Posted By Dan Greenfield on Oct 15, 2025 | 13 comments

Scott and Dan hit up the comics racks from 48 years ago…

This week for RETRO HOT PICKS, Scott and I are selecting comics that came out the week of Oct. 15, 1977.

Last time for RETRO HOT PICKS, it was the week of Oct. 8, 1986. 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 Oct. 12 and Oct. 18.)

So, let’s set the scene: REG-GIE! REG-GIE! REG-GIE! In the dawn of the free agency era, there was no American athlete more controversial than high-priced Yankees slugger Reggie Jackson, sports’ biggest self-promoter this side of Muhammad Ali.

In his first year in New York, Jackson angered and frustrated his teammates; outright infuriated his explosive manager, Billy Martin; became a lightning rod for the city’s ferocious press corps — all under the compulsive, interfering watch of owner George Steinbrenner. The fans were split: You loved him or hated him — but you absolutely could not ignore him.

And it wasn’t just about his mouth, it was his uncanny ability to turn a ballgame into his own center stage — and there was no bigger stage than a World Series showdown at Yankee Stadium. On Oct. 18 in Game 6, Jackson — aka Mr. October — swatted three consecutive home runs, on three consecutive pitches, off three different pitchers, to lead the Bronx Bombers over the Los Angeles Dodgers, 8-4, capturing the team’s first championship in 15 years.

It was one of the most memorable nights of my childhood; when Reggie hit his third, I shouted so loud I probably woke the neighbors. Then again, they were probably watching too. The game was the most-watched TV program that week.

On Oct. 14, Bing Crosby, one of the great American entertainers of the 20th century, died of a heart attack at the age of 74 after playing a round of golf in Spain. Crosby could do it all: One of the world’s preeminent crooners, Der Bingle recorded more than 1,600 songs, selling millions, with more than 40 No. 1 hits depending on the methodology; was an Oscar-winning, box office powerhouse, making about 70 films; and was a ratings magnet on radio and TV.

Hijackings were still de riguer as a tool for political terrorism. This one — central to the so-called German Autumn period of political tensions — was particularly bananas: On Oct. 13, Lufthansa Flight 181 from Spain to Frankfurt was hijacked by four members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Their aim was the release of 11 Red Army Faction leaders held in West German prisons and two Palestinians held in Turkey.

The siege lasted for five days, with the hijackers hopscotching to different locations — including Rome, Cyprus, Beirut, Damascus, Baghdad, Bahrain, Kuwait, Dubai, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and South Yemen. Some places allowed them to refuel, while others denied their landing.

Freed hostages landing in Germany

Ultimately, they made it to Mogadishu in Somalia, where on Oct. 18, West German commandos stormed the plane, killing three of four hijackers but rescueing the passengers and crew — except a pilot who’d been killed by the terrorists and whose body was thrown onto the tarmac in Yemen.

The same day, three members of the Red Army Faction — also known as the Baader-Meinhof Gang — were found dead in their individual cells in a West German prison. Authorities said it was simultaneous suicide; among the dead were gang leader Andreas Baader. (One member — who stabbed herself with a butter knife — failed in her suicide attempt.)

Andreas Baader

Learning about their deaths, the Red Army Faction killed industrialist Hanns Martin Schleyer, who’d been held hostage since early September. His body was found the following day.

IN OTHER NEWS

— It’s worth noting that during Oct. 12’s Game 2 of the World Series, ABC announcers Howard Cosell and Keith Jackson discussed a major fire that was raging out control in the South Bronx at the same time, in the area where President Jimmy Carter visited the week before. Cosell has been widely credited with saying, “Ladies and gentlemen, the Bronx is Burning.” But, like “Play It Again, Sam,” it’s not true.

— The Evel Knievel Era — one of the defining pop cultural phenomena of the ’70s — came to an end, not with a bang, but with a pathetic whimper. On Oct. 13, Robert C. Knievel pleaded guilty to assaulting Shelly Saltman, a Hollywood exec who had written a tell-all book about the motorcycle daredevil’s, much-hyped, ill-fated 1974 jump over Snake River Canyon. The following month, Knievel was sentenced to 180 days in jail, and lost all his sponsors.

Knievel leaving court after his November sentencing.

