Posted By Dan Greenfield on Jun 25, 2025 | 6 comments

Scott and Dan hit up the comics racks from 65 years ago…

This week for RETRO HOT PICKS, Scott Tipton and I are selecting comics that came out the week of June 25, 1960.

Last time for RETRO HOT PICKS, it was the week of June 18, 1963. 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 June 22 and June 28.)

So, let’s set the scene: The Sexual Revolution was, pardon the phrase, still in its infancy but it got a major boost forward June 23 when Enovid, a tablet used for the treatment of menstrual disorders, was made available for sale at pharmacies as an oral contraceptive. The Pill had fully arrived and would directly contribute to rapidly changing mores in the decade ahead.

Clare Boothe Luce — playwright, journalist, politician, diplomat — one of the most notable women of the 20th century, commented: “Modern woman is at last free as a man is free to dispose of her own body.” 

Nevertheless, it only became legally prescribable nationally — and regardless of a woman’s marital status — after a 1972 U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

Kennedy and Nixon in 1959, when they crossed paths in Chicago. Tricky Dick looks like he’d rather be anywhere else.

It was a presidential year and both Democratic Sen. John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts and Republican Vice President Richard Nixon came out of primary season as the clear favorites to become their parties’ nominees. However, it was a different world then: The conventions played a bigger role in anointing a standard-bearer and Kennedy in particular was still considered vulnerable going into Los Angeles’ Democratic national gathering, due to start July 11.

In the end, though, both prevailed and 1960 would see one of the closest presidential general elections in history.

Americans’ waistlines were about to get even bigger: On June 23, Wilber Hardee founded his fast-food chain. The first Hardee’s restaurant, in Greenville, North Carolina, opened the following September.

Ben-Hur, which came out in November 1959, was an absolute box-office force, remaining at the top for most of 1960, with an on-and-off string that went from early February to mid-December. On June 23, the Dean Martin-Judy Holliday musical comedy Bells Are Ringing opened, and two all-time classics were just hitting theaters — Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, which premiered June 16, and Billy Wilder’s The Apartment, which debuted June 15.

Summer-rerun time, but the top TV shows included Gunsmoke, 77 Sunset Strip, Wagon Train, Have Gun — Will Travel and The Ed Sullivan Show.

Pop singer Connie Francis became the first woman to nab the top slot on the Billboard 100, with Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool. She also had a hit at No. 20 — Jealous Of You (Tango Della Gelosia). The No. 2 hit was the Everly Brothers’ wonderful Cathy’s Clown.

Not one, but two hit versions of Alley-Oop made the singles chart — with the Hollywood Argyles’ version of the novelty song based on the comic strip at No. 3, and Dante and the Evergreens’ rendition at No. 16. Two other recordings of the song made the scene in 1960 too — one by the Dyna-Sores and one called Alley Oop Cha-Cha-Cha by the Pre-Historics.

Popular albums included Sold Out by the Kingston Trio; Theme From a Summer Place by Billy Vaughn and His Orchestra; The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart; The Sound of Music broadway cast LP starring Mary Martin; and Persuasive Percussion by Terry Snyder and the All Stars.

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

Superman Annual #1, DC. Man, look at that. The prototype Annual cover.

Dan adds: An important DC Silver Age signpost — the introduction of the “Annual,” which led to the just-as-beloved 80-Page Giant format.

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Detective Comics #282, DC. I don’t know who the hell that other guy in the boat is, but I wish they would have hung out with him more often.

Dan adds: That was Tal-Dar, an inept cop from another planet whom Batman taught to become more confident and competent. Because justice isn’t confined to only our solar system.

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The Brave and the Bold #31, DC. Of course Cave Carson drives around in a Mole Machine.

Dan adds: I’ve been dipping my toe into series like Sea Devils and am interested in Cave Carson. Problem is, I don’t wanna spend $30 — and that’s on the cheap side — for an issue just for a taste. Ack!

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Four Color #1109: Walt Disney’s This Is Your Life, Donald Duck, Dell. There is no way I could have passed this up if I saw it on a spinner rack.

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Dan Greenfield, editor, 13th Dimension

Lois Lane, Superman’s Girl Friend #19, DC. The first so-called “imaginary story”! The alternate-reality concept had been around for quite some time, but this is where it really took hold.

As historian Brian Cronin put it: “There were a few other stories that were implicitly not in canon (dreams and stuff like that), but Superman #132 (by Otto Binder, Wayne Boring and Stan Kaye) in 1959 stood out because it was the first comic to really push the alternate reality angle… However, it was also specifically explained as being a computer simulation… So therefore, the first “official” imaginary story came out a year later, in Superman’s Girl Friend, Lois Lane #19, which labels the concept on the cover (even using the number one).”

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Pep #141, Archie. Elvis had just returned from the Army in March and Archie Comics had its finger on the pulse, as usual.

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Archie Giant Series Magazine #7, Archie. Hey, Peter Bosch just did a whole thing on Katy Keene! It’s her 80th birthday this month! Check it out! It’s neato!

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The Lone Ranger #135, Dell. The Lone Ranger had a lot of great photo covers and this is an especially strong one. I would have found it impossible to resist.

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Lash LaRue Western #80, Charlton. Winston Wolf’s favorite comic book.

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High School Confidential Diary #3, Charlton. I know people looked older back then, but why is it that everyone in a “high school” romance book looked like they were 30?

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Tales of Suspense #11, Atlas. No Marvels this week, but here’s a good example of what was out there. This came out June 9.

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MORE

— RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale The Week of June 18 — in 1963! Click here.

— RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale The Week of June 11 — in 1987! Click here.

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