Who is Humus Sapien? If you don’t know, we can help you with that! We’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! There’s people dying of asterisks and a krill-filled moustache! Comics!

The episode is here, or available via the player below. Let us know what you think, in the comments below, on Bluesky, via email or on our Facebook fan page. And you can get a very handsome House to Astonish t-shirt over here, in this other bit of the internet.

It’s been a few weeks, but we’re back, and we’ve got a full basket of comics news which we’re dispensing left, right and centre. This time round, we’re remembering Don Perlin and Peter B. Gillis, looking at Jeff Lemire’s Minor Arcana, the finales of Jupiter’s Legacy and Marvel’s Star Wars, and the new Blade: Red Band mini, chatting through the ends of Zeb Wells and John Romita Jr’s run on Amazing Spider-Man and Joshua Williamson’s runs on Green Arrow and Batman and Robin, and drawing your attention to the Wicked & the Divine‘s covers collection Kickstarter. We’ve also got reviews of Destro and Self-Help, and the Official Handbook of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe belongs in a museum. All this plus Blade: Special Vampires Unit, an alien goth and Spider-Man’s 1980s toy restoration hobby.

The episode is here, or available via the embedded player below. Let us know what you think, in the comments, on Bluesky, via email or on our Facebook fan page. And if you don’t have a House to Astonish t-shirt by now, then God, Jed, I don’t even wanna know you.

And now for something… slightly different. This time round, we’re stepping 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.

The podcast is here, or available via the embedded player below. Let us know what you think, in the comments below, via email, on Bluesky or on our Facebook fan page, and if you haven’t got a House to Astonish t-shirt, why not treat yourself? You deserve it.

We’re 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. We’ve also got reviews of Action Comics and Uncanny Valley and the Official Handbook of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe All this plus a utility cry-shoulder, A Different Murderworld and Wolverine’s favourite herd of elephants.

The show is here, or available via the embedded player below. Let us know what you think, in the comments, on Bluesky, via email or on our Facebook fan page. And do you deserve one of our lovely t-shirts? Yes, yes you do.

It’s a brave new world for the Thunderbolts, as they try to readjust to civilian life… or, in the case of some, to adjust to being bossed around by Captain America as part of the Redeemers. We say hello to new regular penciler Patrick Zircher, as well as to the continuity transplants from the Heroes Reborn universe, as they look at issues 51 and 52 of Thunderbolts, as well as the Thunderbolts: Life Sentences oneshot. Join us as we explore the questions of who is the 19th best telepath in the Marvel Universe, where can you find the most racist electrical goods store in America, and how badly a 1990s comics character can lacerate himself with his own costume.

The podcast is here, or available via the embedded player below. Let us know what you think in the comments, on Bluesky, via email or on our Facebook fan page. And do you know what John Cena could have done with at the Oscars last night? That’s right. A swell t-shirt. Or at least, I’m guessing he could have, I didn’t actually see him.

Merry Chri… er… Happy New Y… um… Happy February? Welcome to the joint 15th anniversary and end of year wrap-up episode of House to Astonish, as Paul and I chat through the news of the past few weeks, including Blood Hunt‘s polybagged “Red Band” editions, Jason Aaron taking on the relaunched Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the 40th anniversary of Usagi Yojimbo and Criminal coming to Amazon Prime. On top of that, we have the 2023 Homies awards, where we (and you) give our picks of the best things we read last year, and the complete audio of the SILENCE! To Astonish panel from November 2023’s Thought Bubble festival. All this plus Alan Sugar action figures, being turned evil by a bop on the head with a bowling ball, and every comic character who is legally not Captain Marvel. There’s almost too much here! Don’t eat it all at once!

The episode is available here, or through the embedded player below. Let us know what you think, in the comments below, on Bluesky or (I guess) Twitter, via email or on our Facebook fan page. And look, if you don’t already know how good you would look in a House to Astonish t-shirt, I don’t know how much more I can emphasise that fact.

It’s anniversary time, as we mark the 15th turn round the sun of House to Astonish by briefly mourning the original episode we recorded for the occasion and lost in a computer disaster, before moving on to another anniversary in the form of issue 50 (and 48 and 49) of Thunderbolts, from 2001. It’s the end of the Scourge story, the return of Jolt, and time to bid a fond farewell to Mark Bagley. It’s all go! Come and join us, why don’t you?

The episode is here. or available via the player below. Let us know what you think, in the comments, on Bluesky, via email or on our Facebook fan page, and don’t forget – it’s likely nobody has bought you a House to Astonish t-shirt for Christmas, so you have all the more reason to buy one for yourself. And don’t forget to let us know what the best comic you read all year was in the 2023 Homies awards, just one post below this one!

It’s December, and that can only mean one thing – it’s time for endless Hallmark Christmas movies!

But if it could mean two things, and we’re not saying it could, but just imagine… it would also mean it was time for the 2023 Homies awards!

As always, we want to hear from you about what floated your boat this year. But this time round, there’s a twist – rather than give you a long list of categories, we’re concentrating on the comics we read that really did it for us. We simply want you to tell us:

What was the best comic you read all year, and why?

It could be a new release, it could be a relaunch, it could be another great year for a reliable ongoing. It could be a majestic miniseries or a great graphic novel, an incredible indie or a brilliant Big Two book. We’ll be reading them out on the show, so let us know what you dug and what about it made it so special for you.

Annnnnd… GO!

The Thunderbolts are on a collision course with Scourge (and issue 50), but right now they’ve got to deal with Moonstone’s identity crisis, the Battle of Techno’s Ear and the arrival of Genis-Vell, as we look at issues 45-47 from the turn of the millennium. Plus Cybergoth Santa, the Titanian Smurfs and the concept of Pink Pavements crossovers.

The podcast is here, or available via the embedded player below. Let us know what you think, in the comments, on BlueSky or Twitter, via email or on our Facebook fan page, and there’s always our Redbubble store if you feel underdressed and are happy to wait a couple of weeks for that to be remedied.

Paul and I have a whirlwind recap of news from NYCC for your enjoyment this time round, as we look at the “faux-simile” Batman 428; John Constantine, Hellblazer: Dead in America; the Superman Superstars initiative; the formation of Ghost Machine; Avengers: Twilight; the Blood Hunt crossover; the creative teams of the new Ultimate line; and the end of the Krakoan era, as well as taking the time to remember Keith Giffen. We’ve got reviews of Batman: City of Madness and Midlife (How to Hero at Fifty), and the Official Handbook of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe is standing tall on the wings of its dream.

The podcast is here, or available via the embedded player below. Let us know what you think, in the comments, on Twitter or Bluesky, via email or on our Facebook fan page, and if you haven’t got yourself a lovely HtA t-shirt for use in keeping yourself warm/cool (delete as applicable dependent on hemisphere) then there’s no time like the present, so give yourself a present.