” I shall resign the Presidency effective at noon tomorrow. Vice President Ford will be sworn in as President at that hour in this office.”
-Richard Nixon, 8/8/1974
Time to journey back to August of 1974, a month that saw Nixon’s resignation, the emergence of Chaka Khan on the radio, and “The Longest Yard”, while on the spinner racks, DC gave us a new Superman “frenemy”, and Len Wein said his goodbyes to JLA and Swamp Thing!
News of the Month:
1st - The leadership of the United States House of Representatives tentatively schedules debate on the impeachment of President Richard Nixon to run from August 19 to August 31 and approves gavel-to-gavel television coverage.[
5th - US President Richard Nixon admits he withheld information about Watergate break-in
7th - French high-wire artist Philippe Petit conducts an unauthorized walk on a tightrope between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City
8th - US President Richard Nixon announces he will resign at 12pm the next day. Vice President Gerald Ford swears the oath of office to take his place
10th - U.S. President Gerald Ford requests that all members of President Nixon's Cabinet and all heads of U.S. Government agencies remain in office for "continuity and stability."
12th - Yankees Mickey Mantle & Whitey Ford become 1st teammates inducted to hall of fame on same day
16th - American punk rock band "The Ramones" make their debut at CBGB's in New York City
20th - Nelson Rockefeller is selected as US Vice President by President Gerald Ford
26th - American aviator Charles Lindbergh dies of lymphoma at age 72
Newsreel of the Month: Nixon Resigns (August 8, 1974)
Magazine Cover of the Month: Jack Nicholson (Time Magazine, August 12, 1974)
Music of the Month: A funk band from Chicago named Rufus featuring the vocals of a young Chaka Khan scored with “Tell Me Something Good”
US Top Singles:
1. The Night Chicago Died - Paper Lace
2. Feel Like Making Love - Roberta Flack
3. (Your) Having My Baby - Paul Anka & Odia Coates
4. Tell Me Something Good – Rufus
5. Wildwood Weed - Jim Strafford
UK Top Singles:
1. When Will I See You Again - Three Degrees
2. You Make Me Feel Brand New - Stylistics
3. Rock Your Baby - George McCrae
4. Summerlove Sensation - Bay City Rollers
5. Born With A Smile On My Face - Stephanie De Sykes
Further Down the Charts:
Steely Dan briefly peaked at #4 with “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number”
Bachman Turner Overdrive scored their biggest hit with “Takin’ Care of Business” which made it to #12
Movie of the Month: “The Longest Yard” starring Burt Reynolds, Eddie Albert, and Ed Lauter (premiered August 21, 1974)
TV Clip of the Month: The rarely seen first pilot of “The Life and Times of Barney Miller” which would later morph into “Barney Miller” with half of the cast replaced (first aired August 22, 1974)
Sports Moment of the Month: Nolan Ryan of the Angels loses a no-hitter on an infield single by Dick Allen of the White Sox in the 9th inning of a 1-0 ballgame (August 7, 1974)
Top 10 DC Comics of the Month (as selected by Osgood Peabody, listed in order of their publication):
Justice League of America #114: Snapper Carr guest stars in “The Return of Anakronus”! (Cover by Nick Cardy)
Kamandi #23: The Last Boy on Earth squares off against a killer shark in “Kamandi and Goliath”! (Cover by Jack Kirby & D. Bruce Berry)
Swamp Thing #13: Matt and Abby finally discover the Swamp Thing’s true identity in “The Leviathan Conspiracy”! (Cover by Nestor Redondo)
Weird Western Tales #25: Jonah Hex encounters a corrupt way station owner demanding exorbitant tolls in “Showdown with the Dangling Man”! (Cover by Luis Dominguez)
Superman #281: The Man of Steel encounters a hero from another world named Vartox in “Mystery Mission to Metropolis”! (Cover by Nick Cardy)
Omac #2: OMAC journeys to the city to confront Mr. Big in “Blood-Brother Eye”! (Cover by Jack Kirby & Mike Royer)
Shazam #15: Captain Marvel meets Lex Luthor in a bizarre cross-over, plus a collection of vintage tales involving scientists and inventors! (Cover by Bob Oksner)
Superboy #205: Lana Lang guest stars in “The Legion of Super-Executioners”! (Cover by Nick Cardy)
Batman #259: The Masked Manhunter confronts a demon from his past in “The Night of the Shadow”! (Cover by Nick Cardy)
Adventure Comics #436: The Ghostly Guardian stars in “The Gasmen and the Spectre”, then Aquaman has a rematch with the Bugala in “The King is Dead, Long Live the King”! (Cover by Jim Aparo)
You can find all DC comics published this month right here courtesy of Mike Voiles’ Time Machine!
You can also find a lot of other publishers’ output this month courtesy of Mike’s site right here.
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statistics: Posted by Osgood Peabody — 7:22 AM - 1 day ago — Replies 10 — Views 177