Scott and Dan hit up the comics racks from 53 years ago…
This week for RETRO HOT PICKS, Scott and I are selecting comics that came out the week of Jan. 14, 1973.
Last time for RETRO HOT PICKS, it was the week of Jan. 7, 1992. Click here to check it out.
(Keep in mind that comics came out on multiple days, so these are the comics that went on sale between Jan. 11 and Jan. 17.)
And dig that banner by Walt Grogan — new for 2026! We’ve got four of them — one each for the Golden, Silver, Bronze and Modern Ages.
So, let’s set the scene: The adversaries in the Vietnam War were close to ending the conflict. On Jan. 15, President Richard Nixon, saying progress had been made in peace negotiations, announced that offensive action in North Vietnam would be suspended as of Jan. 27. That said, on the same day, the Navy carried out a bombing attack on more than a dozen Vietnamese bridges.
Peace talks in Paris had resumed earlier in the month but were almost derailed when National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger was dressed down by North Vietnam’s chief negotiator Le Duc Tho over the Americans’ Christmas bombings at the end of 1972. (Operation Linebacker II, the largest campaign involving heavy bombers since World War II, resulted in at least 1,600 civilian deaths. It was the last major U.S. military operation of the war. Still, a peace deal was reached later in January.)
E. Howard Hunt
Meanwhile, as Nixon prepared to be inaugurated for his second term, Watergate continued to heat up. On Jan. 11, former CIA agent E. Howard Hunt, one of the leaders of the White House Plumbers, was the first major player to plead guilty in the scandal.
Four days later, four more took pleas: Bernard L. Barker, Frank A. Sturgis, Eugenio Martínez and Virgilio Gonzalez. This as whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg was on trial for leaking the Pentagon Papers — which tore the lid off the nasty secrets of the country’s involvement in Vietnam, and which led to the creation of the Plumbers to begin with. (Charges against Ellsburg would ultimately be dismissed.)
Golda Meir meets the pope
Thousands of miles away, in Italy, Mossad agents on Jan. 14 learned of a Palestinian Liberation Organization plot to shoot down a jet taking Israeli Prime Minster Golda Meir to a meeting in Rome with Pope Paul VI. The agents foiled the plot, which involved terrorists from the Black September crew that massacred Israeli athletes at the Olympics in Munich in 1972. The captured terrorists were soon allowed to fly to Libya but would eventually be killed by Mossad anyway. (The meeting was the first time an Israeli PM met with a pope.)
Amid the domestic and international drama, however, there was a great achievement of valor, power, commitment and intelligence, though the stakes were far, far lower: On Jan. 14, the Miami Dolphins beat the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VII, making them the first NFL team to go undefeated.
The Fins’ 17-0 Perfect Season remains the only one in league history, and was led by head coach Don Shula; quarterbacks Bob Griese and Earl Morrall; running backs Larry Csonka, Jim Kiick and Mercury Morris; wide receiver Paul Warfield; and the No-Name Defense exemplified by linebacker Nick Buoniconti.
In the aftermath of the Dolphins’ victory — marred only by kicker Garo Yepremian’s hilariously bizarre decision to try to pass the ball on a botched field goal — 6-year-old me became conscious of professional football and while I was unaware of Miami’s early ’70s dominance, I forever became a fan of the team, largely because of a really cool poster of Griese that was tucked into a bag of sports cards given me by neighbors down the street.
Having grandparents in Florida helped, because they stocked me with Dolphins gear aplenty, including the coat I wore when I saw the 1966 Batmobile at a car show a year or two later in New York City.
IN OTHER NEWS
— All passengers were now being screened before boarding airplanes in the United States. It was remarkably late considering how common hijackings had become by this point. There were 10 just in the U.S. in 1972 alone. Think about that for a moment. The rule took effect earlier in the month.
— On Jan. 12, former President Lyndon Johnson recorded his last interview, with CBS’ Walter Cronkite. (Johnson died of a heart attack 10 days later. The interview would run in February.)
— Major League Baseball owners voted to adopt the designated hitter in the American League, starting with the upcoming 1973 season. The National League would hold out for almost 50 years, until 2022.
The biggest movie in the country was the best of the ’70s disaster movies — The Poseidon Adventure, which I got to see in the theater as a young ‘un. I was riveted. Other choices included The Getaway, starring Steve McQueen and Ali MacGraw; the musical 1776; The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, starring Paul Newman; The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds, directed by Newman and starring his wife, Joanne Woodward; and Jeremiah Johnson, starring Robert Redford.
