The DC Comics Time Capsule: February 1974

 

As we turn another page on the calendar, it’s time to tear open another capsule and journey back to the world of February 1974… Patty Hearst has been kidnapped and a classic Mel Brooks comedy is on the big screen… while in the world of DC comics, a new writer takes the reins on Jonah Hex, and a classic villain makes her return in Batman!
 

News of the Month:
 
4^th - American publishing heir Randolph Hearst’s 19-year-old daughter, Patty Hearst, is kidnapped from her apartment in Berkeley, California by the Symbionese Liberation Army
 
5^th - U.S. space probe Mariner 10, launched on November 3, makes the first successful broadcast to Earth of images of the planet Venus
 
6^th - US House of Representatives begins determining grounds for impeachment of President Richard Nixon
 
7^th - Mel Brooks' western spoof film "Blazing Saddles", starring Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder premieres at the Pickwick Drive-In in Burbank, California; patrons watched from horseback rather than cars
 
8^th - After a record 84 days in orbit, the crew of the fourth Skylab mission — astronauts Gerald Carr, Edward Gibson and William Pogue — returns to Earth
 
8^th - TV sitcom "Good Times", spin-off from "Maude", starring Esther Rolle, John Amos, and J.J. Walker, premieres on CBS TV
 
13^th - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Russian novelist and historian, is deported from the Soviet Union to Frankfurt, West Germany and stripped of his Soviet citizenship
 
20^th - American singer and actress Cher (27) files for separation from husband singer-songwriter Sonny Bono (38)
 
21^st - Canadian ice hockey player and co-founder of the Tim Hortons restaurant chain, dies in a car crash at age 44
 
25^th - The first issue of People magazine, post-dated March 4, 1974, went on sale at newsstands and supermarkets in the United States as a new weekly publication from Time Inc., featuring actress Mia Farrow on the cover.
 
 
Newsreel of the Month: Patty Hearst kidnapping (February 4, 1974)
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Magazine Cover of the Month:  The M*A*S*H Menagerie by Jack Davis (TV Guide, February 9-15, 1974)

 
Music of the Month: Lulu took Bowie’s “The Man Who Sold the World” to the top of the British charts (with Bowie himself on sax and backing vocals)
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US Top Singles:
1. The Way We Were - Barbra Streisand
2. Love's Theme - Love Unlimited Orchestra
3. You're Sixteen - Ringo Starr
4. Until You Come Back To Me - Aretha Franklin
5. Spiders and Snakes - Jim Stafford
 
UK Top Singles:
1. Tiger Feet - Mud
2. Teenage Rampage - Sweet
3. Solitare - Andy Williams
4. The Man Who Sold The World – Lulu
5. Dance WithThe Devil - Cosy Powell
 
Further Down the Charts:
The Stones sent their latest single, “Heartbreaker”, to #15
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Gregg Allman’s mellowed out version of “Midnight Rider” made it to #19
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Joni Mitchell’s rollicking “Raised on Robbery” deserved a better fate, winding up at #65
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Movie of the Month: “Blazing Saddles” starring Cleavon Little, Gene Wilder, Harvey Korman, and Madeline Kahn (premiered February 7, 1974)
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TV Clip of the Month:  In an episode of “Lotsa Luck”, Stan (Dom DeLuise) hires his brother-in-law to be his assistant, and hilarity ensues (first aired February 15, 1974)
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Sports Moment of the Month: Richard Petty wins the 1974 Daytona 500, his fifth victory in the event, becoming the first driver to win the race two years in a row.  With over 60 lead changes, it’s the most competitive Daytona 500 ever (February 17, 1974)
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Top 10 DC Comics of the Month (as selected by Osgood Peabody, listed in order of their publication):
 
Our Army at War #268: Easy Company teams up with a squad of rangers to take out a bridge in “The Elite”!  (Cover by Joe Kubert)

 
Justice League of America #111: The World’s Greatest Super-Heroes battle the Injustice Gang and their mysterious leader Libra in “Balance of Power”!  (Cover by Nick Cardy)

 
Swamp Thing #10: Arcane and his Un-Men return in “The Man Who Would Not Die”!  (Cover by Berni Wrightson)

 
Kamandi #17: Kamandi escapes his captors only to run into “The Human Gophers of Ohio”!  (Cover by Jack Kirby & D. Bruce Berry)

 
Weird Western Tales #22: Jonah’s past catches up with him in “Showdown at Hard Times”!  (Cover by Luis Dominguez)

 
Plop! #5: A cornucopia of comedy treats, highlighted by Murphy Anderson’s “Super Plops” and Berni Wrightson’s “Molded in Evil“!  (Cover by Basil Wolverton)

 
Shazam! #12: A collection of Marvel Family treats including the classic “The Sivana Family Strikes at the Marvel Family” and “Uncle Marvel’s Wedding”!  (Cover by Bob Oksner)
 

Superboy #202: A squad of Legionnaires face “The Wrath of the Devil-Fish” plus an assortment of vintage Legion tales including “The Legionnaire Who Killed” and “The Super-Stalag of Space”!  (Cover by Nick Cardy)

 
Adventure Comics #433: Another gruesome tale of retribution in “The Swami and the Spectre” plus the finale to the Captain Fear series as he meets “Revolt and Revenge”!  (Cover by Jim Aparo)

 
Batman #256: The Feline Fury makes her long-awaited return in “Catwoman’s Circus Caper”, plus astounding tales behind some of the trophies in the Batcave including “Dinosaur Island” and “The Penny Plunderers”!  (Cover by Nick Cardy)

 
 
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 — 7:26 AM - Today — Replies 6 — Views 164

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