Posted By Dan Greenfield on May 21, 2025 | 10 comments

Scott and Dan hit up the comics racks from 51 years ago…

This week for RETRO HOT PICKS, Scott Tipton and I are selecting comics that came out the week of May 21, 1974.

Last time for RETRO HOT PICKS, it was the week of May 14, 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 May 18 and May 24.)

So, let’s set the scene: The noose was tightening around the Nixon White House. On May 20, U.S. District Judge John Sirica ordered President Nixon to surrender 64 tape recordings of White House conversations that had been subpoenaed by the special prosecutor, Leon Jaworski.

Nixon fought the order and about two months later, on July 24, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled for Sirica. The tapes were released, including the infamous “smoking gun” recording, and Nixon would resign in August. But until that point, Tricky Dick threw up every obstacle he could: On May 22, he informed the House Judiciary Committte that he would refuse to obey any more subpoenas for evidence or appearances.

Patty Hearst, aka Tania

News reports were filled with details from May 17’s shootout between the Los Angeles Police Department and the Symbionese Liberation Army at the urban terrorist group’s Compton hideout, a day after their brainwashed convert Patty Hearst — aka Tania — emptied the entire magazine of her automatic carbine into an Inglewood sporting goods store. Hearst was helping two of her comrades, one of whom was grabbed by the owner for shoplifting.

Hearst and the two went on the run and by the time they returned to the L.A. base, it was surrounded by cops, so they instead bolted and went to a hotel near Disneyland, where they watched on live television the shootout between the fanatics and the police. Cops launched tear gas canisters into the building, which caught fire. All six members there were killed but it wasn’t immediately clear to the authorities and the public whether Hearst was among the dead. It was one of the largest shootouts with police in US history, with more than 9,000 rounds fired.

IN OTHER NEWS

— On May 24, the great Duke Ellington took the “A” train to the great beyond, dying at the age of 75 of complications from lung cancer and pneumonia. Three days later, 12,000 people showed up for his funeral at Manhattan’s Cathedral of St. John the Divine.

— On May 22, the same day he promised to defy the House Judicary Committee, Nixon signed into law the Disaster Relief Act of 1974, authorizing the U.S. president to make declarations that would hasten sending federal money to disaster-hit areas in the United States and its territories. It had passed 91 to 0 in the Senate and 392 to 0 in the House of Representatives.

— On May 19, the Philadelphia Flyers became the first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup.

The Sting, reuniting Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’s Paul Newman, Robert Redford and director George Roy Hill, topped the box office and the nation had rediscovered the music of Scott Joplin (which was anachronistic for the film’s 1930s setting). Marvin Hamlisch’s rendition of The Entertainer (The Sting’s theme song), was the No. 3 single, while the soundtrack itself was the top album in the country. The flick premiered the previous Christmas but remained a huge hit for months.

Also in theaters was Redford’s The Great Gatsby; the taboo-shattering The Exorcist; Francis Ford Coppola and Gene Hackman’s The Conversation, which made a splash at Cannes; Mel Brooks’ Western tour de farce Blazing Saddles; The Golden Voyage of Sinbad with the fab Caroline Munro; the Blaxploitation classic Foxy Brown; Hammer’s Captain Kronos — Vampire Hunter, also with Munro; Sylvester Stallone’s The Lords of Flatbush; and That’s Entertainment!, MGM’s tribute to its own musicals.

Who loves ya, baby? Kojak was one of the biggest hits on television. Other popular shows included All in the Family and its spinoff of a spinoff Good Times, Sanford and Son, MASH, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Bob Newhart Show, Cannon, and Hawaii Five-O.

Hey, remember when running around nekkid was a thing? Well, Ray Stevens capitalized on the zeitgeist with his No. 1 single The Streak. The Jackson 5’s Dancing Machine was at No. 2. At No. 5 was Band on the Run — one of Paul McCartney’s two greatest post-Beatles songs. I could not get enough of it. (To be precise it was a Wings song, fwiw.)

The No. 2 album was Buddha and the Chocolate Box, by the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens. Maria Muldaur’s self-titled solo debut album was at its No. 3 peak, and the No. 4 LP was Band on the Run. Elton’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road was at No. 9.

Meanwhile, on May 24, David Bowie’s Diamond Dogs was released.

Dan Greenfield, editor, 13th Dimension

The Brave and the Bold #114, DC. One of my top faves from the series. Really good Batman/Aquaman team-up with a pissed-off Sea King, by Haney and Aparo. Plus reprints of the first B&B two-hero team-up (Green Arrow and the Martian Manhunter) and one of the grooviest Silver Age Teen Titans stories, starring the Ant. Bonus: a Bob Rozakis rebus using Neal Adams illustrations. For only 60 cents!

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Giant-Size Fantastic Four #2, Marvel. The lead story by Gerry Conway, John Buscema and Chic Stone is like a groovy mash-up of three different Star Trek episodes: A Piece of the Action, The City on the Edge of Forever, and The Savage Curtain. Seriously, check out this recap. The backup reprints the Red Ghost’s debut from Fantastic Four #13.

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Supernatural Thrillers #8, Marvel. I love mummies, living or otherwise. My only beef with Marvel’s version is that half the time it looks like he’s giving the Nazi salute.

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Love and Romance #18, Charlton. As a boy in 1974, I never would have considered buying this cover by Art Cappello. But I can tell you that if I saw it on the rack, I’d steal glances at it every chance I could.

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Scott Tipton, contributor-at-large, 13th Dimension

Man-Thing #8, Marvel. Man, there’s a lot to unpack here.

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Walt Disney Productions: The Adventures of Robin Hood #3, Gold Key. Oo-de-lally! Robin Hood deserved more comic books.

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The Great Gazoo #5, Charlton. The Great Gazoo had his own comic book and I’m just finding out about this now?

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Superman #278, DC. Of all Superman’s 1970s villains, Terra-Man seems to have been the most forgotten. Even Vartox gets more play than Terra-Man.

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MORE

— RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale The Week of May 14 — in 1985! Click here.

— RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale The Week of May 7 — in 1945! Click here.

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