Posted By Dan Greenfield on Mar 13, 2024 | 2 comments

Scott and Dan hit up the comics racks from 52 years ago…

This week for RETRO HOT PICKS, Scott Tipton and I are selecting comics that came out the week of March 13, 1972.

Last time for RETRO HOT PICKS, it was the week of March 6, 1989. 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 March 10 and March 16.)

The 101’s official return in April

So, let’s set the scene: Fighting remained intense in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos as U.S. and North Vietnamese leaders negotiated a peace deal. A drawdown of American forces had been under way and on March 10, the storied U.S. 101st Airborne Division left South Vietnam.

Republican Richard Nixon was up for re-election and enjoying broad support. In late February, the noted red-baiter made an unprecedented visit to the People’s Republic of China and met with Mao Zedong, giving rise to the famous adage, “Only Nixon could go to China.” On March 16, he addressed the nation to propose a moratorium on forced busing to achieve desegregation in American schools, a conservative stance on a hot-button topic that became part of his re-election campaign.

While Nixon was dealing from a position of strength, the Democrats were eating themselves. Earlier in the month, Maine U.S. Sen. Edmund Muskie’s campaign had begun to implode because of the infamous “Canuck Letter,” which alleged that he harbored prejudice toward French-Canadians (a sizeable portion of the New Hampshire electorate shared such ancestry).

Turned out it was a dirty trick masterminded by Nixon’s Committee for the Re-Election of the President (derisively nicknamed CREEP). That wouldn’t come out until later but in the moment, it damaged Muskie’s performance in the New Hampshire primary and gave a boost to South Dakota U.S. Sen. George McGovern.

On March 14, however, segregationist Alabama Gov. George Wallace won big in the Florida primary, legitimizing his campaign for the Democratic nomination.

John and Yoko leave the Immigration and Naturalization Service in New York City on March 16.

Meanwhile, both sides were particularly focused on the younger vote — for the first time 18-to-20-year-olds would be allowed to cast ballots for president. Conventional wisdom held that this would help the Democrats, so the GOP was looking for boogeymen, especially the notoriously paranoid Nixon.

Racist South Carolina U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond urged the White House to target ex-Beatle John Lennon, who was living in New York City, because he could help swing the youth vote. The J. Edgar Hoover-led FBI jumped in but found no evidence of illegal activities. Nevertheless the matter was referred to immigration authorities, which on March 16 served Lennon and Yoko Ono with deportation papers, based on a 1968 drug conviction in England.

The other ex-Beatles weren’t exactly out of the spotlight, either. Ringo Starr was preparing to release in the UK the single Back Off, Boogaloo, a thinly veiled attack on Paul McCartney. George Harrison’s live album The Concert for Bangladesh was at No. 9 on the Billboard album charts.

No other way to put it — March 14 was a landmark in American cinema: Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather had its world premiere in New York City and opened in five city theaters the next day, ahead of its March 24 wide release. To this day, the film — starring Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, John Cazale and Talia Shire — is considered one of the greatest ever made. Some would say it’s the greatest.

If you weren’t interested in a phenomenally compelling, operatic generational drama about the Mafia and the American Dream, you had plenty of other bona fide classics to choose from, including The French Connection, The Last Picture Show, Dirty Harry and What’s Up, Doc? Even Diamonds Are Forever, Sean Connery’s last official turn as James Bond, was still floating around theaters. (One of the worst 007 entries if you ask me.)

Buzz of a different sort was building around the Baltimore Film Festival. Local boy John Waters’ Pink Flamingos, starring Divine, was set to screen at the University of Baltimore on March 17. If you’ve never seen it, it’s everything you’ve heard — and worse. (It is by no means for everyone but it remains one of the funniest movie-going experiences I’ve ever had.)

All in the Family was the top-rated TV show (of course) but other big hits on the small screen included a two-part showing of the 1961 musical blockbuster West Side Story, as well as a rerun of The Wizard of Oz. I would lay good money that I watched it because that was an event every time it was on television. I was 5 and if you’re of my generation, you probably watched it too.

A personal favorite, Neil Young’s Heart of Gold, from the No. 1 album Harvest, led the Billboard 100. Others among the leaders included A Horse With No Name by America (No. 2), off the band’s second-ranked, self-named LP; Robert John’s The Lion Sleeps Tonight (No. 3); Paul Simon’s Mother and Child Reunion (No. 6) from the album Paul Simon (also No. 6); Bang a Gong by T.Rex (No. 13); and American Pie by Don McLean (No. 20), from his third-ranked album, also called American Pie.

Two other noteworthy LPs: Harry Nilsson’s Nilsson Schmilsson (No. 5), featuring the frenetic Jump Into the Fire; and the essential Rolling Stones collection Hot Rocks 1964-1971 (No. 10).

Zipping up the charts was Roberta Flack’s lovely cover of The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, which ended up the best-selling single of the year.

Also of note: On March 14, Muddy Waters won his first Grammy, for his album, They Call Me Muddy Waters. On March 16, James Brown played two shows for more than 1,000 detainees awaiting trial at the juvenile remand shelter on Rikers Island.

Batman #241, DC. Writer Denny O’Neil introduces Colonel Sulphur, a villain with some potential who just never made it, in a pretty good story with the on-the-nose title “At Dawn Dies Mary MacGuffin!” There’s an even better Robin back-up, co-starring Kid Flash and Lilith battling Cthulhu cultists, written by Mike Friedrich and pencilled by Rich Buckler. (This was a particularly fertile period for the Teen Wonder.) But all of that pales next to the cover — pencilled by Neal Adams and inked by Bernie Wrightson — which is one of the most enduring Batman images of the Bronze Age.

You may have it on a shirt:

Or, like me, on a glass:

Or, you may have purchased Alex Ross’ homage last year:

In any event, it’s a classic — and a touchstone too: It’s the first appearance of this particular Batman logo, likely designed by Gaspar Saladino, with art by Adams, according to Todd Klein.

Scott adds: A kinda forgettable comic under an absolutely iconic cover by Adams and Wrightson.

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Teen Titans #39, DC. The original Titans run was deep into its weird phase by this point. But, hey, Mr. Jupiter’s in this one!

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The Amazing Spider-Man #109, Marvel. Good team-up story with Spidey and Doctor Strange, by Stan Lee and John Romita. Later in the year, the From Beyond the Grave! “Rockomic” was released and it appears to have loosely borrowed some elements from this one.

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The Avengers #100, Marvel. Whenever I start to get all “Grumpy Ol’ Man” about Hawkeye’s current costume, I remember this one and I’m reminded it could be worse.

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Sub-Mariner #50, Marvel. Sometimes I forget that Sub-Mariner creator Bill Everett was back at work writing and drawing Namor as late as the 1970s. Kind of amazing when you think about it.

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Forbidden Tales of Dark Mansion #5, DC. This beautiful Nick Cardy cover doesn’t look at all like your typical DC horror comic of the era. Especially with that very atypical masthead.

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Korak, Son of Tarzan #46, DC. One of these days I’m going to have to go find all this amazing Joe Kubert work on Korak and Tarzan that has gone uncollected in trade.

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MORE

— RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale The Week of March 6 — in 1989! Click here.

— RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale The Week of Feb. 28 — in 1968! Click here.

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