Scott and Dan hit up the comics racks from 36 years ago…
This week for RETRO HOT PICKS, Scott Tipton and I are selecting comics that came out the week of Oct. 18, 1987.
Last time for RETRO HOT PICKS, it was the week of Oct. 11, 1964. 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 Oct. 15 and Oct. 21.)
So, let’s set the scene: CRASH! Black Monday rocked the financial world Oct. 19, with the single worst percentage drop in stock market history. The Dow fell 508 points, more than 22 percent, and the impact was felt globally. By the start of November, most of the major U.S. stock market indexes had lost more than 20 percent of their value. Unlike the Crash of 1929, which led to the Great Depression, the markets recovered relatively quickly, regaining pre-crash heights within two years.
U.S. Supreme Court nominee Robert H. Bork testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the first day of his confirmation hearings on Capitol Hill, on Sept. 16, 1987.
One of the most contentious Supreme Court battles in history — which is saying something — was playing out. President Ronald Reagan had nominated Robert Bork to the Supreme Court and the Democrats and moderate Republicans were having none of it. Bork’s record on civil rights was called into question but to many this was pure payback for his central role in Watergate’s infamous and spectacularly catastrophic Saturday Night Massacre almost exactly 14 years earlier, on Oct. 20, 1973. (Bork’s nomination would eventually be rejected by the Senate in a bipartisan vote.)
The nation was further fixated on a more personal drama. On Oct. 14, 1 1/2-year-old Jessica McClure — aka “Baby Jessica” — fell down a 22-foot well in Midland, Texas. America waited in rapt attention for days before she was finally rescued Oct. 16 — 58 hours later.
On Oct. 20, one of the most controversial figures of the ’80s, the so-called New York “Subway Vigilante” Bernhard Goetz, a white man, was sentenced to jail in connection with his shooting of four Black men in 1984 — a case that polarized the country. Goetz was acquitted in the shootings but convicted on a gun charge. After legal maneuvering, he ultmately served eight months, with credit for good behavior.
The NFL players’ strike ended Oct. 15 after weeks of replacement players hitting the field. The league would be back to normal Nov. 1. Also in the world of sports, Mike Tyson on Oct. 16 retained the heavyweight title, and the Minnesota Twins battled the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series. (The Twins would win in seven games.)
Fatal Attraction was the No. 1 movie in America (and, ultimately, the highest-grossing movie of the year) and was a flashpoint in the gender politics debate. Also in theaters were the beloved fan-favorite The Princess Bride; David Mamet’s compelling noir House of Games; and one of the great rock documentaries — Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll, which celebrated Chuck Berry. The real stars of the flick, however, were Berry’s piano player Johnnie Johnson, who received widespread attention for the first time, and Keith Richards, who is not only charming, funny and eloquent, but steals the movie when he and Berry start arguing over how to play.
The most popular regular show at the time, was, yes, The Cosby Show. New shows that fall included Full House and a syndicated sci-fi show called… Star Trek: The Next Generation!
Michael Jackson’s Bad topped the Billboard 100 and his same-named album topped the Billboard 200. Meanwhile, George Michael’s newly released Faith entered the chart at No. 54 and would climb its way to the top. I was more partial to George Harrison’s cover of Got My Mind Set On You, which later became his third solo #1 hit, and the last chart-topper by a Beatle.
But it’s gonna take money, a whole lotta spending money…
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Dan Greenfield, editor, 13th Dimension
Batman #416, DC. As you know, I don’t generally go negative but as an out and out, devout Batman fan, I gotta say that this was one of my least favorite periods in the life of the Dark Knight. The dreariness is only leavened by a Nightwing appearance in his original threads.
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Secret Origins #23, DC. One of my favorite things about the second Secret Origins series was its often bizarre story pairings — like the Floronic Man and the Guardians of the Universe. The ish tied into the forgettable Millennium event, but still.
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Star Trek #47, DC. I admit I don’t remember the details of this issue but this was right around the time I started reading Star Trek comics. I hadn’t fallen in love with show until I was 19, the year before, but a natural progression was the novels and the comics, which I also got into. And yes, I remember exactly where I was when Next Generation premiered earlier in the month.
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Superman #14, DC. Good Byrne Superman. Hey, I know that GL’s best buds are the Flash and Green Arrow, but Superman is such a natural pairing, you’d think they’d team up more often.
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Scott Tipton, contributor-at-large, 13th Dimension
Marvel Tales #208, Marvel. It’s no surprise that this classic Marvel Team-Up issue from Chris Claremont and John Byrne was already being reprinted only a few years after its debut.
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Millennium #6, DC. Not every DC crossover event was as big as Crisis. Millennium was too little concept stretched out over way too many issues.
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The Incredible Hulk #340, Marvel. Todd McFarlane got everyone’s attention with this very cover.
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Green Arrow #1, DC. I confess, Mike Grell’s post-Crisis run on Green Arrow never did much for me. I like my Green Arrow firing off boxing-glove arrows; impaling crooks into doors, not so much.
Dan adds: I appreciated it for what it was at the time, but yeah, Scott, I’m with you. Put him in a flatbed and let him hit the road too.
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MORE
— RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale The Week of Oct. 11 — in 1964! Click here.
— RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale The Week of Oct. 4 — in 1974! Click here.
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Primary comics sources: Mike’s Amazing World of Comics, the Grand Comics Database.
October 18, 2023
’87 was a pretty strong year overall, especially for entertainment.
October 18, 2023
My comics collecting heyday. Great stuff.
October 18, 2023
I was today years old when I learned George Harrison covered Got My Mind Set On You. (And the original 1963 song by James Ray is pretty sweet.)
October 18, 2023
Both are excellent!
October 18, 2023
Oh, man. I remember where I was when TNG hit the airwaves: I was in 4th grade, and I was so excited! I remember being so blown away by the Enterprise splitting into two parts, though my Dad disparaged the new Enterprise design (“It looks like a flying bathtub,” he said).
I LOVED DC Comics from a very early age, but I wasn’t reading anything regularly at that time. I was at the mercy of what my dad would pick up. So we had that issue of Batman and Superman, but the rest I was only learning about through the Meanwhile columns* and such.
I’ve since read Millennium. You are correct that it was high on concept, but thin on actual execution. I will say the idea of it being weekly and only lasting two months was a novel approach to an event. Still, I’m glad that this series has been more or less forgotten. I think it held the honor of Worst Event until Genesis came along in the 90s.
*I doubt it has ANY market feasibility, but I think it would be a fascinating read if they did collections of the various DC editorial pages there have been over the years: Meanwhile, Daily Planet Extra, Watch This Space, DC Nation, etc. I think it would be an interesting journey through the comics editorial and collector sensibility changes throughout the years.