Scott and Dan hit up the comics racks from 34 years ago…
Hey, dig that banner by Walt Grogan — new for 2026! We’ve got four of them — on each for the Golden, Silver, Bronze and Modern Ages. You’ll see them all in the weeks ahead.
This week for RETRO HOT PICKS, Scott and I are selecting comics that came out the week of Jan. 7, 1992.
Last time for RETRO HOT PICKS, it was the week of Dec. 31, 1968. 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 Jan. 4 and Jan. 10.)
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So, let’s set the scene: THE CHUNKS BLOWN ‘ROUND THE WORLD! On Jan. 8, during a swing through Asia and the Pacific, President George H.W. Bush — or, just George Bush back then — passed out and vomited on Japanese Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa during a state dinner in Tokyo.
Bush, who was supposed to speak at the dinner for 135 diplomats and officials, went sideways between the second and third courses. First lady Barbara Bush jumped into action, holding a napkin to her husband’s mouth. The Secret Service came to her assuredly blessed relief and, while still on the floor, the president told his doctor, “Roll me under the table until the dinner’s over.”
The next day, White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said Bush had a mild case of gastroenteritis and the president held a news conference with Emperor Akihito.
Video of the incident went viral in 1992 terms — constant replaying on cable news and a nearly bottomless source of amusement for late-night comedians. Weirdly, the moment presaged Bush’s vulnerability at the polls: 1992 was an election year and Bush was widely expected to win a second term, as a field of Democrats battled among themselves, including former California Gov. Jerry Brown, Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey; Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin; and former Massachusetts Sen. Paul Tsongas.
Oh, and Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton.
IN OTHER NEWS
— On Jan. 7, AT&T released the VideoPhone 2500 — only $1,599.99 in the Sears catalogue!
— On Jan. 6, the feds urged doctors to stop using silicone breast implants because of adverse health effects.
— On Jan. 7, retired pitcher Tom Seaver — one of the best to ever do it — was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Tom Terrific garnered a then-record 98.84 percent of votes. Majestically mustachioed Rollie Fingers was also elected, only the second reliever to be so honored.
1984 Topps baseball cards
The top movies were the newly released thriller The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, starring Rebecca De Mornay, and 1991 holiday season holdover Hook, directed by Steven Spielberg and featuring Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman and Julia Roberts. Other cinema selections included Bugsy, starring Warren Beatty and Annette Bening; Oliver Stone’s ridiculous JFK; The Prince of Tides, directed by and starring Barbra Streisand, with Nick Nolte; the crowd-pleasing Fried Green Tomatoes; and, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, the last round-up for the Original Series’ full cast.
As was typical, 60 Minutes was the ratings leader, with Roseanne, Murder She Wrote, Murphy Brown, Cheers and Wings among the most popular shows.
Michael Jackson’s Black or White, off his hit album Dangerous, was the No. 1 single, followed by the regrettable All 4 Love by Color Me Badd, at No. 2. Garth Brooks’ LP Ropin’ the Wind was also big.
But Seattle was the place to be, with grunge ascendant — Nirvana’s Nevermind was poised to knock Dangerous out of the leading slot on the Billboard 200, and Smells Like Teen Spirit was reaching anthemic status among disaffected Gen Xers. (Oh, how times have changed: 34 years later Generation X is now seen as the ones who get shit done.)
Here we are now, entertain us, I feel stupid and contagious…
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Dan Greenfield, editor, 13th Dimension
Detective Comics #641, DC. In the ramp-up to Batman Returns, DC decided to remake the image of Gotham City in the comics so it matched the vision of Tim Burton and Anton Furst. The vehicle was a three-parter called Destroyer that began in Batman and ran through Legends of the Dark Knight, before wrapping up here.
DC could have just mandated that artists start drawing Gotham that way but they instead came up with a contrived and convoluted story about blowing up buildings to reveal Gotham’s true nature. Or something like that. Anyway, each cover utilized movie concept sketches as the background; in this case, it’s Jim Aparo’s Batman superimposed over Furst’s sketch work.
