House to Astonish

Tick tock, it's podcast o'clock, as Paul and Al talk about the Midnight line's rescheduling, Alien v X-Men , the  Absolute Batman animated series, the upcoming new volumes of Doom Patrol , Teen Titans and Legion of Super-Heroes , Crimes Against   Nature,  Bride of Frankenstein , and You'll Never Leave This Place Alive, as well as reviewing 100 Bullets: US of Anger and  Iron Man . What if The Offic...

The launch of New Thunderbolts is just around the corner, but first Paul and Al are polishing off the Avengers/Thunderbolts miniseries with issues 4-6, as one fight runs for three issues and they learn just how much of a petty dillweed Captain America can be. Along the way, they'll be ruminating on the possibility of Magnesium Man, boggling at an advert for the concept of doing things, and learnin...

Paul and Al are back with more comics waffle for you to gobble up, as they send good wishes to Adam Hughes, chew over Marvel's layoffs and its wider malaise, and discuss DNX , Challenges of Doom , Clayface: Celebrity Dirt , Buffy the Vampire Slayer , Dark Horse's Marvel reprints and Jughead: Piemageddon , while also giving reviews of Fireborn and The Fury of Firestorm. The Official Handbook of the...

Back once again with the renegade Masters of Evil, as Al and Paul look at the first half of 2004 miniseries Avengers/Thunderbolts . There's talk of Spider-Man working down the mines, Jean Grey's ex-boyfriends and a deranged neo-Nazi who names everything after the letter X, and even some discussion of the Avengers and the Thunderbolts, so why not come and join them? Exactly, no reason, that's what...

Al and Paul have a lot of news for you this time round, as they remember Tatjana Wood, and talk 3 Worlds 3 Moons, Hulk War, Terminal, M.A.S.K., Skate Ali, Odin, Avengers/JLA, Jays of Future Past and Concrete: Stars Over Sand, as well as reviewing The Peril of the Brutal Dark: An Ezra Cain Mystery  and The Punisher. The Official Handbook of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: the choice o...

It had to happen. And now, it finally has. It's time for Paul and Al to bite the bullet and step into the squared circle to take on the Marvel's Most Merciless, the Masters of Mayhem, the Mush-Mangling Mavens of the Marquis of Queensbury, the... Thunderbolts?

It's only 348 sleeps 'til Christmas, so Paul and Al are taking the opportunity to look back at the best 2025 had to offer, as they run down their pick of their three favourite comics of last year in the 14th annual Homies awards. Will your favourite make the cut? What did the listeners choose? Find out here, true believer!

Al and Paul hit a major milestone this episode, as they reach the end of the first run of the original Thunderbolts team, and cover issues 72-75. There's fighting, arguments, and weird things exploding, and that's just the behind the scenes escapades of Bill Jemas. Will all the TBolts survive? Will they all get off Counter-Earth? Will they all make it to the next volume of the book? Find out the a...

With NYCC in the rear-view mirror, it's time for Al and Paul to look back at some of the news coming out of the show, like the revamped Vertigo slate,  Swamp Thing Is Killing The Children , DC K.O.'s unexpected crossovers, Marvel's two upcoming symbiote-centric sagas, Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen's Crowbound , the first wave of post- Age of Revelation X-books, the impending Spider/Super crossover...

Paul and Al continue to bop back and forth to Counter-Earth, as they look at Thunderbolts (1997) #69-71. There's plotline resolutions, a parade of fill-in artists and the least elite team of Elite Agents of SHIELD you could ever hope to encounter, plus Boobforce powers, the Curse of Taz and Café La Plume De Ma Tante.

A small but perfectly formed episode for you this time round, as Paul and Al bring you news about Die: Loaded , the new Infernal Hulk and Doctor Strange , DC's upcoming Batman/Static: Beyond and the announcements of the murderers' row of creators working on Batman/Deadpool, along with reviews of Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum and Uncle Scrooge: Earth's Mightiest Duck.  I see the Official Handbo...

We're on the home stretch of TBolts Volume 1, as Al and Paul look at  Thunderbolts  #65-68. There's a whole new squad of 'bolts, a brand new costume for Moonstone and a fresh new minty taste (that'll be the Verdant Green). Plus! The logistics of Hydro-Man's stogie! The Continuity Sugababes! and the unfortunate wording of early 2000s soft drink ads!

