I can't save this one for "The End" of the year? Aw, shoot.

Out in the garage I still have a small bin of orphan Build-a-Figure/Collect-n-Connect pieces, including several of Imperiex. Who we don't really see this time, except as a big ball of energy, at an increasingly crowded event in the DC Universe--even more crowded than this crossover event! From 2001, Action Comics #782, "Trial by Fire" Written by Joe Kelly, pencils by Kano, inks by Marlo Alquiza. (I didn't scan it, but there's a big "The End" on the cover!)

This was not-quite the big finish to the "Our Worlds At War" storyline, which is sadly probably best remembered for ending just before 9-11. So, there was some imagery of Luthor's wrecked twin towers that was just badly timed; and a lot of mourning for a bunch of characters who were killed over the course of OWaW: Aquaman, Hippolyta, Sam Lane, General Rock (if he was real) and the Kents...I think Steel and Guy Gardner both got it, too; but only some Superman regular antagonists like Massacre and Maxima stayed dead. (Justice for Maxima!) But, in this chapter, having flown through the sun to juice his powers up, Superman was headed at Imperiex like a bullet. Imperiex was already done, though, having been taken over by Brainiac-13. Back on earth, with General Zod seemingly there in an observer status, Lex Luthor was preparing to use his daughter Lena, to fire his LexCorp towers at Brainiac-13, but the computerized villain steals Lena away first, leaving Lex without a trigger for his weapon. Superman arrives, seemingly with nothing but death and destruction on his mind...

A bunch of events occur, only some of which maybe are seen in other comics: Wonder Woman helps Darkseid use Tempest (Aqualad!) and the Amazons to focus energy through Steel's "Entropy Aegis" armor, while Lex plugs Jimmy Olsen into his tower weapon. But, Imperiex appears to Superman, wanting him to destroy Warworld and Brainiac-13, so he would be released to return. Instead, Superman pushes Warworld back into position, while the Martian Manhunter co-ordinates the new plan with everyone: throwing Warworld, Brainiac-13, and Imperiex back to the big bang. Superman escapes back to the present with Lena, while Imperiex realizes the imperfection he always hated in the universe was actually himself.

With Lena seemingly de-aged back to a baby, Superman returns her to President Luthor, saying this was a second chance for him. (Which he'd doubtless blow, I have no idea what happened to that kid...) Darkseid returns home, since even Apokolips had suffered greatly giving cheap heat in battle against Imperiex. 

 I think they were trying to get across that Superman, being Superman, would have a better answer to Super-war than Super-murder; but I'm pretty sure if you get blowed up at the Big Bang you're still Super-Dead. Also, why don't we see the traditional giant hand you're not supposed to see, or Damage from Zero Hour there? The Big Bang is crowded in the DC Universe...We saw the wrap-up issue World's Finest: Our Worlds at War #1 like ten years back; but looking him up, about the only other thing Imperiex ever appeared in was the last season of the Legion of Super-Heroes cartoon. With a simplified design; that outfit was busy.

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80-Page Thursdays: DC Special Series #5!

Or, as the cover puts it, Superman Spectacular! From 1977, "The Second Coming of Superman!" Written by Cary Bates, with an assist from Marin Pasko, based on an idea by John Lamartine; pencils by Curt Swan, inks by Vince Colletta.

The cover says it's an 80-pager, but the title page puts the lie to that immediately, describing it as "an all-new, 63-page epic starring the amazing Man of Steel!" Which might've been the longest single-issue Superman story to date, but it goes in a more unusual direction than the cover--featuring Brainiac and Luthor congratulating each other over Superman's body--would lead you to believe. It's Superman Day in Metropolis, and the usual supporting cast--Lois, Jimmy, Perry, Steve Lombard and Morgan Edge--are part of the parade, having made bets on what Clark's lame excuse for no-showing would be. But, there's a strange visitor to the city: an alien girl, with unusual eyes, and a somewhat familiar-looking S-shaped necklace, which glows as the big man approaches. While Superman races through the sun on his return flight to earth, an earthquake strikes, knocking the head off a massive Superman statue, which nearly crushes some onlookers. Supes arrives in the nick, launching the head of the statue into the ocean--where it lands near Lori Lemaris's Atlantis, which donated it to the surface!

As Lois and everyone chat with Superman--and badmouth Clark a bit--the strange girl feels they aren't showing the proper deference, and uses some invisible power to force them to kneel. We then see, in flashback to the previous day, the Atlanteans sending the Superman statue, as a small UFO passes by, with a pilot with unusual eyes, who is giddy that "the sacred scriptures" were coming to pass. He lands at an island in the Pacific, Quorxa, an alien city protected by a "vibratory shroud" making it invisible. Although, they had a recent visitor, that they were keeping under lock and key...They also had some unusual weather problems, which I wonder if they weren't caused by the vibratory shroud, since "thunder-bomb storms" don't sound normal. Also somewhat abnormal: the giant grotesque Superman effigy "Sonzrr" that protects the city. When the alien pilot delivers his news, he feels they had been worshipping a fraud; but the girl is a true believer: Sonzrr was an idol, in their savior's likeness. Not a true believer: Quorxa's visitor, none other than Lex Luthor! With a teleporting device microscopically implanted in his head, Lex helps himself to their "grkom," or "bible," then heads out to find a translator...

