Comics and History: Sixties Culture

The culture of the 1960s was just as influential as the history of the decade, and was even evident within the pages of both DC and Marvel Comics. Music and fashion paved the way, with The X-Men quoting Bob Dylan songs and Benjamin “Thing” Grimm of the Fantastic Four sporting a Beatles’ wig. Medusa of the Inhumans was briefly a model, meanwhile, Mary Jane Watson got a job as a go-go dancer, and the DC’s Teen Titans traveled to Carnaby Street in Swinging London. If it was groovy or far out, a superhero was no doubt on the scene.

Batman: Paul Is Dead

Four months after a Detroit DJ used hidden clues on a Beatles album to reveal the secret death of Paul McCartney, Batman attempted to solve a similar mystery involving British band the Twists.

The Fantastic Four Meet the Beatles

Benjamin “Thing” Grimm and Johnny “Human Torch” Storm of the Fantastic Four get caught up in Beatlemania the year after the Fab Four arrived in New York City and conquered America.

Mary Jane Watson: Go-Go Dancer

The self-proclaimed party girl and friend of Spider-Man alter ego Peter Parker dressed in the latest fashions during the 1960s and even briefly got a job as a go-go dancer in a local nightclub.

Medusa: Fashion Model

British photographer David Bailey and model Jean Shrimpton changed the fashion industry during the 1960s, something the Inhuman Medusa learns as a model for Heavenly Hair Spray.

Teen Titans: The Mad Mod and Swinging London

The DC superhero group head to London in 1968 with American rock star Holley Hep, where they encounter a Carnaby Street fashion designer who uses his clothing to smuggle contraband.

The X-Men and Greenwich Village

During the early 1960s, Iceman and Beast from the X-Men were regular patrons of a coffeeshop in the famed New York City neighborhood, where they listened to Beat poets and quoted Bob Dylan.

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