Brainiac (story arc)

Infobox comics story arc
title=Brainiac


caption=Cover art to Action Comics #866. Art by Gary Frank.
publisher=DC Comics
date = June 2008 - October 2008
titles= "Action Comics" #866-870
notable=y
main_char_team = Superman
Brainiac
writers = Geoff Johns
artists = Gary Frank
pencillers=
inkers=
letterers=
colorists=
TPB=
ISBN=
cat=Superman
sortkey=Braniac
nonUS=

"Brainiac" is the name of a comic book story arc from DC Comics by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank being published monthly in "Action Comics". The story features Superman facing a reimagined form of longtime foe Brainiac. This story, as well as James Robinson's first arc on "Superman" featuring Atlas, will lead to their planned "link" on "Action Comics", "Superman", and "Supergirl" as part of their collective plans for Superman and his cast of characters through 2008 and beyond.

ummary

Background

Writer Geoff Johns began talking about his "Brainiac" story following the conclusion of "Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes". In regards to the story, and his take on Brainiac, Johns mentioned how "Brainiac is as physical as he is mental in the way we are going to portray him. There is a reason that Brainiac became such an important villain to Superman. He’s the alien that Superman isn’t." In regards to the revamp itself, Johns wants the character's reintroduction to be handled in a very different way, taking everything into account that’s happened before, but pushing the disturbing angle further into a direction of horror.

Another thing that Johns wanted to explore was the dichotomy between Brainiac and Superman, similar to how he handled the relationship between General Zod and Superman in "". "While we are remembering what makes him a classic villain, there are also a lot of new facets to Brainiac. And what’s Brainiac’s M.O. and what his ultimate goal? Where he’s going? We need to find these things out because he will be a big player in the Superman books from here on out as long, as I am on the book." [http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=15836 Comic Book Resources > CBR News: INFINITE GEOFF JOHNS II: Action Comics ] ]

Uniting "Action", "Superman", and "Supergirl"

In the months before Johns started his "Brainiac" arc, and James Robinson took over writing duties on "Superman", both Johns and Robinson had made clear their plans for the "Superman"-related titles following those arcs for the rest of 2008 onto the end of 2010. The plan is to link the three "Super"-books ("Action Comics", "Superman", and "Supergirl"), allowing them to cross over more fluidly on a regular basis, allowing the narratives to be tied together similar to a bi-weekly series.

According to Johns, the plan is to make readers want to get the "Super"-titles because they would feel that "you HAVE to read, that you WANT to read". Robinson also added that even though he nor Johns would be writing "Supergirl", they still made it clear that they were still the advisors to the book's next ongoing writer Sterling Gates. [ [http://www.wizarduniverse.com/060608robinsoninterview.html James Robinson: Superman : Comics ] ] Gates, coming onto the "Supergirl" title with issue #34, has stated his intention of working with Johns and Robinson, stating:

"What we hope to achieve is to make these three comics the most kick-ass books that DC puts out. The Superman legacy and the Superman books are so important, and the three of us are interested in pulling people into the Superman universe so hard that people look forward to picking up a Superman or Supergirl book every week." [ [http://www.newsarama.com/comics/080627-WWCSupergirlteam.html Newsarama.Com : Wwc-Gates And Igle Named As Supergirl Team ] ]

Recall

The penultimate issue of the series, "Action Comics" #869, was recalled at the retailer level by DC Comics for cover content. The original cover depicted Superman, in civilian attire with his 'S' shield clearly visible, and his adoptive father outside the Kent farmhouse apparently sharing a beer.

DC issued a statement to retailers that the issue was recalled, and that any copies featuring the original cover be destroyed. The next week, DC reprinted the issue featuring a cover in which the label on the bottle was changed to read, "soda pop." This was the second such instance of censorship invoked by DC that month, the first plaguing issue #10 of Frank Miller and Jim Lee's "All Star Batman and Robin" for insufficient censorship of profanity within the issue.

Regardless of the efforts of DC and the distributors, copies of "Action" #869 featuring the original cover got out and can be purchased online on sites such as eBay. [http://www.cohguru.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13415]

References

External links

* [http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=15836 Geoff Johns talks about the "Brainiac" arc at Comic Book Resources]

ee also