Posted By Dan Greenfield on Aug 14, 2024 | 7 comments

Scott and Dan hit up the comics racks from 55 years ago — again…

This week for RETRO HOT PICKS, Scott Tipton and I are selecting comics that came out the week of Aug, 14, 1969.

Last time for RETRO HOT PICKS, it was the week of Aug. 7 — 1969!

That’s right, for the first time since RETRO HOT PICKS launched in 2020, we’re doing back-to-back weeks from the same year. Why? Because it’s the 55th anniversary of some extraordinary events and so it seemed fitting to do this as a special two-parter. (Click here for PART 1, which covered Aug. 4 to Aug. 10.)

Here is PART 2, covering Aug. 11 to Aug. 17:

Bobbi Kelly and Nick Ercoline in the most emblematic photo of Woodstock, used for the eventual soundtrack album. The two married and stayed together until Bobbi Ercoline died in 2023, at the age of 73.

So, let’s set the scene: Woodstock! One of the defining events of the 1960s, the festival ran for three days, officially from Friday to Sunday, Aug. 15 to 17, with hundreds of thousands of people descending on Max Yasgur’s 600-acre farm in upstate New York. Heavy rainfall turned the fields into a gigantic mudpit but those who attended couldn’t have cared less, between the drugs, sex, love — and yes, the rock and roll.

So many of the era’s biggest acts took the stage, including the Grateful Dead; Janis Joplin; the Who — which played the entirety of Tommy; The Band; Creedence Clearwater Revival; Jefferson Airplane; Joan Baez; Sly and the Family Stone; Santana; and Arlo Guthrie, among others, including festival opener Richie Havens, whose performance made him a star.

But the man who brought down the house, who electrified a sleepy crowd on the Monday morning after the show was supposed to end, was the greatest guitarist of all time, Jimi Hendrix. When Hendrix and his “Band of Gypsys” took the stage to close the festival — he’d moved his slot from midnight to the morning — the crowd was down to about 30,000.

Hendrix’s set included a searing version of The Star-Spangled Banner that became one of the symbols of the 1960s, a career high point and widely recognized as one of the greatest performances ever. The version, filled with eruptive feedback and distortion, sounds like rockets flying and bombs exploding, leading listeners to take it as Hendrix’s statement against the Vietnam War. Hendrix himself later said, “We’re all Americans… It was like ‘Go America!’… We play it the way the air is in America today. The air is slightly static, see.”

Hendrix had been up for three days straight and when he left the stage after playing Hey Joe as the encore, he collapsed from exhaustion.

Sharon Tate, Jay Sebring, Abigail Folger, Wojciech Frykowski, Steven Parent, Rosemary LaBianca, Leno LaBianca

Across the country in California, cops were baffled by the two savage, home invasion murders in Los Angeles. On Aug. 12, the LAPD told the media that it had ruled out any connection between the heinous murders of Sharon Tate and her guests on Aug. 9, and the similarly brutal slayings of supermarket mogul Leno LaBianca and his wife Rosemary on Aug. 10. This despite both crime scenes prominently featuring cryptic words scrawled in the victims’ blood.

Four days later, on Aug. 16, authorities raided Spahn Ranch in Chatsworth and arrested a career criminal named Charles Manson, plus more than two dozen others… for running an auto-theft ring. Manson and his ragtag group — 10 other men and 15 women, most of whom were living at the one-time movie set — were converting stolen Volkswagen Beetles into dune buggies. Sheriff’s deputies seized weapons from the scene but the group was eventually released because the search warrant had been misdated.

Auto-theft suspect Charles Manson, cuffed on the near right.

On Aug. 12, the Battle of the Bogside began in Derry, Northern Ireland, as thousands of Protestants and Catholics clashed, setting off three days of rioting. The street battle led to widespread violence elsewhere in Northern Ireland and the deployment of British troops. The fierce upheaval is widely seen as the beginning of The Troubles, which would last for roughly 30 years.