Two weeks in between episodes? What is this, 2014? Whatever it is, it's Al and Paul talking about Peter David, Marvel and DC's upcoming Deadpool and Batman crossovers, David Marquez's The UnChosen , Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum and Punisher: Red Band,  as well as reviews of Imperial and Be Not Afraid.  The Official Handbook of the Official Handbook? I don't think they exist.

An odd little selection of issues this time round, as Paul and Al look at Thunderbolts issues 63 and 64, and Thunderbolts: From The Marvel Vault. Want to know what Zemo's sulky face looks like? Want to know what Nomad sings to himself to when he's wandering the highways? Want to know how many gratuitous instances of nudity one issue can contain? Well then this might just be the episode for you!

It's not the biggest of weeks for comics news, but Paul and Al have their fun regardless, as they talk you through the new UK comics industry trade body, the end of Immortal Thor , Werewolf By Night: Blood Moon Rise , the upcoming The Shredder series, Archie's crossovers with Minor Threats and Jay & Silent Bob and Hellboy and the BPRD: Professor Harvey is Gone,  as well as reviewing Amazing Spider...

Paul and Al are taking a look at  Thunderbolts  issues 60-62 this time round, as Marvel's Most Wanted put the T in both TBolts and Teleported To counTer-earTh. What will they our heroes do when confronted by the planet of doomed NPCs? What is the dark secret of Fixer's terrible Tamagotchi? And how do power-dampening manacles work when your power is "big teeth"? All this and definitely some more, T...

And so this is January, and what have you done? Another year over, a new one begun about three weeks ago. It's not the most topical of year in review shows, but Al and Paul have once more brought you their pick of 2024 in the world of comics, as they name the books that turned their heads over the past 12 months, in what they could only call... The Homies (largely because that's what they've been...

They had to get there eventually. Al and Paul bite the bullet and tackle  Citizen V and the V Battalion: The Everlasting  #1-4, the second (in any sense you care to choose) miniseries starring everyone's least favourite patriotic superhero. They did it so you don't have to, so the least you can do is listen to them suffer through it.

Another episode, another convention to bring you all the news from! This time round, Paul and Al are talking about the return of Vertigo (with a detour into the state of Marvel's Red Band), the launch of the Marvel Premiere Collection, Hush 2, Absolute Flash, Martian Manhunter  and  Green Lantern ,  Rise of Emperor Doom , IDW's new logo and IDW Dark line, Andy Khouri becoming TMNT editor, and a mu...

It's time to chew over a big beatdown bonanza as Paul and Al look at the climactic clash between the Thunderbolts and Graviton in issues 56-58, and take the time to say goodbye to Marvel's breakout character of 1998. Then it's time for something completely different, as one of the least fondly remembered gimmicks of the Bill Jemas era rears its very quiet head in issue 59.

There's a bunch of news out of San Diego Comic Con, and you can hear what Al and Paul think about it all here! And now! If you like! They're chatting about Black Canary: Best of the Best, The Question: All Along The Watchtower, Batgirl, New Gods, JSA, Hellverine, West Coast Avengers, Laura Kinney: The Wolverine, Psylocke and Lower Decks , plus the announcement of Amazing Comics, and they've got re...

Who is Humus Sapien? If you don't know, Al and Paul can help you with that! They're covering issues 53-55 of Thunderbolts vol. 1, as Charcoal's dad makes his dazzling debut and we meet the winner of the 1973 F.O.O.M. Magazine Create A Marvel Character contest!

Paul and Al have a full basket of comics news and they're dispensing it left, right and centre, as they remember Don Perlin and Peter B. Gillis, look at Jeff Lemire's  Minor Arcana , the finales of Jupiter's Legacy and Marvel's  Star Wars , and the new  Blade: Red Band mini, chat through the ends of Zeb Wells and John Romita Jr's run on  Amazing Spider-Man and Joshua Williamson's runs on  Green Ar...

And now for something... slightly different. Al and Paul step beyond the bounds of the regular Thunderbolts title to look at the 2001 miniseries Citizen V and the V-Battalion, with chat about two-fisted journalist Jim Daring, HR disasters and the horniest comics in Marvel history.

Al and Paul are back (back! Back!) with remembrances of Trina Robbins and Mark "Doc" Bright, a whiz through the first six post-Krakoa X-books and a mini-explainer of  Misty and the new Gail Simone-run iteration thereof, as well as reviews of Action Comics and Uncanny Valley.  The Official Handbook of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe can't believe it's not butter either.