Posted By Dan Greenfield on Oct 22, 2025 | 8 comments

Scott and Dan hit up the comics racks from 42 years ago…

This week for RETRO HOT PICKS, Scott and I are selecting comics that came out the week of Oct. 22, 1983.

Last time for RETRO HOT PICKS, it was the week of Oct. 15, 1977. 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. 19 and Oct. 25.)

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So, let’s set the scene: Tensions in the Middle East were once again at a dangerous height and on Oct. 23, two truck bombs destroyed U.S. Marine Corps and French Army barracks in Beirut, killing 241 U.S. service members — the deadliest single strike on Americans overseas since World War II — as well as 58 French paratroopers and six Lebanese civilians. It was one of the most heinous attacks of the 1980s and symbolized the unsolvable hostilities in the region.

Acting at Iran’s command, Hezbollah’s Islamic Jihad was responsible for the bombings, wanting to force a multinational peacekeeping force out of the country — a tactic that was ultimately successful. The MNF had been stationed in Lebanon since 1982. The attack came six months after the deadly bombing of the American embassy in the city.

While this played out, the U.S. was embroiled in a bizarre conflict with the tiny Caribbean nation of Grenada, which was riven by internal political strife. The Reagan administration ordered an Oct. 25 invasion under the pretext that it wanted to protect American students on the island. The true aim was to get rid of a Soviet-connected coup leader, Hudson Austin. Given its enormous advantage, the U.S. assault was resolutely successful.

IN OTHER NEWS

— On Oct. 19, the U.S. Senate passed a bill establishing Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a federal holiday, observed on the third Monday in January (he was born Jan. 15, 1929). Reagan signed it into law in November and the holiday was first observed in 1986, though some states held out. It’s now observed across the nation.

— On Oct. 25, the software Multi-Tool Word was released in the United States. It would soon be renamed Microsoft Word. Free demonstration copies on disk were included with the November issue of PC World magazine.

The top movie in the United States was Never Say Never Again, the regrettable Thunderball remake with Sean Connery returning as a middle-aged James Bond. The “unofficial” movie’s origins and production are convoluted, to say the least, and it was a wholly unnecessary project. That said, it was at No. 1 for a relatively remarkable four weeks. The official, yet equally regrettable Octopussy, starring Roger Moore, came out earlier in the year.

I had a job at the local triplex and a big draw was The Big Chill, which I not only loved but whose influential, pop/rock soundtrack introduced me to a whole new world of classic rock. I knew a lot of music from the ’60s but the soundtrack broadened my horizons and my interests. I had a key to the theater and after school, I’d let myself in to clean the three auditoriums, blasting the cassette on my boom box. It was pretty cool. I loved having the place to myself.

Other movies include Mr. Mom and Eddie and the Cruisers. Opening this week were the superb The Right Stuff, Rumble Fish and All the Right Moves.

Simon and Simon led the Nielsens, following Dallas, Magnum P.I., Dynasty and The A-Team. New shows included Hardcastle and McCormick; the always cute Webster; the nice-idea-but-forced AfterMASH, which I like to pretend never existed; Scarecrow and Mrs. King; and Bay City Blues, an outstanding and sadly short-lived ensemble drama about a minor-league baseball team co-created by Steven Bochco, patterned after his Hill Street Blues. Only four episodes were initially shown but I loved it.

And then there was… Manimal!

Bonnie Tyler’s epic Total Eclipse of the Heart, written by Jim Steinman, who is best known for his bombastically theatrical songs for Meatloaf, topped the Billboard 100. It was a Steinman two-fer, too: His Making Love Out of Nothing at All, recorded by Air Supply, was No. 2. We MTV watchers were provided regular showings of True by Spandau Ballet (No. 4); All Night Long (All Night) by Lionel Richie (No. 5); and my favorite of these, One Thing Leads to Another by the Fixx (No. 6).

Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson’s duet Say, Say, Say made headlines because of their high-powered pairing. The song? Eh.

The Billboard 200 was led by The Police’s Synchronicity (No. 1) and Michael Jackson’s monster Thriller (No. 2). (Thriller was in the midst of a run of 37 non-consecutive weeks at No. 1, stretching from February 26, 1983, to April 14, 1984.) Billy Joel jumped the shark with An Innocent Man (No. 4), and the Flashdance soundtrack was at No. 5.

The Rolling Stones were preparing for the November release of their next album, Undercover, whose first single, Undercover of the Night, would be released on Halloween. (The album earned its mixed reviews. It has some highlights, but the band’s consistency of greatness was forever behind it.)

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Dan Greenfield, editor, 13th Dimension

The Saga of the Swamp Thing #20, DC. A seismic event in comics history: Alan Moore, relatively unknown in the U.S. at the time, takes over the title that would make his name in American comics. The first issue sets up the next one — and that’s where things really get going.

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The Legion of Super-Heroes #307, DC. Paul Levitz and Keith Giffen in the middle of their epochal Legion run. It’s never been matched.

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Eclipse Monthly #2, Eclipse. Featuring Marshall Rogers’ Foozle! But here’s some of the other talent aboard this issue: Steve Ditko, Trina Robbins, Doug Wildey, cat yronwode, and Dean Mullaney.

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Supergirl #15, DC. Written by our pal Paul Kupperberg! With art by Carmine Infantino and Bob Oksner!

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Batman and the Outsiders #6, DC. I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before, but I never really warmed up to BATO. It had its moments but the concept felt forced, and it still does.

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Green Lantern #172, DC. I bet you I could come up with 13 covers of Hal Jordan pleading his case to the Guardians.

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

The New Mutants #12, Marvel. Magma’s induction into the New Mutants was a favorite introduction of that period. It was an unexpected left turn, throwing Sam, Bobby, Dani and company into ancient Rome.

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Ka-Zar the Savage #30, Marvel. Hey, buddy, why the long face?

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The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #13, Marvel. Here’s a fun game. How many characters on this cover have come back from the dead?

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Thriller #3, DC. This book was just a few years ahead of its time. High concept and completely unrelated to the DC Universe, had this come out after things like Watchmen and Dark Knight, I think audiences would have been more receptive.

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MORE

— RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale The Week of October 15 — in 1977! Click here.

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