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 April 8, 1982.
Last time for RETRO HOT PICKS, it was the week of April 1, 1950. Click here to check it out.
(Keep in mind that comics came out on multiple days, so these are the issues that went on sale between April 5 and April 11.)
So, let’s set the scene: Argentina this week launched an invasion of the Falkland Islands, sparking an (undeclared) war between the South American nation and the United Kingdom that lasted 2 1/2 months. Pretty much everyone not paying attention to the simmering tensions behind the conflict — which is to say, pretty much everyone not from either country — was completely baffled by it all.
The war grew from centuries-long disputes over the control of two related territories: the Falklands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. Needless to say, it’s complicated, but basically the territories had long been under British rule and the islanders, largely descendants of the colonists, wanted it to stay that way.
Brits ship out from England on April 5, amid cheering throngs.
Argentina considered the area theirs and the British government in the past was willing to cede control. Diplomatic efforts failed for years, however, and finally Argentina invaded, prompting the British response. (The Argentines lost and the islands remain a British Overseas Territory.)
The highbrow comedy of manners Porky’s was the biggest movie in America because, y’know, boobs. It was in the middle of an eight-week run at the topless. Other hits included the uproarious Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip; the intergenerational Fonda vehicle On Golden Pond; Blake Edwards’ Victor/Victoria, starring Julie Andrews; and two Disney re-releases: Robin Hood, and the greatest animated feature of them all, Fantasia.
Dallas, MASH (in its penultimate season), 60 Minutes, The Jeffersons, Alice and Three’s Company were among the big TV hits.
The most popular songs — all in heavy rotation on the burgeoning MTV — included I Love Rock ‘N Roll by Joan “The Perfect Woman” Jett and the Blackhearts; We Got the Beat, off the top-selling Go-Go’s album Beauty and the Beat; the J. Geils Band’s Centerfold and Freeze-Frame; Vangelis’ theme from Chariots of Fire; and, Huey Lewis and the News’ breakout Do You Believe in Love.
Freeze Frame (sans hyphen), Chariots of Fire, and supergroup Asia’s self-titled LP were also making noise on the Billboard 200.
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Scott Tipton, contributor-at-large, 13th Dimension
The Avengers #221, Marvel. I bought this comic off the racks at Quick Stop, and I was hoping the new Avengers would be Rom and She-Hulk. As it turned out, I was half-right.
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The Uncanny X-Men #159, Marvel. Bill Sienkiewicz on cover art here; loved his Dracula.
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Justice League of America #204, DC. Wonderfully intricate cover work by the mighty George Perez. Always loved when he’d draw the Royal Flush Gang.
Dan adds: Every time the Royal Flush Gang shows up, I am there. (Don Heck pencilled the interiors.)
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DC Comics Presents #47, DC. Back in the spring of ’82, seeing He-Man fighting Superman was a pretty big surprise.
Dan adds: Written by our pal Paul Kupperberg, even! One of these, unslabbed, went for almost $240 on eBay recently.
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Dan Greenfield, editor, 13th Dimension
Marvel Fanfare #3, Marvel. Mandela Effect in effect: I always think this is the cover to Issue #1. It’s not. This is.
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Marvel Tales #141, Marvel. Can we all agree that Marvel Tales was great? It was like getting a classic Spider-Man Facsimile Edition every month. Kind of. Sort of. You know what I mean.
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Best of DC #26, DC. The Digest Era! For your 95 cents, you got Haney/Adams Batman and Deadman, plus solo stories starring early-days B&B big-shots Task Force X, the Viking Prince, the Silent Knight and Cave Carson (in a three-parter). Even Robin Hood!
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DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest #23, DC. Another great deal for your 95 cents — 10 classic GA stories, by Jack Kirby, Denny O’Neil, Neal Adams, Ed Herron, Lee Elias, Bob Haney, Mike Grell, Elliot S! Maggin — and more! Plus, a framing sequence by Mike W. Barr and Dan Spiegle. I’d go track a copy down, except I’d need a magnifying glass to read it. These ol’ peepers don’t take too kindly to digests no more.
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The Fury of Firestorm #2, DC. I didn’t read the original Firestorm series, but something compelled me to read this one. I don’t know why, because he wasn’t exactly the kind of character I gravitated toward. I dug it though, and stayed with it for quite some time.
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MORE
— RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale The Week of April 1 — in 1950! Click here.
— RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale The Week of March 25 — in 1980! Click here.
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Comics sources: Mike’s Amazing World of Comics and the Grand Comics Database.