— Police in Los Angeles found the naked body of a 19-year-old woman on a hillside near the Ventura Freeway. Yolanda Washington, a prostitute and waitress, had been assaulted, raped and strangled. Her corpse had been cleaned before it was dumped. Washington was the first victim of the Hillside Stranglers — cousins Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono Jr. Nine more women and girls, ages 12 to 28, would be killed in November, followed by one in December and one more in February.

— Ed Koch and Mario Cuomo were headed down the stretch in their especially contentious New York City mayoral race. Koch would come on out top. Cuomo’s disgraced son Andrew is now running for the same post.

Koch and Cuomo. Not friends.

Star Wars, released in May, remained a box-office juggernaut, with its 15th consecutive week at No. 1, and its 18th of 21 weeks. (It was interrupted by a three-week swim at the top by The Deep in June and July.) It remained a powerhouse through the end of the year, though it contended with Oh, God!, Looking for Mr. Goodbar (which opened Oct. 19), and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (which premiered in November.) Other notable movies included Bobby Deerfield and Julia.

The most popular TV shows included Laverne & Shirley, Happy Days, Three’s Company, 60 Minutes and Charlie’s Angels — with Cheryl Ladd having replaced Farrah Fawcett-Majors. But there were also a bunch of new shows on the schedule that helped define the era — The Love Boat (which had already aired three pilot movies), Soap, Lou Grant, CHiPs, as well as the short-lived Logan’s Run.

Southern rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd released their latest album, Street Survivors, on Oct. 17, and were on tour promoting it. Three days later, the band’s charter plane went down in Gillsburg, Mississippi, killing three members of the band — lead singer and founding member Ronnie Van Zant; guitarist/singer Steve Gaines, and his sister, Cassie Gaines, a back-up singer — as well as two crewmen and assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick.

Twenty others survived, including other band members, but the group promptly split up, though it reunited in 1987. In an eerie coincidence the original Street Survivors cover featured a photo of the band surrounded by flames. The cover was pulled but was used for a later re-release. The catastrophe made the band the latest in a long line of rock and roll martyrs, and their legacy remains potent today.

Debby Boone’s rendition of You Light Up My Life hit No. 1, beginning a Billboard 100 record 10 weeks at the top. It set my teeth on edge, even at the age of 10. Same with my friends at Lafayette School in Highland Park, N.J. (The boys, at least, as I recall.) Other hits included Keep It Comin’ Love, by KC and the Sunshine Band (No. 2);  Nobody Does It Better — the fab theme song from the 007 flick The Spy Who Loved Me — by Carly Simon (No. 3); Boogie Nights, by Heatwave (No. 4); and Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue, by Crystal Gayle (No. 5).

David Bowie’s 12th studio album, Heroes, was released Oct. 14. The top-selling album, however, was Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours (because of course), followed by Linda Ronstadt’s Simple Dreams at No. 2. Steely Dan’s Aja; Foreigner and Shaun Cassidy’s self-titled debut LPs; Elvis’ last studio album, Moody Blue; and the Star Wars soundtrack were also hot.

We can be heroes, just for one day…

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

The Champions #17, Marvel. Is this the only time Hercules fought a Sentinel? I think so.

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The Avengers #167, Marvel. Nothing like a character-packed George Perez Avengers cover.

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All-New Collectors’ Edition C-53, DC. “Silver and gold, silver and gold…”

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All-Star Comics #70, DC. I always loved how much the early Huntress appearances really played up her connection to the Batman. Look at that cape!

Dan adds: I loved the Huntress. The original Helena Wayne Huntress. What a great idea for a character. Curse you, Crisis!

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Superman Family #187, DC. Even Krypto looks alarmed.

Dan adds: IN THIS ISSUE: SUPERMAN GETS EXCITED!

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Dan Greenfield, editor, 13th Dimension

DC Super-Stars #18, DC. Final issue of the title featured another Rutland, Vermont, Halloween celebration story, an in-joke that had a pretty long shelf life. Also, Deadman and Phantom Stranger would make a helluva duo in James Gunn’s DCU, wouldn’t you say? They’re like the Felix and Oscar of the occult.

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Fat Albert #22, Gold Key. Nobody talks about Fat Albert anymore and we all know why. But I loved that show as a kid.

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Black Panther #7, Marvel. One of Kirby’s great Black Panther drawings. Inked by Ernie Chan!

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MORE

— RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale The Week of October 8 — in 1986! Click here.

— RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale The Week of October 1 — in 1951! Click here.