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Action Comics #674, DC. The prologue to Panic in the Sky! — one of the pre-eminent Superman events of the ’90s. This is Matrix Supergirl here, in case you forgot.
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The Comet #8 and The Fly #7, DC. DC’s Mighty Crusaders-infused Impact Comics line escaped my notice when it came out, but had I been as taken with the MLJ/Archie heroes then as I am now, I’d have probably have given these a shot. The Comet actually lasted 18 issues and an annual. The Fly made it to 16. That’s kind of impressive for this sort of thing.
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NFL SuperPro #6, Marvel. Speaking of surprisingly long-lasting series, this one made it to Issue #12, not including the special that, ahem, kicked this whole thing off. But what’s notable about this issue is that it was recalled by Marvel because of its offensive depictions of the Hopi. The company pulled back about 70,000 copies and apologized.
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Batman Versus Predator #2, DC/Dark Horse. Do you know I’ve never seen Predator? For real. Which means I’ve never read any kind of Predator comic, either. Not even a Batman one. (There were two versions of this mini, one in regular format, the other in Prestige format.)
Prestige (left) and regular
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Who’s Who in the DC Universe #16, DC. The loose-leaf years.
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Scott Tipton, contributor-at-large, 13th Dimension
Avengers West Coast #80, Marvel. “Operation: Galactic Storm” felt a little too “ripped-from-the-headlines” at the time, in the post-Gulf War days of the early ’90s.
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Doom Patrol #52, DC. I read every issue of Grant Morrison’s Doom Patrol and never knew quite what was going on. Still enjoyed it, though.
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The Sensational She-Hulk #37, Marvel. Nothing wrong with a good cover gag.
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Suicide Squad #62, DC. An appearance by Ray Palmer would always get a pick-up from me.
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MORE
— RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale The Week of December 31 — in 1968! Click here.
— RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale The Week of December 24 — in 1945! Click here.
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Comics sources: Mike’s Amazing World of Comics and the Grand Comics Database.
January 7, 2026
I recently picked up The Fly from DC’s !mpact line. I loved the series years ago and still enjoy it today. The Mike Parobeck art was perfect for the series. Len Strazewski’s stories were good too. I also liked the writer and artist on 1992’s Justice Society of America series that was canceled way too soon (and remains uncollected in the U.S.)
January 7, 2026
Batman vs. Predator is pretty good and is a decent case of Batman–who, in the 90s, became reputable as the “Bat-god” with his plot armor–being taken down a peg. Spoiler, but the Predator takes Batman down, hard. They got pretty excessive, but some of the DC/Dark Horse collaborations in the 90s were pretty good. (Superman vs. Aliens is another one.) It probably helps that the Alien and Predator franchises don’t need a lot of explanation and can be easily dropped into any setting without much confusion.
This reminds me: there’s a joke on Family Guy where a guy in a coma tries to think up a million dollar Hollywood idea and comes up with “Batman vs. Predator.” I’m guessing the show’s writers aren’t comic readers.
January 7, 2026
The first Predator film is most definitely worth your time! A great blend of 80s action, sci-fi and horror. Honestly my favorite Arnie movie, even moreso than the first two Terminators. The rest of the Predator franchise…eh, not so much. Except for the recent Prey. I haven’t seen Badlands yet.
January 7, 2026
Doom Patrol head and shoulders above the rest on the list here, and almost all other comics of that period.
January 7, 2026
Gad! It is unbelievable that was 34 years ago!!! I remember it well and buying the the Action Comics at the time.
January 7, 2026
I missed all of these at the time, as I still hadn’t resumed regular comic book reading after college yet. So today’s entry was very interesting to me.
January 7, 2026
Yes. The first Predator film was amaze-balls! Predator 2… your mileage may vary. I read the Batman VS. Predator. Good stuff. I do recommend the first film and the Batman/Predator books – your mileage may vary there as well. DC’s !mpact line was Awesometacular! I loved The Comet and Parobeck’s The Fly. I need to round out my The Fly collection for all 16 issues – to go with his The Batman Adventures and Justice Society. I was hooked on The Comet – even through Mark Waid’s closure on the DC !mpact line.
I still have the loose-leaf Who’s Who…