Ricky Jackson

That would get me watching wrestling again

Sounds like it's a mix of UWN footage fearuring NWA talent and unreleased stuff from the same tapings

Yeah, that's what it is

Victim of a slow decline and his career ending with a whimper. I remember Meltzer accusing him of phoning it in as soon as he became a megastar in 84 and then coasting afterwards. Not sure of this, but I'm assuming the 90/91 Iraqi sympathizer run was trashed at the time in WON. Outside of PWO and few other circles, not much love for Slaughter's early 80s glory days. JYD, Patera, Rich, Blackwell, etc are similar--guys who were huge pre-84 but are either forgotten or more remembered for sad last days by most fans

For me, "most today know little about" hopefully means Dom DeNucci

Oh, there's definitely a comics history subsection of fandom. TwoMorrows publishing is kinda the equivalent of Crowbar Press and has been my go to place to grab history publications. The American Comic Book Chronicles series is top notch. They put out decade by decade volumes that cover American comic book history, mostly focusing on mainstream comics but also with plenty of info on smaller publishers/undergrounds. I've only read the 70s volume so far but it was excellent. What I've seen of the other volumes looks great. Going to tackle the 50s next. TwoMorrows also has various ongoing publications like Alter Ego and Back Issue that are great for creator interviews and obscure bits of history. Fantagraphics books also puts out a lot of history publications. Just finished the excellent Fire & Water book on the career of Bill Everett Yeah, Man-Thing isnt amazing or anything. Definitely fun and wacky. Ive been putting off Son of Satan but may dip into it soon based on your recommendation. Also about to start Gerber's Defenders run and perhaps his Omega the Unknown, which is pretty far out stuff. In the context of a lot of mundane and mediocre 70s Marvel art, Starlin really stands out for me. It just feels like a fresh perspective, similar to Steranko, whom I've also always enjoyed, both despite a limited sample size. As I've been reading more and more 70s comics, one of the main themes of the decade is, because of the demands of newstand deadlines in a world where comic shops were just emerging and not large enough to make a difference in overall sales, Marvel and DC relied on speed freak artists (also writers), and a lot of the most interesting talent worked too slow, because they put so much into each panel. Guys like Starlin, Wrightson, Ploog, Smith, etc, would gravitate to poster work, paperback covers, advertising, independent publishing, where the deadline crunch was far less intense, plus they could make as much or more money than in comics, which overall were struggling sales wise compared to earlier decades. Some really great talent, like Colon and of course Kirby, could reliably make deadlines and produce high quality work, but so much of the Marvel and DC art from the 70s is very samey and rushed off looking. Starlin for me produced a real vibrant alternative compared to a lot of his peers in that environment

Come on @Loss and @goodhelmet create the sub folders. This is a great and unique place, despite being on the wrong side of history, surely this tiny bit of maintenance can be maintained

Right, well I guess wrestling history ended with August 2020 as far this place is concerned

Im not volunteering myself, but maybe some folks who are regulars and are invested can be granted mod powers in order to manage such things? Not to call anyone out, but a lot of the mods here aren't exactly regulars anymore

Could be interesting but I'm afraid any subjective story of Vince and WWE will be at best mostly puff piece or at worst a total mockery of the concept of the documentary itself. I mean will they address anything related to something controversial, like wrestler deaths, independent contractor bs, Saudi blood money, declining popularity, creative bankruptcy criticisms, etc, etc, etc.?

Jones and Jacobs' The Comic Book Heroes was my bible 20 years ago. I suppose it hasn't aged well in certain ways Urban legends is fun for sure. One pod I forgot to mention that goes pretty deep into creator discussion, with tons of interviews, is the Comic Book Historians Podcast. Really interesting stuff usually focusing on more lesser-known/discussed works and creators

It's interesting how the two fandoms share many similarities and crossover but are also very different in the areas the hardest of the hardcores focus on. Like you pointed out Matt, hardcore wrestling fandom is very obsessed with behind the scenes details and the story of the "real" person beneath the character (to a degree that I believe has been totally overemphasized in importance and interest over the years, but that's neither here nor there) and, yes, that is often the driving force behind at least the most well known podcasts. I've been going increasingly deeper into comics fandom lately and becoming more in touch with the overall community interests of the history minded hardcores than I ever was when I was younger (I wasn't part of any online comics communities back then). There definitely isnt an obsession with the behind the scenes details of the lives of creators, although some folks are into that stuff. Wrestling has biographies/autobiographies, shoot interviews, etc, on a much larger scale than those devoted to comics creators. This speaks to the difference in mediums. There just isnt much money to be made from comic creator bios/interviews because only a niche within a niche group is interested in such knowledge, while many hardcore wrestling fans become transfixed, and often have their fandom rejuvenated or extended by the relentless quest to know the real people and the real stories behind the larger than life characters that drew them in to this amazing world in the first place. Even today, after Kayfabe dying years ago, there is a feeling of discovering forbidden knowledge, of finding out secrets you can never know just by watching the shows, that drives many fans to spend ridiculous amounts of time and money to become closer and closer to the "truth". It's both fascinating and disturbing, really. Anyway, because comics fandom doesn't have this side, the podcasts related to the medium definitely have a different focus, but are just as enjoyable imo. As stated, I've only really been diving deep into the community of comics fandom for a few months now. I've been listening to a crazy amount of podcasts since early March (I dont think I've brought this up on here before, but I've had a ridiculous amount of free time since 2020 started. My wife and I sold our condo in the city and relocated to her family farm, both now unemployed and living off the money we made in the sale, with the luxury of not having to worry much about income at the moment) and there is a wealth of interesting shows focused on reviewing classic comic books. The Epic Marvel Podcast and the Comics Canon are my faves, along with the absolutely delightful Checkered Past, which ambitiously intends to review every single DC comic from 1966-67 that featured the infamous "go go checks" along the top. It's freaking great, as they cover everything from superheroes, to war, to romance, to Bob Hope comics. Anyway, these review shows either play it pretty straight, like Epic Marvel and the Comics Canon, or, like Checkered Past, go for the post modern, "this doesnt make logical sense", ironic approach to reviewing old school comics. One pod I've discovered that is more like a wrestling style look at the people behind the curtain is the Classic Comics Cavalcade. This show is far from perfect when it comes to production values (and often guest audio quality and chemistry), but the host, Jason Sacks, is a great historian and really knows his stuff when it comes to discussing the career of a certain creator. I'm still searching for better and more interesting comics pods. There is of course a shit ton of Marvel-related pods to wade through, just like there are a shit ton of WWE pods. @Matt D I would suggest giving one of those I mentioned a whirl Ok, I've rambled on enough lol

The next issue to read is #10 and Blade's first appearance. I thought that was a good time to pause, right before the title really got cooking. I've found myself more drawn to Englehart, Starlin and Gerber right out of the gate but will definitely resume Tomb soonish

It's been on my read next pile since I bought the first Epic Collection at the beginning of the year but I've been totally sidetracked by reading digitally for months. I need to balance between digital and print because I have a bunch of unread trades full of great stuff sitting collecting dust

Try... The Epic Marvel Podcast The Comics Canon My Marvelous Year ...to start