Posted By Dan Greenfield on Jun 26, 2024 | 6 comments

Scott and Dan hit up the comics racks from 57 years ago…

This week for RETRO HOT PICKS, Scott Tipton and I are selecting comics that came out the week of June 26, 1967.

Last time for RETRO HOT PICKS, it was the week of June 19, 1985. 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 23 and June 29.)

Israeli paratroopers at the newly captured Western Wall.

So, let’s set the scene: A fractured nation was boiling over with rage, while at the same time the hippie movement bloomed with the Summer of Love. Further, Vietnam wasn’t the only international conflict making headlines; the Mideast was reeling from the aftermath of the Six-Day War, the ramifications of which we are intensely grappling with to this very day.

The so-called Long, Hot Summer began earlier in June with a race riot in the predominantly black section of Roxbury in Boston — the first of eight such notable uprisings this month across the country. There was also violence in Philadelphia (June 10), Tampa (June 11), Cincinnati (June 13), Dayton, Ohio, and Lansing, Michigan (June 15), and Atlanta (June 20). This week, Buffalo erupted with a riot that began June 26 and didn’t end until July 1. The uprising practically shut down the city. On June 28 alone, more than 40 people were hurt, 14 with gunshot wounds.

Tampa

Thousands of miles away, in the Middle East, Israel had routed forces from an alliance of Arab states, largely Egypt, Syria and Jordan, in the Six-Day War, June 5 to June 10. By the time the war ended, Israel had seized the Golan Heights, the Sinai Peninsula, the West Bank — unifying Jerusalem under Israeli control — and the Gaza Strip. On June 29, the Green Line that divided Israeli Jerusalem and Jordanian Jerusalem was dismantled.

The Vietnam War divided the nation: On June 23, President Johnson flew to Los Angeles for a fundraiser after a New Jersey summit with Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin, and was faced with 10,000 protesters outside the Century Plaza Hotel. The Los Angeles Police Department gave two warnings to disperse, the protesters ignored them and the police moved in — the first time authorities used violence to break up an antiwar rally.

The impact of the war was felt in other substantial ways that rocked convention and engendered impassioned public debate. The world of boxing was without its proudest champion: On June 20, Muhammad Ali who had recently been stripped of his title, was found guilty in Houston of draft evasion. A week later, on June 27, Carl Wilson of the Beach Boys was acquitted of similar charges in LA — though both he and Ali claimed conscientious objector status.

The Houston Post insisted on referring to him as Cassius Clay

The Summer of Love, meanwhile, was in its infancy. The term would come to represent a much broader social movement throughout the season but the name was first used for an actual event, the June 21 celebration of the summer solstice by thousands of hippies in San Francisco. The extraordinary Monterey Pop Festival, two hours away, had ended just a few days earlier, featuring the U.S. debuts of Jimi Hendrix, the Who and Ravi Shankar, who performed a mesmerizing set. It was also the first major public performances by Janis Joplin and Otis Redding.

Their music would provide much of the proverbial soundtrack to the months ahead. But the album that dominated turntables was the Beatles’ newly released Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, which was the No. 1 LP this week. Two Monkees albums — Headquarters (No. 2) and More of the Monkees (No. 8) — were also among the leaders, as was Sounds Like… by Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass (No. 3).

Windy by The Association topped the singles chart, meanwhile, followed by the Young Rascals’ Groovin’ (No. 2). Aretha Franklin’s spectacular Respect was at No. 6.

San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair) — sung by Scott McKenzie and written by the Mamas and the Papas’ John Phillips to promote Monterey Pop, was at No. 4. It’s widely considered one of the anthems of the Summer of Love, along with the Beatles’ All You Need Is Love, which debuted June 25 on Our World, the first live, international satellite TV production. The two-hour program was seen by 400 million viewers in 26 nations on five continents.

Otherwise, it was a Nielsen black week because it was rerun season. Top shows, however, included Bonanza, The Red Skelton Hour, The Andy Griffith Show, The Lucy Show and The Jackie Gleason Show. Batman had completed its second season while Star Trek and The Monkees each finished their first.

The birth of a superstar: 27-year-old Chuck Norris of Redondo Beach, California, on June 24 won his first major karate championship, at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

The death of a superstar: In the early morning hours of June 29, blonde bombshell Jayne Mansfield was killed in a car accident in Louisiana, with two others. Also in the car were four Chihuahuas (two of which were killed) and three of her children, who suffered minor injuries, including 3-year-old Mariska Hargitay.

The biggest movie at the box office was Sean Connery’s presumed bow as 007, You Only Live Twice, a gorgeous film with a gorgeous theme song, sung by Nancy Sinatra. It’s one of the absolute best flicks in the entire franchise with a finale that remains James Bond’s gold standard (even if some of the story’s beats don’t hold up to modern sensibilities). Other hits included the Bond satire Casino Royale, The Dirty Dozen and Thoroughly Modern Millie.

You only live twice, or so it seems… One life for yourself, and one for your dreams…

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Dan Greenfield, editor, 13th Dimension

Aquaman #35, DC. Not just one of Aquaman’s greatest covers (Nick Cardy, natch) but this issue features the first appearance of his greatest enemy — Black Manta! A landmark and a classic. Ever see Mattel’s version? It’s killer.

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Tales of Suspense #94, Marvel. If this be MODOK, then we be in for decades of jokes. (It’s the second part of his first appearance — courtesy of Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Joe Sinnott.)

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Detective Comics #366, DC. For the most part, DC comics in the Silver Age were done-in-ones, so this issue stands out as the first of a two-parter that wrapped the following issue. The Carmine Infantino/Murphy Anderson cover is more memorable than the story inside, about a plot involving booby trapped letters.

Scott adds: I like the signature, Batman.

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Archie Giant Series Magazine #147, Archie. It wasn’t summer until Betty and Veronica hit the beach with their annual Summer Fun ish.

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Action Comics #353, DC. Typical Superman-confronted by-gods scenario, this one featuring Zha-Vam, which doesn’t sound like Shazam at all. Supergirl has a back-up tale.

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Thor #144, Marvel. An action-packed classic by Lee, Kirby and Colletta.

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Combat #26, Dell. Our pal Prolific Peter Bosch loves this series. Here’s why.

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Superman’s Girl Friend, Lois Lane #77, DC. An 80-Page Giant!

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The Dirty Dozen #1, Dell. I know squeaky-clean Dell would adapt my mother’s pot-roast recipe if they could, but The Dirty Dozen? Fun antihero flick for adults, sure, but it’s filled with murderers, rapists and racists. Good luck sanitizing that one.

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Scott Tipton, columnist, 13th Dimension

Daredevil Annual #1, Marvel. “Electro and the Emissaries of Evil” didn’t quite have the legs of, say, the Sinister Six or the Frightful Four.

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Adventure Comics #359, DC. It’s the 30th century, but they still use barbed wire.

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Strange Tales #161, Marvel. Shocking to me that the Yellow Claw has yet to make his MCU debut.

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MORE

— RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale The Week of  June 19 — in 1985! Click here.

— RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale The Week of June 12 — in 1975! Click here.

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