Action Comics #869

It's a great time to be a fan of Superman!

This week alone, we have two outstanding comics both starring the Man of Steel - All Star Superman (which was reviewed here) and now Action Comics. (And next we get the latest chapter in James Robinson's Superman - but that's another review).

Hiding behind the deceptively serene cover, we find the Earth being attacked by Brainiac, one of Superman's most underrated villains - until now.

It brings me full circle, because one of the first Superman stories I read when I was young was a reprint in an Annual of his first battle with Brainiac. Here was an alien protected by a force field that even Superman couldn't break (he even tried throwing a few giant asteroids at it). It was rare for Superman to face a villain who could stand up to his physical powers, and I was fascinated.

After the Crisis on Infinite Earths led to a reboot of Superman's opponents, Brainiac appeared in numerous guises - everything from a carnival worker to a deadly robot, and no doubt several others I missed along the way.

Geoff Johns recently took over the helm at Action Comics, and his first order of business seems to be cleaning up loose ends and reinventing Superman's world so it makes more sense. He reintroduced the Legion of Super-heroes to modern continuity, and now he's cleaning up the mess that is Brainiac's backstory.

The new Brainiac is more menacing and deadly than ever before, and is finally - again - a worthy adversary. He can stand up to Superman physically and is (perhaps) his superior mentally.

This story expands Superman's world even further, and reintroduces some long-missing and much missed story elements, which I won't spell out for you, since that would ruin the fun. Best of all, it's one of those stories where you wonder, how can Superman win this fight?

I also want to give high marks to artist Gary Frank, who's turning in some excellent work here. His art has a great edge of realism to it, and he manages to capture perfectly both the small things, such as the emotions of the characters (see Supergirl's fear on page 3, her anger on page 13, and Superman's anger on page 9, and his delight on page 10). He also excels at the big events, such as the shot of Brainiac towering over a shrunken city.

An outstanding story is unfolding here, and it's one that will apparently affect Superman's stories for years to come. If you haven't been reading this title, you're missing out on a big new beginning for the biggest name in comics. Highly recommended!

Grade: A-