The third appearance of The Batman took place in Detective Comics issue 29 which came out in July 1939. It begins a two-part story arch against a mad scientist type named Doctor Death and, for the first time since Batman debuted, he managed not to kill someone... yet. In this issue the purpose of Batman's utility belt is introduced, and we find out he has created a contraption to allow him to scale buildings. 

To read the article - click here.

Karl and Tonya revisit and Old West favorite- Maverick! Played in the 1950's - 1962 by James Garner and in a 1994 feature movie by Mel Gibson (with a co-starring role with James Garner as well!) Maverick was a slick talking master poker player and gunslinger (and con man). Both Garner and Gibson brought a slick charisma to the role and both series are among some of the best westerns out there. Join Karl and Tonya from When It Was Cool as we discuss the great western property, Maverick!

We continue our chronological look at the appearances of The Batman in chronological order. The second appearance of Batman took place in the pages of Detective Comics issue 28 cover dated June 1939. Batman swings from building to building on a rope for the first time. Completely throws a dude off a building to his death all to solve a jewelry theft.

You can read the article at When It Was Cool - here 

Join When It Was Cool on this new series following the chronological history of The Batman from his debut in 1939 through history. This is not a documentary series about the creators and artists (though they are mentioned) but instead is a study of the character of the Batman himself and the changes he has gone through over the years. Episode one takes a look back to 1939 and the debut of Batman in the pages of Detective Comics.

Another book review from Karl from When It Was Cool and this one is a great book about comic books called the Untold History of Marvel Comics. This is a tremendous book tracing the history of Marvel Comics from the Golden Age until the era of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It seems that the reality behind the famous Marvel Bullpen was way different than depicted by Stan Lee in the pages of Marvel Comics. Instead of a bunch of artists brainstorming ideas, it was a cutthroat world of politics, backstabbing, and disrespect. This is a fantastic book looking at the characters you love and the creators who made them.

Magazine/Podcast contributor Justin Jones returns to the pod to discuss The Iron Claw movie, which we saw the same day we recorded the pod (on Boxing/St Stephen's Day). What we liked and didn't like as much, what portrayals were the best and which are not nearly as bad as social media would have you believe. Short review is that we both liked it as a movie and as wrestling fans, but not the best film going (that's Godzilla Minus One by a mile).  Plenty of spoiler talk and also some general wrestling history chat, including the idea of foreign menaces as world champions, attendances now vs then and other topics.

Karl and Tonya review the 2023 pro wrestling biopic The Iron Claw. This is a dramatized retelling of the tragic story of the Von Erich family which endured tragedy after tragedy including the young deaths of multiple brothers, a domineering father, and more. Karl and Tonya look at how the film did in communicating the horrific events of the Von Erich family and Karl takes a look at some of the real facts which the movie fictionalized. We both loved this movie so come and join us for an extensive look at The Iron Claw.

Mark presents the Winter Palace Podcast and is joined by cartoonist Zander Cannon to discuss Godzilla Minus One movie, the 1979 Godzilla comic book from Marvel Comics, the third and final hardcover collection of his comic book Kaijumax coming out, comics industry shop talk including digital art vs old school pencil and ink, color guides and more.

It's finally here, When It Was Cool looks back at the classic Hanna-Barbara space monster cartoon series The Herculoids! This cartoon series was a favorite of mine back when I was a kid and thanks to our wonderful Patreon member Andy I now have the complete series, so let's dive in! Wait a minute... basically every episode is exactly the same just swapping out robots for aliens here and there. Who cares?! There is a triceratops that shoots exploding rocks out of its horn, a laser beam shooting dragon, a giant rock ape, and two lumps of goop. And they kill people about every episode. The 1960's didn't care about your triggers. ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?

Larry Hama returns to the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero comic book series now being published at Skybound/Image for issue 301 or issue 1 of the new run. G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero issue 301 picks up directly where issue 300 ended and has a great new artist breathing new life into this old product. Duke, Roadblock, Will Bill, Cobra Commander, Serpentor, and others are prime players in this story arch and we finally start to sort out the convoluted Snake Eyes storyline with one less to worry about.