When It Was Cool Pop Culture Podcast

When It Was Cool listeners come on down! Karl and Tonya sit down to discuss one of the most iconic of game shows: The Price is Right! It seems like everyone's grandmother loved this show and was probably secretly crushing on Bob Barker. Hey, let's be honest, The Price is Right was a fun TV game show full of goofy gimmick games and way over valued stuff, but it was tons of fun. Don't forget to have your pet spayed or neutered too you geek.

Today at WhenItWasCool.com we take a look at the fourth appearance chronologically of the Batman character from the pages of Detective Comics issue 30 Detective Comics issue 30 cover dated August 1939. These Batman in Order reviews are less about the creators, behind the scenes, and the process of it all, and more about the story of The Batman, the character, and how he has changed and evolved and often represented or stood against common conventions of the time. The fourth Batman story is part two of a two-part series about an antagonist called Doctor Death. Batman not only kills somebody again in this issue (his third kill) he largely does so intentionally.

Read the article -here 

I, Karl, am writing this description. Scrabble is the bane of my existence. Tonya schools me in it ever... single... game. I don't know why. I am literate. I have a decent vocabulary, but she beats me in almost every single game. Scrabble is part crossword puzzle, part chance, and a lot of strategy. Join Karl and Tonya from WhenItWasCool.com to talk about one of our board game favorites- Scrabble!

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.

Karl, who is a huge fan of the rock band Rush, reviews Geddy Lee's new memoire My Effin' Life which dropped a couple of weeks ago. Geddy Lee's book takes a detailed look at the history of the band, his parent's incredible story as holocaust survivors, their musical variety over the course of their 40 plus year career, induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Alex Lifeson's infamous speech, and the final days of Neil Peart. A fantastic and fun biography!

Recently, Karl and Tonya from When It Was Cool visited the gravesite of American music legend Johnny Cash. We recently had watched an amazing documentary about the life, faith, and career of Johnny Cash and this episode of the When It Was Cool Podcast takes a look at that documentary. From the highest of highs and incredible success to literally crawling into the depths of a cave and laying down to die, the Redemption of an American Icon is a fascinating documentary film.

Karl and Tonya take a trip to the movie theater this week to see the new movie The Exorcist: Believer which is a sequel to The Exorcist 50 years later. And it is a sequel, following the mother of Regan from the original as she hopes to help solve a modern-day demonic possession of two schoolgirls who disappeared for three days only to reemerge in an altered state. Does this movie stand up to the original which was one of the greatest horror films ever? Let's talk about it.

Join Karl and Tonya for a new Friday the 13th movie review podcast. Every time the real calendar hits Friday the 13th, When It Was Cool reviews another chapter in the supernatural / slasher / killer franchise featuring the hockey masked monster Jason Voorhees. This one, sad to say, is another dud with very little Jason and very little plot. Still, we have fun with it so come and join us!

Join the Arkansas Hellbender this week as we try to pop a wheelie over the front handlebars. Tons of fun for everyone in the world that is Harley Davidson!

Bullshido at it's finest! The 1976 post-Bruce Lee era Master of the Flying Guillotine is one of my favorite Kung-Fu movies. It is utterly ridiculous. Featuring a one armed Kung Fu master who is the target of an evil Kung Fu master. The evil Kung Fu matches shows up at an incredibly ridiculous Kung Fu tournament and starts killing every one armed person there! This movie features everything you love about wacky Kung Fu movies: bizarre tournament to the death, evil Kung Fu heels, traps, and more! Prepare to be destroyed! 

Tonya and Karl went to see the 2023 blockbuster movie Barbie starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. Bringing the iconic Mattel toy property to a live action movie seemed like a challenge and this movie isn't really sure what it is. Part bizarre pink fantasy and part feminist manifesto the Barbie movie has still managed to strike a chord with a large audience catapulting it to becoming 2023's biggest hit so far. Tonya and Karl give you their thoughts on this strange, yet memorable film.