Dan Liebke's Astonishing Tales

Three issues of careful scene-setting and precision superhero plotting has laid the groundwork for this, a 48-page non-stop shitfight. There’s a couple of pages to skim over first with Krona yak-yak-yak’ing about how he’s going to destroy both the Marvel and DC Universes in exchange for ultimate knowledge of the universe (and, no doubt, some [...]

Issue Three of this epic crossover is zaniness from start to finish. And, of course, vice versa. It starts with a little bit of uncontrolled universe-hopping. The JLA and the Avengers keep zapping back and forth between their respective universes, each time partying at satellites or mansions or underwater sea fortresses or Russell Brand’s sex [...]

As with all sensible non-showpony storytelling, Issue Two of this tale picks up straight where Issue One ended, namely with the Avengers and the JLA ready for some serious smackdown time. Oh, sure, there was a bit of a prologue with Krona and The Grandmaster, but I, like most sane comic book readers, skipped straight [...]

The team-up several decades in the making is finally here. Where ‘finally here’ means ‘back in 2003′. But, hey, I’m renowned for my scholarly analysis, not my timeliness. So here’s my recap a scant six years or so later. It’s a story of the team-up of the greatest heroes of two comic book companies, written [...]

Your average comic book reader might think that a Crisis on Infinite Earths was bad news. CRISIS!! Replicated infinitely on every imaginable Earth (including an Earth where Khloe Kardashian is both U.S. President and reigning American Idol winner)!! Could such a devastating tragedy ever be topped? Naive Answer: Of course it can’t be topped. That’s [...]

Okay. As the title suggests, this is the finale of the Infinite Crisis series. Because, in the DC Universe, even the infinite has an end. Take that, maths nerds! We start with Supes, Bats, Golden Age Supes, Wonder Woman, Power Girl and the rest all upset about Superboy being totally dead. Luckily, before we can [...]

All rightey then. Racing to a conclusion now. Which seems to make sense with only two issues to go. Here in the penultimate issue, it’s all about the fighting. Ahhhh, fighting. Where would the comic book industry be without it? Frankly, if you don’t have an assorted variety of garishly dressed superhumans embroiled in an [...]

We open at a prayer ceremony led by Zauriel, who, it just so happens, is a frickin’ angel! You’ve got to admit, if you’re going to have a church service, then that’s the way to go about it. It’s still not enough to keep Hal ‘No Manners’ Jordan entertained – too little brawling, too much [...]

Okay, the fourth issue starts as only the very best comic book stories do – namely with radioactive toxic poisoning on a city-wide scale. Hell yeah! The city in question is Bludhaven (city motto: ‘Bludhaven – why let Gotham have all the crime?)’ and the toxic poisoning? Why, that arises, obviously enough, from a supervillain [...]

The third issue opens, awesomely, with senseless fisticuffs. That giant, omnipotent, unleashed force of chaotic magic, The Spectre, is laying waste to Captain Fish-Head and the rest of Atlantis (presumably he heard the phrase ’shooting fish in a barrel’ and decided to give it a whirl). Elsewhere, thousands and thousands of OMACs are swarming all [...]