Story Line: Braniac Part 1
Date: June 11th 2008
Price: 2.99
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Gary Frank

Synopsis: Superstar artist Gary Frank returns as the new world of Superman for 2008 and beyond begins in Part 1 of “Brainiac”! Decades ago, Krypton went to war with Brainiac, a cold and callous alien obsessed with the control of knowledge. Superman believes he’s faced Brainiac before, but he’s about to learn the truth behind his close encounters as he heads down the road to his greatest triumph…and greatest tragedy.

Opinion: Geoff Johns continues to widen the gap between the best of DC comics (those written by him) and the rest of DC’s comics (those written by everyone else). Johns and Frank bring a freshness and excitement to Superman that hasn’t been seen since John Byrne rewrote big blue’s origin in the early 80’s. Unlike Byrne, Johns has a healthy respect for the Superman mythos to match his his creativity and writing talent. Much like his recent Legion of Superheroes storyline, Johns gives us glances of the past where he sets the stage for the Brainiac storyline. It’s Johns encyclopedic knowledge of the DCU that give his story lines weight and importance which are two major aspects that seem to be lacking in most DC comics as of late.

Click through the jump to see the rest of my review!

Page one opens on Krypton 35-years-ago in the midst of a Brainiac invasion. Generally when a comic starts with a flashback the rest of the story can be a let down. This is due to the fact that the stakes are usually very low. For example: when we see a flashback showing us established characters in peril in the past, if those same characters are still running around today it’s safe to say that after this story line everything was fine. Right? Wrong. This where Johns shines. The spread on page two will be more than enough to pull you into Supes’ latest continuity clarifying storyline. I use the word “clarifying” because that’s what Johns does. Unlike other clunky writers that tend to interject their ideas into characters back-stories to force their plots upon readers, Johns gracefully weaves his stories into established continuity. This latest storyline centers around the final fate of the city of Kandor. I have to say I’ve never really understood or cared about the Bottle city of Kandor but If I trust anyone to to clear things up and tell an amazing story about it, it’s Geoff Johns. In his last storyline Johns made the League of Substitute Heroes look cool so Brainiac and Kandor should be no problem. Hell, I bet he could give me goosebumps with a Beppo the Super-monkey story.

While John’s writing is top-notch it’s Gary Frank’s pencils that are the star of Action #866. I have never personally considered Brainiac to be one of Superman’s scariest villains but after page two Gary Frank establishes that we’ve never seen him like this before. Think tentacled robot sentinels of the Matrix trilogy meets 1980’s chrome Brainiac. Frank also has the ability to make a full page splash of a Christopher Reeves inspired Clark Kent pulling his button down shirt open to reveal the Superman S not only seem fresh but smile inducing.

If you are going to spend money on a DC comic I would highly recommend you look for Geoff Johns name on the cover. Between his Green Lantern, JSA, and Action Comics you cannot go wrong. Superman fans rejoice, you hero is in good hands.

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