Posted By Dan Greenfield on Oct 9, 2024 | 9 comments

Scott and Dan — with special guest Alex Segura — 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 9, 1975. We’re joined by our pal Alex Segura! Alex’s latest book, Alter Ego, is a sequel to his acclaimed novel Secret Identity. The mystery once again involves the comics industry and central to the plot is The Legendary Lynx, a series published by Triumph Comics in the 1970s.

Last time for RETRO HOT PICKS, it was the week of Oct. 2, 1968. 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. 6 and Oct. 12.)

Newman, Belushi, Curtin, Radner, Morris, Aykroyd, Chase

So, let’s set the scene: On Oct. 11, Saturday Night premiered on NBC, with George Carlin hosting and Billy Preston and Janis Ian the musical acts. The original cast — the Not Ready for Prime Time Players — was made up of Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Jane Curtin, Garrett Morris, Laraine Newman and Gilda Radner.

The very first sketch, starring Belushi and writer Michael O’Donoghue:

Against all odds, what started as a seat-of-your-pants ragtag counterculture show, slotted for 11:30 p.m. Saturday nights, became not only a comedic phenomenon but an international cultural and political force. Now celebrating its 50th season, it’s launched hundreds of careers, sunk others and very much become a part of the establishment, while retaining its sharp-elbowed soul (though with admittedly very mixed results). Television, comedy, music — and politics — would never be the same.

(The show added “Live” to its name a couple of seasons later, after a terrible ABC program called Saturday Night Live With Howard Cosell, which premiered in September 1975, was cancelled the following January.)

Two people probably not watching that night? Twentysomething newlyweds Hillary and Bill Clinton, who got married that day. (Then again, maybe they were.)

1974. Photo by Bob Gruen.

Ex-Beatle John Lennon won the right to stay in the United States after a years-long battle with the feds. Lennon had been targeted by the Nixon White House, J. Edgar Hoover and racist Sen. Strom Thurmond because of fears he might swing the youth vote to the Democrats in the 1972 presidential race, in which 18-to-20-year-olds were voting for the first time. The government had nothing on Lennon — the case was based on a 1968 drug conviction in England — but it went all in anyway.

On Oct. 7,  a U.S. appeals court decided in his favor, reversing an Immigration and Naturalization Service deportation ruling. Two days later, Lennon turned 35 — and he and his wife Yoko Ono welcomed their baby boy, Sean.

IN OTHER NEWS:

— On Oct. 7, Republican President Ford signed a bill that allowed women to be admitted to the all-male military academies, such as West Point and Annapolis.

— Russian dissident Andrei Sakharov, a nuclear physicist and outspoken advocate for human rights and civil liberties, won the Nobel Peace Prize on Oct. 9.

— Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton were married — again. The civil ceremony was Oct. 10 in Botswana. Their first union lasted from 1964 to 1974; their second only to 1976.

— After 57 years, the U.S. Postal Service on Oct. 10 dropped airmail as a postage category. Before then, you had to pay extra to have your mail sent by plane. By this point, all “interzone” mail was being transported by plane.

The top film at the box office was one-week wonder The Master Gunfighter, a vanity project for Tom “Billy Jack” Laughlin. The movie was scorched by critics — Laughlin infamously rented a Times Square billboard slamming critics as failed screenwriters — and after onerous financial demands by the actor’s distribution company, lasted in theaters only an average of 12 days.

Walter Hill’s Hard Times, starring Charles Bronson and James Coburn, opened this week, as did the comedy Let’s Do It Again, starring Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier, who also directed. Other hits included Mahogany, starring Diana Ross and Billy Dee Williams, and Three Days of the Condor, the classic Robert Redford political paranoia thriller, which helped inspire Captain America: The Winter Soldier. (It’s why Redford was cast in the latter film.) Oh, and Jaws was still around.

But other than Jaws, the best film at the cinema was far and away Dog Day Afternoon, one of the decade’s greatest movies, starring Al Pacino in one of his (many) signature roles. Immensely watchable and heart-crushing at the same time. Oof.

Besides Saturday Night, other shows that debuted that fall included Welcome Back, Kotter; Starsky & Hutch; and Phyllis, the least successful of the Mary Tyler Moore Show spinoffs. The most popular scripted show was All in the Family. The beginning of the 1975 World Series — a classic match-up between the Cincinnati Reds and Boston Red Sox — also brought big ratings.

Bad Blood by Neil Sedaka was the No. 1 single. David Bowie’s Fame was at No. 3; the novelty song Mr. Jaws by Dickie Goodman was at No. 4; Miracles by Jefferson Starship was at No. 5; and, Ballroom Blitz by Sweet was at No. 6. To this day, I still don’t understand the appeal of the song Feelings by Morris Albert, which was at No. 11. (The song hit a high of No. 6 on the chart, but I swear it felt like it was a much bigger hit than that. It was, horribly, everwhere.)

Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here was the top-selling album, followed by Windsong — featuring the No. 2 single I’m Sorry — by John Denver, at No. 2. The Eagles’ One of These Nights was at No. 3; Bruce Springsteen’s classic Born to Run was at No. 4, and, Between the Lines by Janis Ian was at No. 5.

Can you tell a green field from a cold steel rail?

