Posted By Dan Greenfield on May 15, 2024 | 2 comments

Scott and Dan hit up the comics racks from 60 years ago…

This week for RETRO HOT PICKS, Scott Tipton and I are selecting comics that came out the week of May 15, 1964.

Last time for RETRO HOT PICKS, it was the week of May 8, 1991. 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 May 12 and May 18.)

LBJ at the University of Michigan on May 22, where he elaborated on the Great Society.

So, let’s set the scene: President Johnson’s Great Society was dawning. Earlier in the month, he coined the term for his domestic agenda at a speech at Ohio University: “America is yours — yours to make a better land — yours to build the great society.” He would expand on the idea later in the month and his ambitious vision gave rise to major federal programs designed to address civil rights; medical care, such as Medicaid and Medicare; poverty; and education funding. Johnson’s popularity at the moment — months after the assassination of John F. Kennedy — was unrivaled, as the Republicans chose between Barry Goldwater and Nelson Rockefeller to run against him in the ’64 presidential election.

LBJ’s impressive plan saw some successes and and many of the programs borne from the Great Society exist today. But his domestic policies, political fortunes — and legacy — were undercut as he escalated the Vietnam War as the decade went on.

The Southeast Asian conflict itself was just beginning to take hold in the public consciousness: Two weeks after about 1,000 people marched in New York City in the first major student demonstration against the Vietnam War — plus similar rallies in Boston, San Francisco, Seattle and Madison, Wisconsin — 12 men on May 16 burned their draft cards at Manhattan’s Union Square. It was the first mass act of resistance of the war, with 50 people in attendance.

On May 17, a demonstration of a different sort took place in New York, as 150 bicyclists rode from Manhattan to the World’s Fair in Flushing to try to make the city’s streets more bike-friendly. It would be decades before the city installed bike lanes outside of parks.

On the same day, Canadian waistbands expanded by osmosis: the first Tim Hortons restaurant opened in Hamilton, Ontario.

The top movie in the country was Blake Edwards’ The Pink Panther, starring Peter Sellers and featuring one of filmdom’s most famous themes, written by Henry Mancini.

Other hits included 1963 holdovers Tom Jones and It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. (Movies had a long shelf life back then.) Meanwhile, one of Elvis Presley’s most anticipated flicks was advertised in theaters: Viva Las Vegas — co-starring Ann-Margret, “that ball of fire from ‘Bye Bye Birdie'” — was set to open May 20. It’s widely considered the King’s filmic high-water mark: His chemistry with Ann-Margret was scorching.

On TV, the Nielsens were led by the usual suspects: The Beverly Hillbillies, Bonanza, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Petticoat Junction and The Andy Griffith Show. The Twilight Zone was in its final stretch: The Brain Center at Whipple’s, directed by Richard Donner, starring Richard Deacon and featuring Robby the Robot, aired May 15.

All of that pales in comparison to… BEATLEMANIA, which was in full swing following the four lads from Liverpool’s smash appearances on Ed Sullivan in February. The Fab Four dominated the Billboard 100 leaders, with four — count ’em, four — songs in the Top 20: Love Me Do (No. 3), Do You Want to Know a Secret (No. 5), Can’t Buy Me Love (No. 11) and Twist and Shout (No. 20).

They also had three albums in the Top 10 of the U.S. LP chart: The Beatles’ Second Album (No. 1), Meet the Beatles! (No. 3) and Introducing… the Beatles (No. 7).

(There was other music to enjoy too: Mary Wells’ My Guy topped the singles chart, with Jan & Dean’s eerily prescient Dead Man’s Curve at No. 8. Elvis’ Kissin’ Cousins soundtrack was at No. 6 on the Billboard 200. (It’s easy to forget that the Beatles and the King were actually contemporaries. Elvis was biggest in the ’50s and ’70s but he made a ton of musicals in the ’60s, neutered though most of them were.)

Love, love me do… You know I love you… I’ll always be true… So please, love me do

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