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.

It’s crossover time, and Marvel’s Most Wanted are going to learn to play nice with other comics whether they want to or not. The Nefaria Protocols play out across Thunderbolts #s 43 and 44 and Avengers #s 33 and 34, and nothing will ever be the same again! Except almost everything actually will, but look, at least we get the perils of invisible furniture, regional Inhumans and Christopher Robin’s arch-enemy.

The episode is here, or available via the embedded player below. Let us know what you think in the comments, on Twitter (let’s be serious now) or Bluesky, via email or on our Facebook fan page, and if you’re not wearing one of our amazingly cool t-shirts while you’re listening then I’m afraid you’re technically in breach of the uniform code but it’s okay, we’ll cover for you with the brass while you get one.

What’s that coming over the hill, is it a podcast, is it a podcast? Yes, it is, and it’s also a music reference to a song that came out in 2006, so that’s some added value for you there at no additional cost. This time round, Paul and I are wishing Jeff Smith well in his recovery from cardiac arrest, and have chat for you about Tom Brevoot’s intra-Marvel move, the upcoming Sentry, Speed Force and Spider-Man: Reign 2 series, and the strange case of the possibly disappearing IDW Originals line. We’ve also got reviews of Uncanny Avengers and The Cull, and the Official Handbook of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe is a motley selection. All this plus the length of a day on Mars, a bit of unexpected format-breaking and a dog with its head stuck in a basketball.

The podcast is here, or available via the embedded player below. Let us know what you think, in the comments below, on Twitter (we are still calling it Twitter), Bluesky, via email or on our Facebook fan page, and look, if you’ve been holding off getting a House to Astonish t-shirt, you might want to do it now, not saying they’re going to be taken off Redbubble soon or anything, but you never know (they are not going to be taken off Redbubble soon but you should definitely get one anyway).

The mystery of Scourge deepens while Atlas gets drunk, and we look at Thunderbolts issues 40-42 (with a brief detour into Avengers 32 for good measure) and the T-Bolts begin the twisty, turny climb towards issue 50. It’s all go around here!

The podcast is here, or available via the player below. Let us know what you think, in the comments, on Twi… *sigh*, X, via email or on our Facebook fan page. And a shirt? Might we interest you? Very chic!

We’re back (back! Back!) with more comics chat, remembering John Romita Sr and Ian McGinty, talking about #ComicsBrokeMe, Image moving distribution to Lunar, Marvel and DC’s upcoming launches and Ram V and Felipe Andrade’s Rare Flavours. We’re also reviewing Void Rivals and Ultimate Invasion, and the Official Handbook of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe is the O.G. All this plus Monty Python’s flying robots, passive drowning and a guest appearance by Roger McGough.

The episode is here, or available via the embedded player below. Let us know what you think, in the comments, on Twitter, via email or on our Facebook fan page. And t-shirts? Well, now you come to ask about it, I’m sure we have some of them over at our Redbubble store, let me just check

It’s time for another electrifying set of issues of Marvel’s most wanted superteam, the Thunderbolts, as we look at Thunderbolts Annual 2000, as well as Thunderbolts #38 and #39. Scourges! Hellstroms! Citizens V! It’s very much all go, as the storyline begun in issue 34 continues along its twisty-turny path.

The episode can be found here, or via the embedded player below. Let us know what you think, in the comments, via email, on Twitter or Mastodon, or on our Facebook fan page! And do you know what would really bring out your eyes? A House to Astonish T-shirt. It’s true!

Somehow it’s taken us four months to put out a regular format episode of House to Astonish, but we’re here now, and we’re remembering Al Jaffee and Rachel Pollack, talking about all the upcoming Fall of X and Knight Terrors books, enjoying Mark Waid’s mini-renaissance at DC and dissecting the digital drops of DSTLRY. We’re also reviewing The Great British Bump-Off and Guardians of the Galaxy and the Official Handbook of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog. All this plus Slovakia’s Finest Punctuation Marks, Woolverine and a mincemeat omelette.

You can get the podcast here, or 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. And hey! You! You over there, without a t-shirt! You know what would solve your problem about not having a t-shirt? A t-shirt!

It’s a whole new era for Marvel’s Most Wanted as our reread of Thunderbolts enters the Fabian Nicieza era, looking at issues 34-37. The team comes face to face with someone who’s either a new enemy or an old friend (or possibly both) as the tale of the new Beetle wraps up and the Scourge saga begins!

The podcast is here, 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 remember, a t-shirt isn’t just stylish, it’s just plain old common sense.