Posted By Dan Greenfield on Apr 15, 2026 | 4 comments

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

This week for RETRO HOT PICKS, Scott and I are selecting comics that came out the week of April 15, 1961.

Last time for RETRO HOT PICKS, it was the week of April 8, 1982. 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 April 12 and April 18.)

So, let’s set the scene: Not a good week for the ol’ U.S. of A. Amid high Cold War tensions, the Russians schooled us in the Space Race and the Kennedy administration backed an invasion of Cuba that backfired spectacularly.

Let’s take it chronologically:

On April 12, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man launched into outer space. He made one orbit around the Earth before re-entry. Like everything in the USSR, the mission was cloaked in secrecy and not announced until Gagarin was already in orbit.

Two days later, Gagarin received a hero’s welcome at Vnukovo airport, where he was met by Soviet dignitaries, and along the 10-mile route to Moscow’s Red Square. It was televised throughout the USSR and Eastern Europe.

While Gagarin and the Russians’ achievement was admired, it stoked fears the Soviet Union was besting the U.S. in space, particularly after Sputnik in 1957. Perhaps the most unhappy was American astronaut Alan Shepard, who seethed over the news. Shepard was supposed to be the first man in space but his mission was delayed six times.

Meanwhile, eight days before the launch, final plans for the U.S.-supported invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs were signed off on by President Kennedy. The initial stages of the invasion began April 15, when eight bombers attacked Cuban airfields. Two days later, thousands of troops made up of Cuban exiles, with CIA and Navy support, unleashed an amphibious assault at the Bay and a second location, with paratroopers dropped at four other spots.

The results were catastrophic: The Cubans retaliated in force and by the end of the day, one invading ship was beached and another sunk. Other vessels were forced to retreat to international waters, and four B-26 bombers had been shot down, with the invaders under fire. On April 18, the Cubans continued their advances, despite attacks by B-26s that utilized napalm, machine guns and bombs.

Cuban counterattack

And then, on April 19, it was over. By early evening, invading ground forces had surrendered or made a run for it in the swamps. Cuba took nearly 1,200 invaders prisoner and essentially held them for ransom, releasing the last of them at the end of 1962 — in exchange for $53,000,000 in food and medicine.

(Years later, it was revealed the Soviet Union had learned some of the details of the invasion in advance. The CIA knew about it — and still went ahead with the mission.)

IN OTHER NEWS

— The trial of Nazi Adolf Eichmann, accused of more than 6 million murders in the Holocaust, had begun in Jersualem.

— On April 17, construction began on the Space Needle in Seattle.

— A committee of the American Standards Association on April 14 approved the standard size for shipping containers used worldwide, with dimensions of 8 feet high, 8 feet wide, and in units of 10 feet, 20 feet, 30 feet and 40 feet.

Awards season back then took all of five days:

— On April 12, Ray Charles took home four Grammy Awards, for Georgia on My Mind, Let the Good Times Roll and the album The Genius of Ray Charles. Other big winners included Percy Faith for Theme From A Summer Place, Bob Newhart, and Ella Fitzgerald.

— On April 16, Becket won Best Play and Bye Bye Birdie won Best Musical at the Tony Awards.

— On April 17, The Apartment won Best Picture, for which Billy Wilder won Best Director, at the Oscars. Burt Lancaster won Best Actor for Elmer Gantry and Elizabeth Taylor won Best Actress for BUtterfield 8.

Exodus, starring Paul Newman, was No. 1 at the box office, with other hits including The Absent-Minded Professor, starring Fred MacMurray, and The Alamo, starring John Wayne.

Wagon Train was followed by Gunsmoke in the Nielsens. Americans also tuned in to Bob Hope’s latest special, The Garry Moore Show — with rising star Carol Burnett — and The Andy Griffith Show.

The Marcels’ Blue Moon topped the singles chart, with Elvis Presley’s Surrender, Chubby Checker’s Pony Time, and Del Shannon’s Runaway getting plenty of airplay.

Battling it out on the LP charts were Presley… and Lawrence Welk! The King’s G.I. Blues and Welk’s Calcutta! were both big-selling albums, with two completely different audiences. The Exodus soundtrack and the original Broadway cast recording of Camelot were also very popular. (Ernest Gold’s Exodus theme was also a Grammy winner.)

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Dan Greenfield, editor, 13th Dimension

Challengers of the Unknown #20, DC. Who ya got? Giant Rocky or Whale Guy With Arms and Legs? Also, if you follow the beachline to the left and keep going past the outcropping, you’ll find the Statue of Liberty half buried in the sand.

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Strange Tales #86, Tales of Suspense #19, Tales to Astonish #21, Marvel. Whale Guy With Arms and Legs has nothing on this trio of Jack Kirby/Dick Ayers monsters. Everything would change for Marvel in about four months and these three titles would be completely transformed in the aftermath. That Tales to Astonish there is one of my fave Kirby monster covers. It’s swell!

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World’s Finest Comics #118, DC. Then again, none of them can compete with Fat Hairy Beak Guy and His Fat Hairy Beak Guy utility belt. Miss Arrowette appears in a Green Arrow backup, by the way.

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High School Confidential Diary #8, Charlton. I know Don Draper was a philanderer but trolling Ossining High School’s library?

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

Adventures Into the Unknown #125, ACG. “Invisible”? To quote the great Inigo Montoya, “I do not think that word means what you think it means.”

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Unusual Tales #29, Charlton. This series followed up its less successful predecessor, Tales of Mild Interest.

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Batman #140, DC. Alien Batman and Robin and Batwoman?! SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!

Dan adds: What Scott’s not telling you is that the villains of the story are the Yellow Sweater Gang! For real! SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY TOO!

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The Flash #121, DC. Are there any Flash villains that look more “Carmine-Infantino-y” than the Trickster? I’m inclined to think not.

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MORE

— RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale The Week of April 8 — in 1982! Click here.

— RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale The Week of April 1 — in 1950! Click here.

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