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Alex Segura, novelist and comic-book writer

The Legendary Lynx #1, Triumph Comics. I’m a little biased on this one, I have to admit — the folks at Mad Cave Studios are releasing a remastered edition of the first four issues of this long-forgotten series next month, curated by me and good pal (and pal of 13th Dimension), Sandy Jarrell.

1974. Photo by Bob Gruen.

This is one of those issues that you’re bound to find buried deep in a long box or in the bargain bin at a con — but it’s worth the expedition. In a story that predates books like Miller’s Daredevil, Moench/Sienkiewicz’s Moon Knight, and concurrent with some of DC’s darker Batman stories, the debut issue of The Legendary Lynx, published by the short-lived Triumph Comics (you might’ve read some of their other series, like The Black Ghost or Freedom Alliance) feels completely at home by today’s standards, but was a strong leap forward at the time of release, and is now one of those stories shrouded in mystery and controversy.

The issue introduces readers to the aforementioned Lynx, a street-level vigilante patrolling the corrupt streets of Triumph City. But in reality, the hero is mild-mannered newspaper secretary Claudia Calla, a woman driven to put on the blue and leopard-print suit to avenge the death of someone close to her.

The real star of the show, though, is Doug Detmer, a journeyman artist who managed to nuke every business relationship he could find — making it impossible for him to put a decent run together on any notable title. But his potent blend of Toth-like film noir vibes and a dash of Kirby weird make the Lynx one of those books that feels just left-of-center if read today, but at the time also felt like a completely eye-opening experience.

On top of that, rumors abound that Lynx co-creator Harvey Stern, who’d previously only written a handful of comics, none of the same high quality as this, falsified his credits on the book before his untimely murder, and you have a recipe for something out of a detective novel. Detmer, who tragically ended his own life shortly after, isn’t around to give his perspective, but a recent court filing by a woman named Carmen Valdez, a science fiction author of some acclaim who once worked at Triumph as an assistant to publisher Jeffrey Carlyle, claims that Valdez created the bulk of the character’s  back story anonymously, and was prevented from getting proper credit because of Stern’s death. We shall see what comes of the legal proceedings, but it definitely adds a layer of intrigue to an already hypnotic lost gem of a comic.

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Daredevil #129, Marvel. Marv Wolfman’s run on Daredevil gets ignored in the wake of the Miller reimagining, but it’s a good issue to pull up next to the debut of the Lynx — both books push the envelope in terms of what you can do with a street-level hero, while still dancing between the raindrops of superhero tropes.

Dan adds: OK, OK, we’ve had our fun. All of this is part of Alex’s new novel Alter Ego — and Mad Cave Studios is indeed putting out a trade paperback of four faux issues of The Legendary Lynx, written by Alex — an occasional 13th Dimension contributor — with groovy old-school art by Sandy Jarrell, who is also known around these parts. Alter Ego is out Dec. 4 (click here to pre-order) and The Legendary Lynx is out Nov. 12. (Click here.)

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The Brave and the Bold #124, DC. One of the most iconic covers ever, period. Jim Aparo is one of the definitive Batman artists of all time, and he still doesn’t get the credit he deserves. A wild, bonkers story from Haney that would have been mishandled by anyone else.

Scott adds: This comic gave me the creeps when I was a little kid. Still an all-time favorite.

Dan adds: A really fun comic. You just have to roll with it and enjoy it for what it is — a witty Batman story starring his creative team!

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The Invaders #4, Marvel. I’m a sucker for Golden Age revisionism, and no one does it better than Roy Thomas. If you dug All-Star Squadron at DC, the Invaders run scratches that same historical superhero fiction itch.

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All-Star Comics #58, DC. And speaking of the JSA and All-Star Squadron, this Gerry Conway joint is packed with Earth-2 goodness, including my favorite Robin costume!

Scott adds: First appearance of Power Girl, and my introduction to Earth-2 Robin!

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Everything’s Archie #44, Archie. You can’t go wrong with classic Archie — like getting a treat after a long day.

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Dan Greenfield, editor, 13th Dimension

Planet of the Apes #15, Marvel. POTA had some great covers issue in and issue out. This is one of the best, by Bob Larkin: APE AND HUMAN UNITED AGAINST MUTATED MONSTERS! Or, give us an excuse to print some cheesecake! I have this issue, by the way. I’m proud of that.

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Justice League of America #126, DC. The villains in this issue — Two-Face, the Joker… and the Weaponers of Qward! Who says Gotham City’s heroes and villains are “grounded”?

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Tomb of Dracula #40, Marvel. It was the law in the 1970s that even if you didn’t read it regularly, you had to get Tomb of Dracula in October. And in this issue from Marv Wolfman, Gene Colan and Tom Palmer, Dracula is truly dead! Really! Truly! I mean, if you can trust a comics cover, what can you trust?

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Weird War Tales #44, DC. Oh, that’s just horrible. Thanks, Joe Kubert.

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

Black Goliath #1, Marvel. When I’m running Marvel, Job No. 1 is going to be bringing back Bill Foster. Poor guy got done dirty in Civil War.

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Looney Tunes #5, Gold Key. Shockingly, Sam the Clam did not catch on and become the next big cartoon sensation.

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MORE

— RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale The Week of Oct. 2 — in 1968! Click here.

— RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale The Week of  Sept. 25 — in 1957! Click here.

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