Book Review: Superman: Brainiac by G. Johns et al.

Superman: Brainiac written by Geoff Johns, pencilled by Gary Frank, and inked by Jon Sibal

After a harrowing account of an attack on Krypton during which the city of Kandor is stolen, the story jumps to modern day Earth. A Daily Planet staff meeting is cut short when Clark Kent leaves to investigate a crashing space probe. As Superman, he discovers the probe is from Brainiac, an alien intelligence that has pestered him on and off through the years. The probe does nothing more than confirm Superman is Kryptonian--then it shuts down. Superman takes the probe to the Fortress of Solitude where he and Supergirl analyze it to find out why it came. Supergirl has memories of the Kandorian attack (which was Brainiac's work) and is frightened by the prospect of facing him. She's also scared of Brainiac doing to Earth what he did to Krypton. Superman decides to take the fight to Brainiac. He reverse-engineers the probe's guidance system to find where Brainiac is. He leaves without telling Supergirl so she does not have to face her childhood terror. Superman discovers more than he bargained for and, naturally, Brainiac has discovered Earth and does threaten it. So Supergirl isn't off the hook.

The story does a great job pulling in different aspects of Superman's mythology, combining them in a new and interesting way. The dialog is very well-written, blending comedy, exposition, and drama effortlessly. Brainiac is a fascinating villain and makes a nice foil to Superman. A few bits of the plot don't make sense, but not enough to drag the story down.

Recommended.