Scott and Dan hit up the comics racks from 56 years ago…
This week for RETRO HOT PICKS, Scott and I are selecting comics that came out the week of July 22, 1970.
Last time for RETRO HOT PICKS, it was the week of July 15, 1954. 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 July 19 and July 25.)
So, let’s set the scene: MANSON ON TRIAL! Less than a year after the 1969 grisly Los Angeles murders of actress Sharon Tate and three of her friends (plus a young man who was visiting the caretaker of her home), as well as supermarket mogul Leno LaBianca and his wife Rosemary, Charles Manson was on trial for planning and ordering the executions of all seven.
Also facing charges were so-called “Manson girls” Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Leslie Van Houten, who were among those who carried out the bloodthirsty slayings. (Fellow suspect Charles “Tex” Watson was fighting extradition from Texas.)
Van Houton, Atkins and Krenwinkel — before they all cut Xs into their foreheads
In his July 24 opening argument, Deputy District Attorney Vincent Bugliosi called Manson a “megalomaniac who coupled his insatiable thirst for power with an intense obsession for violent death,” and laid out the cult leader’s insane plan for “Helter Skelter” — a race war that would leave him and his followers rulers of the world.
Manson thought the Beatles were communicating to him through their music, and was taken with the band’s 1968 White Album, which included the song Helter Skelter. The words “Healter Skelter” were scrawled in blood at the scene of the LaBiancas’ murders, which occurred the night after the Tate attack. (Unsurprisingly, the drug-addled madman missed the mark entirely: Helter Skelter was actually about an amusement park slide — and a satire of thrashing hard rock.)
Sharon Tate, Jay Sebring, Abigail Folger, Wojciech Frykowski, Steven Parent, Rosemary LaBianca, Leno LaBianca
Manson certainly knew how to play the part of aggrieved lunatic in the courtroom, appearing with a fresh “X” carved into his forehead.
“I am considered inadequate and incompetent to speak or defend myself in your court,” the statement, distributed by his lawyer, read. “You have created the monster. I am not of you, from you, nor do condone your wars or your unjust attitudes towards things, animals and people that you won’t try to understand. I have Xed myself from your world.”
IN OTHER NEWS
— On July 23, a federal grand jury in Detroit indicted 13 members of the radical leftist Weather Underground. The domestic terrorist group for about a year had carried out a spree of bombings, riots and other violent attacks. (The most recent assault was the dynamite bombing of New York City Police Headquarters in June. The militants gave the cops six minutes’ warning. There were no casualties, which was typical of their assaults over the years — though that was not always the case.) This was not the first indictment against members of the organization, which was living and operating covertly. Their explosive acts continued for years to come.
— On July 21, the Aswan High Dam in Egypt was completed after a decade of work.
— Belgian Eddy Merckx on July 19 won the 1970 Tour de France. It was Merckx’s second straight yellow jersey and whether in the mountains or the straightaways, it was a dominating performance: Only one rider finished within 15 minutes of him.
Russ Meyer’s so-bad-it’s-good Beyond the Valley of the Dolls was the No. 1 movie in America. Though it has a cult following today, it was excoriated by critics at the time. Most notably, Chicago Tribune critic Gene Siskel gave the film zero stars and noted, “Boredom aplenty is provided by a screenplay which for some reason has been turned over to a screenwriting neophyte.” That neophyte? Roger Ebert.
Other hits included Airport, the granddaddy of the ’70s disaster flicks; Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice; A Man Called Horse; Marlo Thomas’ movie debut Jenny (co-starring Alan Alda); Patton; the political thriller Z; and the wildly entertaining, never-gets-old Beneath the Planet of the Apes. Myra Breckinridge was a notable flop, but star Raquel Welch fulfilled many a fantasy.
Fitting for summer: Hawaii Five-O reruns were very popular. Big shows of the time also included Marcus Welby, M.D., which had a season under its stethoscope; Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In; Gunsmoke; Bonanza; Mayberry RFD; Family Affair; The Doris Day Show; and Here’s Lucy, whose summer reruns ran back-to-back with reruns of Lucille Ball’s previous program, The Lucy Show.
(They Long To Be) Close to You by the Carpenters was at the top of the charts and a breakthrough hit for the brother-and-sister duo. It might, just might, be the first radio hit I was conscious of. (I was 3.) The tune was by Burt Bacharach and Hal David and was first recorded in 1963 by Richard Chamberlain, of all people.
Three Dog Night’s Mama Told Me Not to Come and Freda Payne’s Band of Gold, whose upbeat, head-bobbing tempo bely its decidedly downbeat lyrics, followed, with other major tunes including the Temptations’ raucous protest song Ball of Confusion; Blues Image’s smooth Ride Captain Ride; and Stevie Wonder’s Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours).
July also marked a milestone on AM radio: Casey Kasem’s weekly American Top 40, featuring Billboard’s rankings, had just debuted in Los Angeles on July 4, and would eventually become a staple. (Marvin Gaye’s The End of Our Road was the first song on that episode, at No. 40, and the top tune was Mama Told Me Not to Come.)
The best-selling LP was the Woodstock soundtrack, but it was in excellent company: The Beatles had broken up just months earlier, but their final studio album Let It Be was a smash. (So was Beatle Paul’s first solo album, McCartney. 1969’s Abbey Road was also still moving units, as they say.)
Other popular albums rank among the greatest of all time: Led Zeppelin II; Simon & Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Water; Deja Vu, by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, the latter of whom was added for the first time; Blood, Sweat & Tears 3; and, Let It Bleed, the Rolling Stones’ best album up to that point. Creedence Clearwater Revival released Cosmo’s Factory earlier in July and it would dominate sales from late August into the fall.
Ooh, a storm is threatening my very life today…
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Scott Tipton, contributor-at-large, 13th Dimension
Conan the Barbarian #1, Marvel. Conan makes his comics debut! Courtesy of Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith.
Dan adds: Truth be told, I never read a Conan comic until I read this issue’s Facsimile Edition. I totally get it now.
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Astonishing Tales #2, Marvel. I miss Marvel’s split books. Ka-Zar and Dr. Doom? Sold!
Dan adds: When something is part of the firmament for so long, you don’t really think about it. But what a strange pairing!
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Walt Disney Comics Digest #24, Gold Key. And people thought Superman Vs. Spider-Man was big! Thumper Meets the Seven Dwarves! Because you demanded it!
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Family Affair #4, Gold Key. In the summer of 1970, comics really needed to cash in on that Brian Keith heat.
Dan Greenfield, editor, 13th Dimension
Hot Wheels #4, DC. Featuring the work of Alex Toth — not to mention Len Wein and Dick Giordano, plus Ric Estrada. Dig this recent tribute to Toth’s work on the book.
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Super DC Giant #S-16, DC. “And the award for the Most Crowded Cover of All Time goes to…” This is one of those issues that appeals to the completist that still hides inside me. I have these stories elsewhere but my full Batman Brave and the Bold run would not be complete without it. Also, it’s an oddball mix of features and I do like the cover despite itself.
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World’s Finest Comics #196, DC. Dude, you really think Batman needs your help?
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Ronald McDonald #2, Charlton. For a second there, I thought Ronald was sitting on the can. Which, y’know, kinda fits.
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