Posted By Dan Greenfield on Jul 10, 2024 | 10 comments

Scott and Dan hit up the comics racks from 43 years ago…

This week for RETRO HOT PICKS, Scott Tipton and I are selecting comics that came out the week of July 10, 1981.

Last time for RETRO HOT PICKS, it was the week of July 3, 1973. 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 July 7 and July 13.)

So, let’s set the scene: Sandra Day O’Connor on July 7 became the first woman nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court. “I’m pleased to announce that upon completion of all the necessary checks by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, I will send to the Senate the nomination of Judge Sandra Day O’Connor of the Arizona Court of Appeals for confirmation as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court,” President Ronald Reagan said. O’Connor would later be confirmed.

On July 11, race riots in the UK exploded with thousands of people fighting with police across Thatcher’s England. The uprisings were caused by tension between ethnic minorities of African, Caribbean and South Asian descent and the police, due to the increased use of stop-and-search and inner-city inequities. Violence flared in London, Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield, Nottingham, Hull and elsewhere. Aggravating matters were attacks on minorities by white-power skinheads and members of the fascist National Front.

In a completely opposite vein, video games continued their inexorable rise: On July 9, Nintendo released in Japan the arcade game Donkey Kong, which introduced the company’s most famous star — Mario. The game made its way to American shores at the end of the month.

The No. 1 movie in America was Superman II, which remains one of the greatest superhero movies of all time. The film had considerable influence on future supercinema, comics and pop culture in general, making a household name of the villainous General Zod, played with a sinister intensity by the great Terence Stamp. Also, Superman and Lois finally have the sex.

I was completely obsessed with the movie that summer, seeing it as often as I could. In June, my Mom asked me what I wanted to do to celebrate graduating middle school and I said dinner and Superman II. And so we went, catching it on opening night.

Also in theaters was rival actioner Raiders of the Lost Ark, the 007 entry For Your Eyes Only, Bill Murray and Harold Ramis’ hilarious Stripes, the latter-day Harryhausen flick Clash of the Titans, The Cannonball Run, and the newly released cult-fave Escape from New York.

It was rerun season and CBS was at the top of the Nielsens, with MASH, House Calls and Trapper John, MD — three shows with connections to one another — in the lead slots. NBC’s stripped-down Facts of Life had completed its hit second season and was No. 4 this week, followed by ABC’s Three’s Company. Two faves — Hart to Hart (ABC) and Lou Grant (CBS) — were at No. 6 and 7.

Bette Davis Eyes by Kim Carnes led the Billboard 100, followed by George Harrison’s wistful tribute to John Lennon, who had been shot and killed the previous fall. All Those Years Ago featured drums by Ringo Starr and overdubbed backing vocals by Paul McCartney and Wings. Rick Springfield made the girls swoon witn Jessie’s Girl (No. 4), with Darryl Hall and John Oates’ upbeat You Make My Dreams Come True, at No. 5.

Carnes’ Mistaken Identity was the top-selling album, followed by Hi Infidelity by REO Speedwagon. The AC/DC rocker Dirty Deads Done Dirt Cheap was at No. 5. The album had been released five years earlier in Europe, Australia and New Zealand and came out in the U.S. more than a year after Bon Scott’s death.

Living with good and bad, I always looked up to you…

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Scott Tipton, columnist, 13th Dimension

Justice League of America #195, DC. One of my all-time favorite JLA/JSA teamups. Conway/Perez Satellite-era Justice League is my jam.

Dan adds: Yeah, this year’s crossover was a total groove, with not just all those heroes, but all those villains too. I love Perez’s Signalman! (Signalman!)

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Captain America #262, Marvel. The Ameridroid! I can’t explain why, but this cover jumped right off the rack at me back in the day.

Dan adds: Classic DeMatteis/Zeck Cap…

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Micronauts #34, Marvel. As much as I love Micronauts, I never cared one whit about Devil, the pink Hank McCoy knockoff seen here.

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The New Teen Titans #12, DC. It’s crazy to think that at the time George Perez was regularly drawing both Justice League of America and The New Teen Titans.

Dan adds: You’re not kidding, Scott. It’s one of comics’ greatest feats. Plus the covers he was doing! At this point, Titans was far and away my favorite book, even though I wasn’t in love with the Titans of Myth storyline at the time. It was fine but it didn’t move me like the first 7-8 issues of the series did. That said, the story read better when I picked it up again a few years ago after decades.

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Dan Greenfield, editor, 13th Dimension

Batman #340, DC. Gene Colan’s first Batman issue and — despite the intense hype for the artist from the older guys at the U.S. #1 Flea Market in New Brunswick, N.J. — I was left a little cold. I admire Colan’s work but, for whatever reason, I never warmed up to his Darknight Detective, despite a solid run by writer Gerry Conway. (Roy Thomas plotted this ish.)

In a way, this issue was a big turning point for me; this is where the ’80s Batman really started. I was all in on Len Wein’s run, mostly pencilled by Irv Novick, and Marv Wolfman put a fantastic capper on it with The Lazarus Affair. Then it was a bit of a shuffle before this new team was introduced. The art was just too gloomy and ethereal, even for Batman.

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Moon Knight #12, Marvel. Those same older guys at the Flea Market, on the other hand, kept telling me this was Batman done right.

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Wonder Woman #284, DC. I didn’t read WW for the main feature. I picked it up for the Huntress back-up; getting Earth-Two Robin here was a genuine bonus.

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DC Comics Presents #38, DC. A Superman/Flash team-up always feels right.

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MORE

— RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale The Week of  July 3 — in 1973! Click here.

— RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale The Week of June 26 — in 1967! Click here.

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