Posted By Dan Greenfield on Jun 14, 2023 | 2 comments

Scott and Dan hit up the comics racks from 33 years ago…

This week for RETRO HOT PICKS, Scott Tipton and I are selecting comics that came out the week of June 14, 1990.

Last time for RETRO HOT PICKS, it was the week of June 7, 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 June 11 and June 17.)

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June 13

So, let’s set the scene: George Bush the Elder was in the middle of his only presidential term. On June 13, the remnants of the Iron Curtain were being swept away, as East German troops began dismantling the rest of the Berlin Wall, which had fallen the previous November.

On an inspirational note for middle-age Americans — hell for anyone, really — ageless Texas Rangers fireballer Nolan Ryan (actually he was 43) threw his sixth career MLB no-hitter, shutting out the Oakland A’s on June 11, 5-0. (Ryan would go on to throw a seventh; the next pitcher on the all-time no-hitters list is Sandy Koufax, with four.)

Inspired by the mammoth success of 1989’s Batman, Warren Beatty’s Dick Tracy went wide June 15 and landed atop the national box office. Also in theaters was one of the era’s most bombastic adventure flicks — Total Recall, starring Ahnuld.

The Simpsons was taking hold as a national phenomenon — not only did Bart Simpson make the cover of the June 1990 Rolling Stone, but this week marked the first time Fox broke into the Top 5 in the Nielsens, with The Simpsons at No. 3 and Married… With Children at No. 4. (The ratings breakthrough was partially the result of the Big Three networks being in rerun season. Reruns of Roseanne and Cheers were in the first and second slots, by the by.)

Roxette’s eminently forgettable It Must Have Been Love (from the movie Pretty Woman) was the best-selling single in America. I much prefer M.C. Hammer’s gloriously catchy U Can’t Touch This (at No. 8) and Sinead O’Connor’s extraordinary Nothing Compares 2 U (at No. 17).

I guess I’m on to something there: Hammer’s Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em and Sinead’s I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got were 1 and 2 on the albums chart, respectively.

Break it down!

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

World’s Finest #1, DC. A beautiful piece of work here from Dave Gibbons and Steve Rude.

Dan adds: This is a pretty one.

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The Amazing Spider-Man #336, Marvel. I always thought Erik Larsen drew a particularly creepy Vulture.

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The New Mutants #92, Marvel. Love seeing that old-school Skrull on such a ’90s-feeling cover.

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The Greatest Team-Up Stories Ever Told TPB, DC. Back in 1990, fancy compilations like this were pretty rare. I remember being very excited when I discovered it at the time.

Dan adds: Dig the Adams cover! Love the colors, too.

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Dan Greenfield, editor, 13th Dimension

Checkmate #29, DC. Our man Paul Kupperberg in the house! Ably abetted by Tom Grindberg, Al Vey and co. Did you know it’s Paul’s birthday? Come celebrate with us!

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Star Trek: The Next Generation Annual #1, DC. So, evidently Q reached through the time-space continuum to write this comic about himself.

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Alf #32, Marvel. I just like that there was once a world where an Alf comic could be a success. It ran 50 issues!

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MORE

— RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale The Week of June 7 — in 1968! Click here.

— RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale The Week of May 31 — in 1988! Click here.

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