Posted By Dan Greenfield on Sep 18, 2024 | 4 comments

Scott and Dan hit up the comics racks from 47 years ago…

This week for RETRO HOT PICKS, Scott Tipton and I are selecting comics that came out the week of Sept. 18, 1977.

Last time for RETRO HOT PICKS, it was the week of Sept. 11, 1988. 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 Sept. 15 and Sept. 21.)

So, let’s set the scene: This is it. This is the pop-culture moment that defined a show, an era, and a generation for decades to come. On Sept. 20, in the second episode broadcast for the fifth season of the hit show Happy Days, Arthur Fonzarelli — aka Fonzie, aka the Fonz — dons a pair of tight blue swimming trunks to go with his iconic brown leather jacket, settles into a pair of water skis and with the aid of his pal Richie Cunningham, who is driving the attached motor boat, zooms up a ramp at Paradise Cove in Malibu, California, and soars over a deadly Carcharodon carcharias penned in under the water.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Fonzie — and Happy Days — jumped the shark.

Actually, to be fair, the show remained a big hit for years to come and wasn’t even halfway through its run. But still, it was absolutely bonkers.

Years later, Henry Winkler, who embraces the whole “jumping the shark” schtick, recalled in an NPR interview that his father pushed him to tell producer Garry Marshall that he water skiied. “Dad, I don’t think I’m going to do that. No, no. ‘Tell him you water ski. It’s very important.’ I finally tell Garry, ‘My father wants you to know I water ski.'” And the rest is television history. Winkler did do the water skiing for the scene but the jump was performed by a pro, Ricky McCormick. Sorry to burst the illusion!

Nobody seems to mention that the episode was trading on Jawsmania, which was already more than two years old by that point. But I’ve also long thought of the stunt as a spiritual sequel to the Season 3 storyline where Fonzie gets into a white-and-blue leather suit and jumps a motorcycle over 14 garbage cans — a clear riff on the popularity of Evel Knievel.

So it’s weirdly ironic that on the day after Fonzie jumped the shark, Evel Knievel’s own career came to a crashing halt — and it had nothing to do with daredevil exploits. On Sept. 21, Knievel lost his shit and attacked promoter Shelly Saltman with an aluminum baseball bat because of the latter’s unflattering book about the motorcycle rider’s failed 1974 Snake River Canyon jump. Saltman suffered a compound fracture of his left arm and a broken right wrist; when his elderly mother heard about the attack on television, she reportedly had a heart attack and died three months later. Knievel pleaded guilty to the attack in October and lost all his sponsors and endorsement deals, including his contract with Ideal, maker of all those groovy Evel Knievel action figures and stunt-cycle sets.

Knievel leaving court in the fall

It was all such ’70s nonsense.

1977 was one of the most pivotal years in New York City history — go read the page-turner Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx Is Burning, by Jonathan Mahler, which chronicles politics, the Yankees, the blackout and the Son of Sam murders — and Sept. 19 provided the climax to a fascinating and especially ugly mayoral race: Ed Koch defeated Mario Cuomo in a Democratic runoff election, 55 percent to 45 percent. Nevertheless, Cuomo remained in the race as the Liberal Party nominee and gave Koch a run for his money all the way to November. The Republican candidate, Roy Goodman, was a non-factor.

Koch and Cuomo

Not much of note happened on the political or news fronts nationally this week — Jimmy Carter was president, just to give you context — but there was something that was truly out of this world: NASA’s Voyager 1 took the first space photograph of the Earth and moon together.

Star Wars was No. 1 at the box office — a run at the top that began when it opened in May and was only interrupted for three weeks by The Deep. The streak lasted well into October but the film would return to the prime position twice more before the year was out. Also in theaters were the diametrically opposed Suspiria and You Light Up My Life.

The fall TV season featured a number of new programs that would stand the test of time: Lou Grant, Soap, CHiPs, along with the first actual season of The Love Boat. There was also the short-lived Lucan, which kids at my school loved; Logan’s Run, which was nowhere nearly as good as the movie; James at 15; and, on Sept. 14… The Amazing Spider-Man pilot TV movie.

It was also a time of change for two of TV’s most popular shows: On Sept. 14, the second season of Charlie’s Angels debuted, introducing Cheryl Ladd as Kris Munroe, the sister of Jill Munroe, played by the departing Farrah Fawcett-Majors.

