Posted By Dan Greenfield on Nov 26, 2025 | 9 comments

Scott and Dan hit up the comics racks from 44 years ago…

This week for RETRO HOT PICKS, Scott and I are selecting comics that came out the week of Nov. 26, 1981.

Last time for RETRO HOT PICKS, it was the week of Nov. 19, 1978. 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 Nov. 23. and Nov. 29.)

So, let’s set the scene: Actress Natalie Wood, one of the biggest movie stars in show business, was found dead in the water Nov. 29 near California’s Catalina Island, in what remains one of the great Hollywood mysteries.

Wood’s death at 43 has long been the subject of speculation and conspiracy theories but here’s what’s known:

The Splendour and the dinghy, Prince Valiant. Wagner played the comic-strip hero in the 1954 movie of the same name. Wood starred in Splendor in the Grass, in 1961.

She was on a Thanksgiving weekend trip aboard Splendour, a 58-foot yacht owned by husband and fellow actor Robert Wagner. Her body was found at 8 a.m., one mile from the yacht, with an inflatable dinghy, named the Prince Valiant, beached nearby. An autopsy showed she had bruises and abrasions, but there was no indication how or when the injuries occurred. Her blood alcohol content was 0.14 percent and there were traces of motion-sickness medication and a painkiller in her bloodstream, which could have increased the effects of alcohol. Los Angeles County coroner Thomas Noguchi ruled the cause of death to be accidental drowning and hypothermia.

But that didn’t stop the speculation that there was foul play: 44 years later, it’s still unknown how she went into the water. Wood was with Wagner; her Brainstorm co-star Christopher Walken (they were making the film at the time); and the yacht’s captain, Dennis Davern, the night of Nov. 28. Wagner said that she was not with him when he went to bed and denied that he and Wood had had an argument. (He changed his story decades later in his 2009 memoir, in which he admitted they’d been fighting.) Witnesses on a nearby boat said they heard a woman scream for help during the night.

Wood and Wagner in better times, 1978

In 2011, the case was reopened when Davern alleged that Wagner was responsible for Wood’s death; that Wood had been flirting with Walken, angering Wagner, and that he prevented Davern from searching for Wood or alerting authorities. Davern said Wagner pushed her over the side. A year later, a new coroner amended Wood’s death certificate and changed the cause to “drowning and other undetermined factors.” An addendum in 2013 said Wood might have gotten some of the bruises before she went overboard but that it couldn’t be ruled definitively.

Finally, in 2018, Wagner was named a person of interest by the police but nobody has ever been charged. (Walken has never been a suspect and has long said Wood’s death was just a terrible accident.)

The mystery continues.

IN OTHER NEWS

— The world was unaware, but on Nov. 23, President Reagan gave the top-secret order authorizing the CIA to recruit and support Contra rebels in Nicaragua, with almost $20 million in funding. The move would become a key aspect of the Iran-Contra scandal five years later.

— On Nov. 23, male nurse Robert Diaz — dubbed “the Angel of Death” — was arrested in California and charged with killing 12 hospital patients by injecting them with overdoses of Lidocaine. Diaz was suspected in as many as 60 other similar deaths.

— Vice President George Bush’s son, George W., and daughter-in-law, Laura, welcomed twin daughters on Nov. 25 — Barbara Pierce Bush and Jenna Bush.

— Two widely respected character actors died this week: Jack Albertson on Nov. 25, at the age of 74, and Lotte Lenya, on Nov. 27, at the age of 83.

— Jazz legend Miles Davis and actress Cicely Tyson were wed Nov. 26 at the home of Bill Cosby. They would divorce in 1989.

Terry Gilliam’s Time Bandits was the No. 1 movie in the country, with other hits including Halloween II, Porky’s, The French Lieutenant’s Woman, and Ragtime. Raiders of the Lost Ark had been out for months but was still drawing customers, while Faye Dunaway’s bananas “No more wire hangers!” tantrum, from the Joan Crawford take-down Mommie Dearest, had become a national catchphrase.

