2009 Book 39: Superman Brainiac
Superman Brainiac by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank, isbn 9781401220877, 128 pages, DC Comics, $19.95
I've only recently gotten re-interested in the Superman comics enough to start reading them on a monthly basis again. Part of that re-kindling of interest was due to Geoff Johns "Last Son" collaboration with Richard Donner and Adam Kubert, and his "Legion of Super-Heroes" collaboration with Gary Frank. This "Brainiac" story was the last main story I did not read in monthly form, so I figured I'd pick it up and fill in the gap.
It's a decent story, with very good art by Frank, whose style does seem to have mutated a bit since his days on The Incredible Hulk. Not a bad mutation, but (unless this is the work of the inker, of course) it seems a bit rougher around the edges, a bit less polished.
Johns pays about some lip-service to the incarnations of Brainiac that have appeared in the Superman comics since the John Byrne-led relaunch in the late 80s; many of those versions were not only somewhat inconsistent with each other, they were also inconsistent with the classic version of Brainiac ... the one who stole the city of Kandor from Krypton and shrunk it into a glass jar. Lip-service is about all Johns can pay (basically, they were all somewhat independent extensions of the "real" Brainiac) without bogging his own story down reconciling the past Brainiacs. And reconciling is not what this story is about -- returning the "real" Brainiac, and the Bottle City of Kandor, to Superman continuity (as Johns did earlier with the Phantom Zone and the Legion of Super-Heroes). Moves I heartily applaud.
The return of supporting characters Cat Grant (now an over-compensating (both physically and personality-wise) gossip columnist) and sports reporter / practical joker Steve Lombard don't necessarily click in this story. Both characters have been gone from the mythos for ages and replaced by other Daily Planet staffers (Ron Troupe, for one). In fact, this seems to be Lombard's first reappearance since the Crisis on Infinite Earths allowed Byrne, Wolfman and Co to restart Superman's continuity. Lombard seems mostly a "wouldn't it be cool to bring him back even though we don't have enough room to develop the supporting characters we already have" addition; Grant seems to be back just for the sake of adding another large-chested woman cause Lois grief (and Supergirl as well, apparently).
Johns and Frank also reintroduced another classic Superman moment to the character's history, towards the end of the story. It felt slightly tacked on, although reading back through the entire story you can see that Johns planted the seeds for it early on. It definitely is a moment to rock this particular Superman's world and get him emotionally off-kilter for upcoming storylines.
It's a good story, and as I said I applaud the move to bring more of the Silver Age Superman I grew up with back into the character.
I've only recently gotten re-interested in the Superman comics enough to start reading them on a monthly basis again. Part of that re-kindling of interest was due to Geoff Johns "Last Son" collaboration with Richard Donner and Adam Kubert, and his "Legion of Super-Heroes" collaboration with Gary Frank. This "Brainiac" story was the last main story I did not read in monthly form, so I figured I'd pick it up and fill in the gap.
It's a decent story, with very good art by Frank, whose style does seem to have mutated a bit since his days on The Incredible Hulk. Not a bad mutation, but (unless this is the work of the inker, of course) it seems a bit rougher around the edges, a bit less polished.
Johns pays about some lip-service to the incarnations of Brainiac that have appeared in the Superman comics since the John Byrne-led relaunch in the late 80s; many of those versions were not only somewhat inconsistent with each other, they were also inconsistent with the classic version of Brainiac ... the one who stole the city of Kandor from Krypton and shrunk it into a glass jar. Lip-service is about all Johns can pay (basically, they were all somewhat independent extensions of the "real" Brainiac) without bogging his own story down reconciling the past Brainiacs. And reconciling is not what this story is about -- returning the "real" Brainiac, and the Bottle City of Kandor, to Superman continuity (as Johns did earlier with the Phantom Zone and the Legion of Super-Heroes). Moves I heartily applaud.
The return of supporting characters Cat Grant (now an over-compensating (both physically and personality-wise) gossip columnist) and sports reporter / practical joker Steve Lombard don't necessarily click in this story. Both characters have been gone from the mythos for ages and replaced by other Daily Planet staffers (Ron Troupe, for one). In fact, this seems to be Lombard's first reappearance since the Crisis on Infinite Earths allowed Byrne, Wolfman and Co to restart Superman's continuity. Lombard seems mostly a "wouldn't it be cool to bring him back even though we don't have enough room to develop the supporting characters we already have" addition; Grant seems to be back just for the sake of adding another large-chested woman cause Lois grief (and Supergirl as well, apparently).
Johns and Frank also reintroduced another classic Superman moment to the character's history, towards the end of the story. It felt slightly tacked on, although reading back through the entire story you can see that Johns planted the seeds for it early on. It definitely is a moment to rock this particular Superman's world and get him emotionally off-kilter for upcoming storylines.
It's a good story, and as I said I applaud the move to bring more of the Silver Age Superman I grew up with back into the character.