There was no noticeable change in tone or style for the program but the same could not be said for MASH, which on Sept. 20 welcomed David Ogden Stiers as Major Dr. Charles Emerson Winchester III, who replaced Larry Linville’s Frank Burns. MASH from the start combined comedy with drama but for the first five seasons, the balanced leaned more toward the laughs. With Stiers’ arrival and Winchester a far more nuanced and mature foil than Burns, the show began tipping ever more toward serious themes.

This was also the season where actress Loretta Swit and the show’s writers rolled up their sleeves and developed Maj. Margaret Houlihan into a full-fledged, complicated and sympathetic character — a far cry from her start as a one-joke punching bag.

The music world lost two bright lights on Sept. 16: Maria Callas, the renowned soprano, died of a heart attack at 53. Rock pioneer Marc Bolan, front man for the band T-Rex, was killed in a London car wreck. He was 29.

Star Wars wasn’t just a box-office hit, it also struck a chord with listeners. John Williams’ soundtrack — one of the greatest of all time — was the No. 2 album on the charts. Meanwhile, Meco’s disco-fied Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band clocked in at No. 7 on the Billboard 100. (His album Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk was at No. 18.)

But music’s answer to Star Wars was really Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours, which was the No. 1 album for the 19th straight week. (Don’t Stop was the No. 3 single.) In third on the LP chart was Moody Blue, Elvis Presley’s last. It was released in June but got a boost after he died Aug. 16.

The Rolling Stones were busy promoting the double-album Love You Live, which was set to be released Sept. 23. The album is notable for being the first live Stones LP to feature Ronnie Wood, but on the whole the package pales next to 1970’s Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out. Then again, Ya-Ya’s is one of the absolute greatest albums known to man.

One of the grooviest, most raucous and joyous singles of the Disco Era — Best of My Love by the Emotions — topped the singles chart. Other hits included I Just Want To Be Your Everything by Andy Gibb (No. 6); Telephone Line by ELO (No. 8); and Carly Simon’s Nobody Does It Better, the theme song from the first-rate James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me, at No. 12.

I like the way you make me feel about you, baby, want the whole wide world to see…

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Dan Greenfield, editor, 13th Dimension

The X-Men #108, Marvel. The beginning of the John Byrne Era! Dave Cockrum, who did the cover, set him up and Byrne (and inker Terry Austin) knocked ’em down. (With Chris Claremont, natch!) Plus, in this issue Corsair is revealed to be Cyclops’ father, though Scott doesn’t know it yet — or does he? Family intrigue!

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Teen Titans #52, DC. A lot of folks turn their noses up at the late ’70s Teen Titans revival. Me? I loved it — especially the three-part Teen Titans West saga. Titans West was a great idea and one that could have been explored when Marv Wolfman and George Perez revamped the team three years later with The New Teen Titans. I understand why they didn’t but there was story potential there. (This iteration of the series ended the next issue with a flashback story, so this is the last chronological tale of the original Titans.)

Scott adds: Cannot resist a Titans West appearance.

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World’s Finest Comics #248, DC. Here’s an idea for the new DC Finest line: a collection of all the back-up series from when WF was a Dollar Comic. What an assortment of characters. This issue featured — besides the Superman/Batman main event — Wonder Woman, Black Canary, Green Arrow, and Vigilante!

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Famous Monsters of Filmland #139, Warren. “STAR WARS. More about it!” No additional hype necessary.

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

Super Friends #9, DC. I love, love, love Ramona Fradon’s Super Friends covers.

Dan adds: Featuring the first appearance of Ice. Sort of. In a way. Also: the Wonder Twins and Wendy and Marvin, in the same story! Zan and Jayna take over as junior Super Friends when the originals leave for college.

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The Avengers #166, Marvel. It was great when all of a sudden Count Nefaria decided to go full supervillain with tights and a cape.

Dan adds: It’s the belt.

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Marvel Two-in-One Annual #2, Marvel. It’s kinda jarring when you realize that maybe one of the most important Marvel stories of all time took place in a Marvel Two-in-One annual.

Dan adds: True. Thanos and Warlock DIE! And Spidey’s the big hero with all the cosmic whatsis going on!

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MORE

— RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale The Week of  Sept. 11 — in 1988! Click here.

— RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale The Week of Sept. 4 — in 1971! Click here.

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