC. The beloved one-shot that reprinted three Superman stories in 3-D. I have the 1998 re-release.

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Captain Marvel Adventures #150, Fawcett. This came out earlier in the month, but how can I ignore the final Captain Marvel comic of the Golden Age?

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Archie’s Girls Betty and Veronica #10, Archie. Damn, that’s cold. Everyone knows Betty’s a great cook! Reason 1,000,006 that the red-headed dope doesn’t deserve her.

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Frankenstein #28, Prize. Fan-fave pre-code horror by Dick Briefer and co.

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Katy Keene 3-D #1, Archie. A classic cover.

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

Blackhawk #71, Quality. I’m just sayin’, that looks like the heaviest flying saucer I’ve ever seen.

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Captain 3-D #1, Harvey. 3-D movies had taken over the theater — and this is just one of five different 3-D comics released this week. (And 14 this month!)

Dan adds: Jack Kirby really did do every type of comic, didn’t he? The ish was written by Kirby and Joe Simon, with pencils (including the cover) by Jack, inked by Mort Meskin and Steve Ditko.

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Dick Tracy #69, Harvey. I don’t recognize the villain here. Knucklehead? Mister Bumps? Lumpy McGee? I got nothin’.

Dan adds: That’s Joe Simon ghosting for Chester Gould.

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My Friend Irma #37, Atlas. Irma should really know better than to go to Dr. Pillpeddler.

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MORE

— RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale The Week of September 10 — in 1976! Click here.

— RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale The Week of September 3 — in 1967! Click here.