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May 18

House to Astonish Episode 106

Posted on Saturday, May 18, 2013 by Al in Podcast

We’re back, and we’ve got an hour and a half of comics discussion for you, with news on the passing of Dan Adkins, James Robinson leaving DC, Disney’s Big Hero 6 movie, Matt Fraction and Kelly Sue DeConnick’s t-shirts for charity and a run through the August solicitations. We’ve also got reviews of The Dream Merchant, Avengers: The Enemy Within and… well, something special, and The Official Handbook of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe is dressing for success. All this plus the Giraffe Wok, Avengers: Endless Breakfasttime and Doombots in pleather singing about crop rotation.

The podcast is here, or here on Mixcloud, or available via the player below. Let us know what you think, in the comments, on Twitter, via email or on our Facebook fan page.

And don’t forget, our t-shirts are on sale at our Redbubble store – look good, spread the word.

 

May 4

House to Astonish Episode 105

Posted on Saturday, May 4, 2013 by Al in Podcast

It’s Free Comic Book Day, and it’s also New House To Astonish Day – Paul and I have got a hefty slice of comicsy chat for you, with discussion of the closure of Comics Alliance, Valerie Gallaher’s departure from MTVGeek, the blacklisting of The Outhouse by DC and the cancellation of the B&B column at CBR, as well as the end of X-Factor, the return of Spider-Man 2099, the Battle of the Atom crossover, Aw Yeah Comics’ partnership with Thrillbent, the return of Shaolin Cowboy, Dark Horse’s new Hellboy projects and Alex de Campi’s Grindhouse. We’ve also got reviews of Jupiter’s Legacy, The Movement and Mister X: Eviction, and the Official Handbook of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe is having trouble getting over its ex. All this plus a hyperbolic chamber, the Best Dog award and all the scandals you never knew about DC Comics.

The podcast is here, or here on Mixcloud, or available via the embedded player below. Let us know what you think, in the comments below, on Twitter, via email or on our Facebook fan page.

Bear in mind that you can now get our range of super-swish T-shirts from Redbubble – tell people you’re a listener without actually having to tell them anything!

Apr 28

Housekeeping

Posted on Sunday, April 28, 2013 by Al in Podcast

Just a quick note to say that unfortunately we’re not going to have an episode of House to Astonish for you this week. We’ll hopefully be back with you soon, and we’ll keep you up to date with when you can expect our next dollop of comicsy chatter.

Apr 14

House to Astonish Episode 104

Posted on Sunday, April 14, 2013 by Al in Podcast

Even though it’s been a relatively quiet couple of weeks for comics news, we still somehow managed to put together an hour and three quarters of discussion of the Saga/Comixology shenanigans, the first transgender character in the New 52, the sad passing of Carmine Infantino and the July solicitations. We’ve also got reviews of Avengers Assemble AU, Batman and Invincible Universe, and the Official Handbook of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe is going swimmingly. All this plus Bob Harras’s trousers falling down, what AU really stands for and Marvel’s most confusingly numbered ongoing series.

The podcast is here, or here on Mixcloud, or available via the embedded player below. Let us know what you think, either in the comments below, through Twitter, via email or on our Facebook fan page.

Also, let’s not forget that we’ve got a new merchandise store, where you can get our super snazzy shirts. Check it out!

Apr 1

House to Astonish Episode 103

Posted on Monday, April 1, 2013 by Al in Podcast

We’re a few days late because of the Easter holiday, but we’ve got lots of chat for you this time round to make up for it. We’re talking about Angela joining the Marvel Universe, DC’s creative merry-go-round, Marvel’s new Avengers title, Jeff Parker’s Batman ’66, the return of Quantum & Woody, Marvel’s move into OGNs, Jim Rugg’s Supermag and various other bits and bobs. We’ve also got reviews of The Private Eye, Constantine and East of West, and the Official Handbook of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe is spreading like a viral infection. All this plus two dogs dressed as a pirate, DC’s new Thai green curry book and the Official Handbook of the Official Handbook of Smash Hits.

The podcast is here, or here on Mixcloud, or available via the embedded player below. Let us know what you think, in the comments below, on Twitter, via email or on our Facebook fan page.

Don’t forget we’ve also got our Redbubble store – making a fashion statement out of keeping your torso warm.

 

Mar 16

House to Astonish Episode 102

Posted on Saturday, March 16, 2013 by Al in Podcast

Bags of stuff to talk about this time round, with chat about Marvel’s SXSW announcements (and the fallout from their 700 Firsts  giveaway), Justice League of America‘s sales, the casting of Drax the Destroyer, the delay of the adjectiveless X-Men book, Afterlife with Archie, the closure of JManga and a quick trot through the June solicitiations. We’ve also got reviews of Lost Vegas, Aliens vs Parker and Age of Ultron, and the Official Handbook of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe is seeing other people’s lives flash before its eyes. All this plus War is Awesome, Captain America’s dramatic walk and the impracticalities of a Top Cat heist.

The podcast is here, or here on Mixcloud, or available through the embedded player below. We’re also on Stitcher.com or their free iOS and Android apps.

Don’t forget that we’ve also got a range of super-swanky T-shirts available at our Redbubble store – love comics, look cool.