The United States on Aug. 13 formally celebrated the Apollo 11 heroes Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins — three days after they left their post-moon landing quarantine — with ticker-tape parades in New York and Chicago attended by millions. That night in Los Angeles, there was an official dinner with members of Congress, 44 governors, Chief Justice of the United States Warren E. Burger and ambassadors from 83 nations.

Left: Overhead view in New York. Right: Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins and Neil Armstrong wave to the crowds.

The top-grossing film in America was Goodbye, Columbus, based on the story by Philip Roth and starring Richard Benjamin and Ali McGraw, in her first major film role. Also in theaters were Easy Rider — starring Peter Fonda (who produced and co-wrote with Dennis Hopper and Terry Southern), Hopper (who also directed) and Jack Nicholson — Midnight Cowboy, True Grit and the beloved kiddie flick The Love Bug.

The new fall season wasn’t far off but reruns still dominated television. In addition to Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In and Gunsmoke, other popular shows included Bonanza, Family Affair, Mayberry RFD and Julia, starring Diahann Carroll, the first series to star a Black woman in a non-stereotypical role.

Honky Tonk Women, one of the Rolling Stones’ greatest songs — which means it’s one of the greatest rock songs ever — moved into the second slot on the singles chart, on its way to No. 1. The single, whose B-side was You Can’t Always Get What You Want (!), was released July 4 in the UK — the day after Brian Jones’ death. The song was originally conceived as a 1930s-style country song but morphed into the more famous, raucous version fans clamor for at every concert. (Keith Richards credited the band’s new guitarist, Mick Taylor, for influencing the track.) Oddly, it was the band’s last No. 1 hit in their home country.

Heading the chart again was In the Year 2525 by Zager and Evans. Beatle John Lennon’s Give Peace a Chance — released the same day as Honky Tonk Women in the UK and credited to the Plastic Ono Band — hit No. 20.

Blood, Sweat & Tears’ self-titled album and the Hair Original Cast Recording were again 1-2 on the albums chart. Johnny Cash’s At San Quentin moved up to No. 4. The Doors’ Soft Parade, one of the band’s weaker efforts. moved from No. 24 to No. 9.

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Dan Greenfield, editor, 13th Dimension

The Amazing Spider-Man #78, Marvel. The introduction of the Prowler, one of the coolest-looking of all Spidey villains! I’ve always wondered, though: What is his chest design supposed to signify? And why does he wear a gray-and-black Spider-Man mask? It doesn’t really matter, though — it’s still badass.

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Fantastic Four #92, Marvel. The Thing is forced into gladiatorial combat by the Skrulls — and Reed, Johnny and Crystal fly off into space to rescue him!

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Mad #130, EC. How many copies of Mad did the hippies bring to Woodstock, do you think? I bet a lot.

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DC Special #5, DC. An all-Kubert issue! Reprints include Sgt. Rock, Hawkman, the Viking Prince and more. But the highlight is a charming, four-page autobiographical comic about Joe and the family at home (with appearances by young Adam and Andy). Sweet stuff.

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Metal Men #40, DC. The end was near for Metal Men. In a misbegotten move, the series had taken on a darker tone and the Metal Men had adopted human identities. Doesn’t explain why they decided to make Tina look like Bea Arthur though. Anyway, Doc Magnus’ crew had only one more issue in their original series.

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Scott Tipton, columnist, 13th Dimension

Superman’s Girl Friend Lois Lane #96, DC. I don’t know who that guy is with the mullet and the pirate boots, but he’s one smooth talker.

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The X-Men #61, Marvel. Ain’t nothing cooler-looking or scarier-looking than a Neal Adams Sauron.

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The Incredible Hulk #121, Marvel. What? What’s your problem? This is the Glob. He’s nothing like the Heap. Or Swamp Thing. Or Man-Thing. Keep walking, nothing to see here.

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The Witching Hour #5, DC. Moody and lush cover from the great Nick Cardy, not to mention a rare occurrence of the “word-balloon title logo”!

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MORE

— RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale The Week of August 7 — in 1969! Click here.

— RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale The Week of  July 31 — in 1966! Click here.

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