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 we thought.

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 of a new generation.

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 answers to two of these questions right here, true believer!

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 and a smattering of other little newsy nuggets, and once that's all done there's also reviews of Endeavour and DC K.O. to chew over. The Official Handbook of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: not even once.

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 Handbook of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe tremble with antici