Posted By Dan Greenfield on Mar 6, 2024 | 8 comments

Scott and Dan hit up the comics racks from 35 years ago…

This week for RETRO HOT PICKS, Scott Tipton and I are selecting comics that came out the week of March 6, 1989.

Last time for RETRO HOT PICKS, it was the week of Feb. 28, 1968. 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 March 3 and March 9.)

So, let’s set the scene: Republican George H.W. Bush wasn’t president for two months and had already hit a road block. In a stunning move, the Senate rejected his nominee for secretary of defense, John Tower, on March 9. Tower, a former senator himself, was rejected because of possible conflicts of interest and his personal life, in particular allegations of alcohol abuse and womanizing. The Senate vote was 47–53 — the first time that the Senate had rejected a Cabinet nominee of a newly elected president.

Meanwhile, the aftermath of the Iran-Contra Affair lingered like an unwelcome cloud over the administration: On March 3, former National Security Adviser Robert McFarlane was fined $20,000 and received 2 years’ probation for pleading guilty to withholding information from Congress in the illegal arms-for-hostages scandal.

Political machinations were more dramatic overseas as the Revolutions of 1989, which led to the fall of the Soviet Union, were gathering steam: On March 9, the USSR submitted to the jurisdiction of the World Court and in Poland, the Solidarity movement and the government agreed to a new bicameral legislature.

Words are powerful — and dangerous to the unenlightened and despotic: On March 7, Iran broke off diplomatic relations with the UK over Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses.

The No. 1 movie in America was Lean on Me, starring Morgan Freeman, a biopic of controversial principal Joe Clark, who was known for carrying a baseball bat and bullhorn around Eastside High School in Paterson, N.J. The film painted Clark’s methods in a generally positive light but the reality was much more complicated.

But the biggest buzz was surrounding a movie that hadn’t even come out yet: Tim Burton and Michael Keaton’s Batman was more than three months away but the new Batmania was already starting to build. Fans who were worried that Keaton’s casting as the Dark Knight would mean a continuation of the comedic tone of the 1966 TV show, had become largely mollified by a rushed trailer late in 1988. By March, any news from the set, any rumor, any glimpse, was chewed over by a ravenous fanbase, which in the summer exploded into a full-blown pop-culture phenomenon.

The big television hits were the usual suspects: Roseanne, The Cosby Show, A Different World and Cheers.

The Billboard 100 was led by Debbie Gibson’s Lost In Your Eyes, from her top selling album Electric Youth. The only song among the leaders that I legitimately like is Paradise City, by Guns N’ Roses, which clocked in at No. 5.

But none of that really matters. The music world was completely obsessed with Madonna’s controversial Like a Prayer, whose video had whipped the religious and conservative worlds into a frenzy. I’m not a huge Madonna fan — never was — but this song was one of her soulful best. Nevertheless, the video, with its combination of sexual and religious imagery, drew widespread condemnation, including from the Vatican. Pepsi, which had helped promote the song, ultimately jettisoned Madonna from the deal but let her keep her $5 million advance.

In any event, the albums chart was superior to the singles chart, with two Guns albums — Appetite for Destruction (No. 3) and G N’ R Lies (No. 7); the marvelous Traveling Wilburys (No. 4); Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars by Edie Brickell and New Bohemians (No. 5); Mystery Girl by Roy Orbison (No. 8); and Green by R.E.M. (No. 13). Far and away my favorite was Vivid by Living Colour (No. 12), which I listened to constantly.

Look in my eyes. What do you see? The cult of personality…

—

Scott Tipton, columnist, 13th Dimension

Detective Comics #599, DC. I remember it being a big deal that Batman movie screenwriter Sam Hamm was coming in to write a three-part, 50th anniversary story in Detective Comics that would culminate in Issue #600. Then the issues hit and…they were all right, I guess.

Dan: That was exactly my reaction. It gave us a look at Batman’s years training abroad, as well as Henri Ducard, but the story is kind of a sprawling mess. I was let down. Oh, well!

—

West Coast Avengers #46, Marvel. Ah, the Great Lakes Avengers. Not every new team catches on.

—

Captain America #355, Marvel. I love Mark Gruenwald’s Cap run, but “Teen Cap” wasn’t one of the stronger moments. It was right up there with “Capwolf.”

Dan adds: Oh, come on! Don’t knock Capwolf!

—

Sensational She-Hulk #3, Marvel. Byrne’s She-Hulk is just so much fun, especially in its early issues.

—

Dan Greenfield, editor, 13th Dimension

Captain Atom #28, DC. Little-known fact: I was a regular reader of the post-Crisis Captain Action. I don’t mention it often because I barely remember it but I remember digging it at the time.

—

Doctor Fate #5, DC. Dr. Fate being a woman was a groovy idea, but looking back it’s strange that they tried to make her something of a sexpot. Different times, but it is… off.

—

The Phantom #2, DC. I don’t even remember that DC did this but if I had been more open-minded, I think I would have given it a shot.

—

Grendel #29, Comico. Matt Wagner and John K. Snyder III, folks. Just a reminder that there were plenty of great comics out there not being produced by the Big Two. The indies had really exploded. Most of the companies wouldn’t last but they were trailblazers.

—

MORE

— RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale The Week of Feb. 28 — in 1968! Click here.

— RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale The Week of Feb. 21 — in 1961! Click here.

—

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