60 Minutes was the top TV draw, followed by Dallas, The Dukes of Hazzard, Three’s Company, The Jeffersons, One Day at a Time, MASH and The Love Boat. Another big TV show was Hart to Hart… starring Robert Wagner.

New shows that season included The Fall Guy (which debuted this month); Simon & Simon (which premiered this week); Father Murphy; and Gimme a Break!

Olivia Newton-John’s Physical had just hit No. 1, where it sat for 10 weeks — longer than any single in the 1980s. It was her most successful single in the United States, and her last to reach the top. It also probably did as much to launch the aerobics craze as Richard Simmons and Jane Fonda.

Other top songs included Foreigner’s Waiting for a Girl Like You (No. 2), a staple for those who love bland ballads; Private Eyes by Daryl Hall and John Oates (No. 3); and, Everything She Does Is Magic, by the Police (No. 4). Down at No. 7 was the Rolling Stones’ Start Me Up. My 13th Dimension contract states I must publish its hilariously campy video every time the song gets mentioned in RETRO HOT PICKS:

Painfully, Foreigner’s 4 was the best-selling album, followed by the so-superior-it’s-not-even-funny Tattoo You, by the Stones, at No. 2. Journey’s Escape and Steve Nicks’ Bella Donna were also popular, as was AC/DC’s just-released For Those About to Rock (We Salute You).

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Dan Greenfield, editor, 13th Dimension

Nexus #1, Capital. A landmark in ’80s indie publishing. Mike Baron and Steve Rude introduced Nexus with this three-part black-and-white series that went on to become a mainstay. Interestingly, the cover was pencilled and inked by Paul Gulacy.

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Spidey Super Stories #57, Marvel. Sadly, the final issue of Spidey Super Stories. But, hey, at least White Tiger made it in under the wire. Look, I know rights are rights, but don’t you think Marvel and Sesame Workshop could work out some kind of revenue-sharing deal? A couple of Epic Collections would be SO MUCH FUN!

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Daredevil #180, Marvel. Frank Miller said, “I’m wanna do a Thanksgiving cover with a bunch of ghoulish hands grabbing at Daredevil like he’s the wish bone.” And Klaus Janson said, “Yeah, I like it.” I actually made that up. That’s not at all true.

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Detective Comics #511, DC. I remember this attractive cover (by Rich Buckler and Dick Giordano) more than I remember what’s in the issue. I’ve read the issue, and even re-read it within the last 5-6 years or so, but I’m still drawing a blank. That’s pretty typical of this period, though. I was a high-school freshman and had just had an emergency appendectomy in Mexico City, so I was probably a little distracted.

But it was written by Gerry Conway, with pencils by Don Newton, so I bet it’s good. This is when Batman and Detective were crossing over directly into one another, effectively making Batman/Detective a twice-monthly comic.

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Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers #3, Pacific. The King and Neal Adams — with the first appearance of Ms. Mystic as a backup — in one package.

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Archie’s Girls Betty & Veronica #314, Archie. Veronica always knows how to dress for the holidays. Always. Thanks to Dan (and presumably Josie) DeCarlo, natch.

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Adventure Comics #490, DC. Dial H for Hero — a great idea that never lasts. And dig that Perez cover (inked by Bob Smith).

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World’s Finest Comics #276, DC. The return of Dr. Double X! I’m amazed Len Wein didn’t grab him when he had the chance. Anyway, another groovy Perez cover. Love the layout, the color — and THAT ROCK!

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

All-Star Squadron #6, DC. Hard to believe that the Feathered Serpent didn’t catch on big-time as a DC supervillain.

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Action Comics #528, DC. How tough is Brainiac? Dude wears shorts in space.

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Unknown Soldier #260, DC. Evil twins for everyone!

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MORE

— RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale The Week of November 19 — in 1978! Click here.

— RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale The Week of November 12 — in 1965! Click here.