The Winter Palace Podcast

Jeff Marek (@jeffmarek) from Sportsnet and the #MvsW podcast returns to talk Stanley Cup playoffs, (17:42) the passing of Philadelphia Flyers owner Ed Snider, (26:00) the Memorial Cup and (27:50) the passing of Blackjack Mulligan, patriarch of the Windham Family.

Leonard F Chikarason (@lfchikarason) from the Longbox Heroes podcast (@longboxheroes) returns to talk about luchador Pentagon Jr (@pentagonjunior) wrestling in Cleveland for AI Wrestling (@aiwrestling), wrestle border crossing stories, previewing the Wrestlemania 32 card in Dallas and story lines moving forward, including a potential brand split involving NXT. We also look at some new comics, including Batman/TMNT, The Astonishing Ant-Man 6 by Nick Spenser (@nickspenser) & Annapaola Martello and Vision by Tom King (@tomkingTK) & Gabriel Walta (@ghwalta). We end with a discussion of the changes made recently to Marvel Puzzle Quest and how gameplay has been since they were implemented.

Luchaworld's Alfredy Esparza (@therealfredo) returns to discuss the CMLL Dos Leyendas show, the matches and future plans for the company, ELITE and AAA news, the anniversary of Perro Aguayo Jr's death, the good and bad of recapping CMLL Informa every week and more.

Dr. Lucha Steve Sims returns to discuss the CMLL Dos Leyendas ippv, the matches and future plans, news about ELITE and AAA and more lucha talk. We then talk about Steve's trip to spring training, the upcoming baseball season and the Adam LaRoche situation.

Our Author Theory series continues with the award-winning creator @zandercannon. We discuss his @onipress series Kaijumax, recently out in trade paperback, how he came up with the idea of a giant monster/prison drama mash-up, tropes of both genres, which analogues have and will eventually shpw up in the book, is his son the model for the kid in the comic and doing audio commentaries for each issue. We also discuss his past work including working with Alan Moore on Top Ten and Smax the Barbarian, doing licensed books involving Star Trek and Transformers, getting his start on the Tick spin-off series The Chainsaw Vigilante and will we every see more issues of The Replacement God. Also we discuss on industry issues like print vs digital, monthly issues vs the trade for reader, retailers and creators, process podcasts, and a story about how there was almost a dueling 24 hour comic showdown between Zander and @billwillingham that would have taken place at @captainbluehen comics in the late 1990s.

Part three of our Author Theory series continues today with veteran comics and animation writer J.M. DeMatteis (@jmdematteis). We discuss the new DC Animated movie Batman: Bad Blood, which he scripted., as well as some of his other work in animation including Justice League Unlimited and The Brave and the Bold. Following that, it's a long discussion about his comics work: scripting all-ages comics, artistic freedom in the late 1980s and a number of his past and current titles, including Doctor Fate, The Defenders, Greenberg the Vampire, Moonshadow, Mercy, Seekers into the Mystery, The Adventures of Augusta Wind, Captain America, Weird War Tales and Justice League 3000/3001. There is also some JLI talk sprinkled throughout the show. We also talk about his upcoming work on both the new Scooby Doo comic and the new Be Cool, Scooby Doo cartoon. (45:10) - Instead of reviews, some podcast recommendations, inclduing @mondaynightbraw by @fromthesublime and @garyrodger, Between the Sheets by @kriszellner and @davidbix, @luchaworld, Como Estas by @luchablog and @robviper, @housetoastonish by Al Kennedy and @ifdestroyed, @longboxheroes by @lfchikarason and @rowkerthejoker, @jeffmarek vs @wyshynski, Football Weekly from the Guardian, The Game Podcast by The Times (UK) and @meninblazers.

Colleen Coover (@colleencoover) and Paul Tobin (@paultobin) join the show to talk about their award-winning comic Bandette, its origins and influences. We also talk about all-ages comics and their work on them, past work including Batman '66, Marvel Adventures and I Was the Cat. We also talk about Paul's forthcoming novel, How to Catch an Invisible Cat, out March 1. Then we talk soccer, including the MLS Champion Portland Timbers and NWSL Portland Thorns, Barcelona vs Real Madrid, the pantomime behavior of Jose Mourinho and the dilemma of liking players on teams you can't stand. In the second segment, Mark reviews two new Marvel titles: Illuminati by Josh Williamson Williamson__Josn) and Shawn Crystal (@shawncrystal) and The Vision by Tom King (@TomKIngTK) and Gabriel Hernandez Walta (@ghwalta).

We are back with Part Two of our Lucha review of the Year with (00:56) Lucha World's Vandal Drummond (@vandaldrummond), (27:10) Rob Viper (@Robviper) and (52:02) TKD (@TKD_117). We talk about the Fantasticamania line-ups for some CMLL wrestlers and continue our look at Tecnico of the Year, Rudo of the Year, Match of the Year, Card of the Year and the best matches they saw live in 2015. We also have some bonus hockey talk with Rob at 45:15.

Part One of our 2015 Lucha Libre Year in Review. On this show, we talk to (1:23) The Cubs Fan (@luchablog) from the Lucha Blog and Luchawiki and (22:14) Alfredo Esparza (@therealfredo) from Lucha World about the past year in the world of Lucha Libre. We talk (individually) to Cubs and Fredo about the big news stories of the year, including the death of Perro Aguyao Jr, the annus horribilus for AAA, Lucha Underground, Sombra leaving for NXT, the super indys in Mexico, the LA lucha scene and more. We also get their thoughts on some Lucha Libre year-end awards, including Tecnico of the Year, Rudo of the Year, Match of the Year and Card of the Year. Look for Part Two coming soon.

Todd Rowker (@rowkerthejoker) from The Longbox Heroes Podcast (@longboxheroes) returns to discuss the Doctor Who 2015 Xmas Special, Season 9, some Troughton era episodes and what might on tap next season. We also talk about Secret Wars 8, Doom vs Thanos and the year in comics, including the Battleworld books, some of the new Marvel number ones, the greatness of Jason Aaron (@jasonaaron) and Brian K Vaughn and more.