Let us know what you think, in the comments, via email, through Twitter or on our Facebook fan page.

 

Mar 3

House to Astonish – The Alternate Titles

Posted on Sunday, March 3, 2013 by Al in Podcast

Anyone who heard me talk about it a few episodes back or seen the interview with me that went up on the Beat a little while back might remember that I recently discovered the scrap of paper on which I’d written the various names which I’d come up with for the podcast back before we launched.

Having made that list, Paul highlighted a half-dozen or so that he liked best, and we then picked one of those for the name of the podcast.

We figured it might be fun to let you see the full list – we meant to put it up for the hundredth but with everything else that was going on in that episode we totally forgot. So here it is! The ones in italics were the final six, with House to Astonish (obv) being the winner.

  • The Men Without Fear
  • House to Astonish
  • Secondary Mutation
  • Because You Demanded It
  • Heroes for the ’90s
  • Words and Pictures
  • Variant Edition [NB: we didn't realise at the time that this was already the name of a podcast]
  • The Team-Up You Demanded
  • Graphic Novelty
  • Motion Picture Funnies Weekly
  • The Fill-In Artists
  • Direct Edition
  • In This Issue… Someone Dies!
  • Secret Origin
  • Prestige Format
  • Four Panels
  • Digest Readers
  • Superman’s Pals Paul and Al
  • Squarebound
  • Deadly Hands of Comics
  • World’s Fannest
  • The Panel Show
  • Our Comics At War
  • The Shed of Ideas
  • Meanwhile, Across Town
  • Border Skirmishes
Mar 3

House to Astonish Episode 101

Posted on Sunday, March 3, 2013 by Al in Podcast

Following our 100th episode extravaganza, we’re back with a regular old-fashioned episode of House to Astonish, with discussion of the Pandora and Batman/Superman ongoings, the expansion of the Fables empire, the Brother Lono miniseries, Gail Simone’s Red Sonja, the death of Damian Wayne, the Unwritten OGN, the Larfleeze title, Monkeybrain’s  print distribution, IDW’s cartoon licenses, Columbia University’s acquisition of the Elfquest archives, the possibilities of Marvel Fist, the coming and going of WTF Month and Steven Sanders’s Symbiosis Kickstarter (it’s a busy couple of weeks). We’ve also got reviews of Five Weapons, Justice League of America and Nova, and the Official Handbook of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe is a master of spin. All this plus the DC New 52 Continuity Steerage Sub-Committee, a tasteless, odourless neurotoxin and a competently plumbed-in bathroom.

The podcast is here, or here on Mixcloud, or available via the player below. You can also listen to us via Stitcher.com or their iOS or Android apps, or get us on iTunes (where every review helps).

Don’t forget, you can also deck yourself out in some of our tasteful and stylish T-shirts by visiting our Redbubble store!

Let us know what you think, either in the comments below, via email, on Twitter or on our Facebook fan page.

 

Feb 21

Belarus.

Posted on Thursday, February 21, 2013 by Paul in Music, Podcast

I think, during the podcast, we mentioned the magnificently misjudged Belarussian Eurovision entry, “I Love Belarus”.  There’s kind of a protocol in Eurovision – humble and welcoming celebration of national culture, yes.  Full-bore patriotic flagwaving, no.  After all, you can’t vote for your own song.

Anyhow.  This be it.  Never has Belarus been more emphatically and catchily endorsed.  The WWE ought to give someone a Belarus gimmick just so they can use this as theme music.

 

Feb 17

House to Astonish Episode 100

Posted on Sunday, February 17, 2013 by Al in Podcast

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It’s finally here – the hundredth episode of House to Astonish!  We’re joined by Carrie Kennedy, Susi O’Brien, Stu West and Amal El-Mohtar to discuss topic suggested by friends, listeners and comics pros, encompassing digital comics, boycotts, the greatest comics out today, what Marvel would be like if they’d done right by Kirby, favourite superhero movies, reinventions of Marvel characters, the Eurovision Song Contest, pie, monkeys and what goes on inside the human stomach. We’ve got contributions from Reilly Brown, Jeff Lester of Wait, What?, Steve Morris of Comics Bulletin, Steven Sanders, Al Ewing, Rich Johnston of Bleeding Cool, Heidi MacDonald of the Beat, Alex de Campi, Michael Kupperman, Stephen Wacker, Antony Johnston, Kieron Gillen, Justin Jordan, Lauren Sankovitch, Andy Khouri and Andrew Wheeler of Comics Alliance, Brandon Graham and Emma Rios. All this plus cake, booze, an alcoholic with a spanner, Wolverine vs Montessori and Wong’s hash brownies in our longest ever episode (by 25 seconds).

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You’ll have noticed that we’ve had a spruce-up of our design – the immensely talented James Wendelborn has designed our new logos, and you may be pleased to learn that we’ve put those to good use already in our official House to Astonish Redbubble store – if you want to show the world your affinity for the show there’s now a way to do it! You can find it here – it’s the swankiest way to combine comics podcasting and sartorial excellence.

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The podcast is here, or here on Mixcloud, or available via the embedded player below. Let us know what you think of the show, either in the comments, on Twitter, by email on our Facebook fan page.

Thanks to everyone who’s contributed to the show or who’s enjoyed it so far – here’s to many more episodes.