Unable to perform abroad because Col. Tom Parker could not leave the United States, Elvis Presley on Jan. 14 performed his Aloha From Hawaii via Satellite concert in Honolulu. The hype machine claimed the show was seen by more than 1 billion people in almost 40 countries. That’s exceptionally unlikely. Nevertheless, it was an international smash and it remains one of the King’s touchstone performances. (Rather than show it live, a 90-minute special ran on NBC in April, to avoid conflicting with the Super Bowl and because the movie Elvis On Tour was in theaters.
What can be considered the first reality show, An American Family, premiered on PBS on Jan. 11. Across 12 episodes, it chronicled the life of the Louds from Santa Monica, California, and became a focal point for discussion and dissection of the state of family in the United States. It’s also notable for son Lance Loud’s coming out as gay.
The Super Bowl was a ratings powerhouse, naturally, but other top shows included All in the Family, Sanford & Son, Ironside, The Wonderful World of Disney, and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. On Saturday mornings, kids were getting their first taste of Schoolhouse Rock, which began Jan. 6.
It was also the end of an era. The beloved Bonanza aired for the final time Jan. 16, ending 14 seasons.
Carly Simon’s still-cryptic You’re So Vain (with pronounced backup vocals by Mick Jagger) was a No. 1 hit, with Stevie Wonder’s ripping Superstition at No. 2. Other hits included Me and Mrs. Jones by Billy Paul; Your Mama Don’t Dance by Loggins and Messina; Superfly, by Curtis Mayfield; and the first Elton John song I ever heard, Crocodile Rock.
Simon’s No Secrets, was the top-selling album, with other big LPs including Seventh Sojourn by the Moody Blues; The World Is a Ghetto, by War; and Catch Bull at Four by Cat Stevens.
But the sands of American popular music were shifting. Earlier in the month — Jan. 5 to be precise — two albums were released that would change the sound of the ’70s: Aerosmith’s self-titled debut album featuring Dream On, and Bruce Springsteen’s first LP, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J., with Blinded by the Light and Spirit in the Night.
And she was blinded by the light/Oh, cut loose like a deuce, another runner in the night. Not “douche.” “Deuce.”
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Dan Greenfield, editor, 13th Dimension
100-Page Super Spectacular DC-15, DC. Superboy gets the lead billing, but the ish includes the Boy Commandos, Aquaman and Aqualad, Hawk and Dove, Sandman and Sandy, and Dial H For Hero. What an eclectic selection of kids! All for 50 cents! Thank you, E. Nelson Bridwell!
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Wanted: The World’s Most Dangerous Villains #7, DC. More groovy reprints, courtesy of Mr. Bridwell. Johnny Quick vs. Dr. Clever! Hourman vs. Dr. Glisten! Golden Age Hawkman vs. the Ghost!
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Kamandi, the Last Boy on Earth #4, DC. Introducing Prince Tuftan!
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Supernatural Thrillers #3, Marvel. Did you know Marvel reprinted this as a True Believers dollar comic in 2019? It was to promote a miniseries starring Conan, Solomon Kane, Dark Agnes and Moon Knight. Just an interesting footnote.
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Casper Space Ship #5, Harvey. This cover actually made BRONZE AGE BONANZA’s TOP 13 COVERS OF JANUARY 1973. This is what I wrote then: “I just like it, OK? It gives me the warm and fuzzies.” It does!
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Scott Tipton, contributor-at-large, 13th Dimension
Bullwinkle #7, Gold Key. The Gold Key Bullwinkle comics were reliably funny, as I recall, a cut above most other funny-animal comics.
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Hanna-Barbera Harlem Globetrotters #5, Gold Key. Personally, I always preferred “The Super Globetrotters.”
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Conan the Barbarian #25, Marvel. That looks like one murderous mirror.
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Astonishing Tales #17, Marvel. He’s got the power of two men!
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MORE
— RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale The Week of January 7 — in 1992! Click here.
— RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale The Week of December 31 — in 1968! Click here.
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Comics sources: Mike’s Amazing World of Comics and the Grand Comics Database.
January 14, 2026
Ah, yes. I remember those days and those comics. Yes, “Casper’s Space Ship” makes me smile.
January 14, 2026
That 100-page Superboy, I recently found in my collection. I must have bought it in the 90s. I had two boxes full of comics sitting on a shelf, untouched, for 25 years. I thought they were a bunch of crappy comics that I bought cheap, for reading, but there were some good stuff in there! It was like finding lost treasure 😀 .