Posted By Dan Greenfield on Oct 4, 2023 | 4 comments

Scott and Dan hit up the comics racks from 49 years ago…

This week for RETRO HOT PICKS, Scott Tipton and I are selecting comics that came out the week of Oct. 4, 1974.

Last time for RETRO HOT PICKS, it was the week of Sept. 27, 1983. 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 Oct. 1 and Oct. 7.)

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The New York Times, Page 1, Oct. 2, 1974

So let’s set the scene: Richard Nixon resigned in disgrace over the Watergate scandal in August. President Gerald Ford pardoned him in September. But a number of the President’s Men were being held accountable in a court of law this week.

John N. Mitchell, the former attorney general; H. R. Haldeman and John D. Ehrlichman, Nixon’s two top aides at the White House; Kenneth W. Parkinson, the attorney for the Committee for the Re‐election of the President (CREEP); and, Robert C. Mardian, an assistant attorney general, all went on trial for their roles in the cover-up. All but Parkinson would be convicted the following New Year’s Day.

Mitchell, Haldeman, who was Nixon’s chief of staff, and Ehrlichman all did prison time. Mardian’s conviction was quashed on appeal.

A 16-year-old high school cheerleader named Nancy Wilcox disappeared in Holladay, Utah, on Oct. 2. She’d gone out for a pack of gum and never returned. She was last seen riding in a yellow Volkswagen Beetle — similar to the one later found to be owned by serial killer Ted Bundy. Wilcox’s body was never found but Bundy years after confessed to killing her.

October means scary movies and perhaps the most legitimately terrifying of them all premiered Oct. 1 in Austin, Texas — the masterpiece of horror and disgust, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Gotta tell ya, the incredibly influential flick, directed by Tobe Hooper, holds up today. You’ll sleep with the lights on. The No. 1 film in theaters, meanwhile, was the second-greatest football film ever — The Longest Yard, starring Burt Reynolds. (The greatest? Why, North Dallas Forty, of course.)

Sanford and Son was the top-rated program on TV this week, but popular (or notable) new shows on the schedule included Rhoda, Little House on the Prairie, Harry O, Chico and the Man, Police Woman and The Rockford Files, which still has one of the greatest themes you’ll ever hear. For genre fans like us there were several big ones — Planet of the Apes and Kolchak: The Night Stalker in prime time, and, on Saturday mornings, Shazam! and Land of the Lost.

Olivia Newton-John’s treacly I Honestly Love You led the singles chart but if you want to hear a really great love song, jump down to No. 3 for the more uptempo Then Came You, a collaboration between Dionne Warwick and the Spinners. You Haven’t Done Nothin’, Stevie Wonder’s scathing indictment of Nixon wrapped in a tight groove, was at No. 5. Great song, great message.

The Beach Boys ’60s compilation album Endless Summer was the best-selling album. It had nothing to do with the documentary of the same name.

But we are sick and tired of hearing your song/Tellin’ how you are gonna change right from wrong…

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Dan Greenfield, editor, 13th Dimension

The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #6, Marvel. Is there a more ’70s comics magazine than The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu? I think not. But what makes this issue notable is a just-starting-out George Perez began his run as penciller on the Sons of the Tiger feature — his gateway to stardom.

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Power Records #PR-19: Escape From the Planet of the Apes. This is the only one I had of the POTA series and I read it over and over (more than I listened to it). Proof that comics help your vocabulary: This is where I learned the word “detest.” As in when Zira says, “I detest bananas, young man.” I was 7. (And yes, Cornelius and Zira are still slaughtered in the end. Hey, kids! Comics!)

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Justice League of America #115, DC. A new JLA story! An old JLA story! An old JSA story! A puzzle! A quiz! A cover gallery! Two letters columns! 100 pages! 60 cents! Such a deal!

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Archie #240, Archie. Very timely, Arch.

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

Giant-Size Defenders #3, Marvel. A rare Daredevil appearance as a Defender!

Dan adds: Plus, Korvac’s first appearance!

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Our Army at War #276, DC. What a perfectly quintessential Kubert Sgt. Rock cover. You have to love it.

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Where Monsters Dwell #33, Marvel. When does TRAGG make his MCU debut?

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My Love #32, Marvel. Duane Cochran needs to rethink his choice in pants.

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MORE

— RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale The Week of Sept. 27 — in 1983! Click here.

— RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale The Week of Sept. 20 — in 1985! Click here.

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