The Quorxans had been on earth over a hundred million years ago, and so was Superman--on a time-travelling visit, anyway. He investigates a mysterious "water-volcano", that was launching millions of tons of material into space, then generates a colossal monster, while draining his power! The psuedo-science explanation involves ectoplasm and prana, so it's more suspect than usual; but Superman had to let himself by swallowed by the monster created from his own imagination so he could re-absorb his own life-essence. Sure. Two Quorxans had witnessed the whole thing, which inexplicably left their people immortal, which led over the centuries, "fascination became infatuation! Puzzlement became blind faith!" Brainiac translates the grkom for a bemused Luthor, who has discovered the ore expelled by the water-volcano was what changed the Quorxans, but could be of a different use for them.

Disguised as a human, the alien girl follows Clark around, wondering why the savior would change clothes and hang around the humans, but they had a version of "the Lord works in mysterious ways" too, and she was open enough to accept humans as his children as much as the Quorxans were. On the other hand, when Steve Lombard tries to splash Clark from his new sports car; that sacrilege will not stand, and she launches him nearly into space! Superman has to make a difficult rescue, which involves saving a popped hot air balloon on the way; but Steve is left sunburned like a lobster. The alien girl realizes she might've gone too far; but then gets a message from home: a Quorxan had died, and others were sick. They need Sonzrr, so Ryla introduces herself, which involves a giant glowing 'S.' Superman has to duck out at super-speed, grab her, and heat-vision the 'S,' before she outs him as Clark. She isn't sure why her god doesn't recognize her, and Superman is quick to tell her, he wasn't a god. But, being Superman, he was still willing to help, so Ryla uses her tech to send them tunnelling at incredible speed through the earth! (Which had caused the earthquake earlier when she arrived!)

The weakened and desperate Quorxans beg 'Sonzrr' to save them, holding up their little glowing crucifix-like 'S's, while Superman tries to figure out what they were on about, but is interrupted by the return of the water-volcano. Concentrating against ectoplasmic drain, Superman thinks he can wrap it up easily enough, but catches a little chin-music first: a Lex Luthor power-glove punch, followed by Brainiac's force field protecting the water-volcano. Oh, and they had set up a jammer, so the ectoplasmic drain was in full effect! The Quorxans watch with a mixture of dread, rapture, and confusion; as the volcano spits chunks of that ore on their island, rejuvenating them. But Superman has a battle on three fronts, since if the water-volcano continued, it could hollow out earth completely...!

After bouncing some rocks off Brainiac into Luthor, the power-drain on Superman becomes critical, and he loses even flight. As Brainiac holds him up by the cape, Luthor blasts Superman with his power glove, launching him to the shores of Quorxa. They then turn off the water-volcano, a good 15 seconds before it would've damaged the planet beyond repair: their science had figured that one out beforehand. But Luthor is then surprised by a mysterious, glowing device; that seems to have absorbed a lot of power...The Quorxans lament the death of their god, as they receive a final, bad sign: their glowing 'S's, have all gone black. Meanwhile, the Luthor/Brainiac team has hit one of their trademark rough patches, as Brainiac has Lex in a headlock, and was going to use the energy siphoned from Superman, to power his shrinking ray: he would now have the power to shrink entire worlds for study. (What Brainiac was trying to discover or learn from shrunken worlds is unclear, although he apparently gets a kick out of it as well.)

The Quorxans had returned to their city, leaving only Ryla mourning over the fallen Superman. But he wasn't quite done yet: he had realized their 'S's had been draining his power already, and had to reabsorb it, which is why they had gone black. He also had been able to hear Brainiac boasting to Lex, and was able to rally enough to beat the shrinking ray into space and retake his power from that, then lay down a mighty thumping on them. Witnessed only by Ryla, who writes a new book of the Quorxans' scripture...

The Quorxans were never seen again after this one, but they weren't even the only invisible city on pre-Crisis earth, were they? Gorilla City, Paradise Island, Nanda Parbat...there's probably a half-dozen more. Also, I didn't immediately recognize it from the cover, but I'd read this one before, in the Best of DC #59 digest, which has a cover playing up Sonzrr and the god angle. That one also features "Let My People Grow!" So I had read this one years ago, which might explain why I'm fine with it, even if I find the Christ-imagery in the later Superman movies incredibly heavy-handed.

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I'd schedule this for 10:17 at night, except...

Thanks to Day of the Triffids, the BBC's Day of the Triffids, and Night of the Comet; I have an irrational aversion to watching any big astronomical events. Would I have made an exception for this one? Mmm, no. From 1978, Action Comics #489, "Krypton Dies Again!" Written by Cary Bates, pencils by Curt Swan, inks by Frank Chiaramonte.

I honestly thought if I searched that title in the GCD, I'd get twenty results--I'm pretty sure this was a plot point in the post-Crisis Action #600--but the light of Krypton's explosion was about to reach earth. And Superman doesn't seem to be taking it well, as he's thrown himself into saving people and fighting disasters right and left. Seems like a lot of accidents all at once, though: a nuclear missile is launched from a sub as an oopsie, for one. After that, Supes gets grabbed by a yellow beam--miscolored? Since it's Green Lantern, as the JLA wanted to have a word with him. Superman answers in Kryptonese, which out of the heroes there, only Batman spoke fluently--I am not sure if that was seen before, probably in World's Finest, or pulled out of nowhere; but Bats says Superman has another reason for pushing himself like that, and the Kryptonese was to honor the tragedy of Krypton.

Meanwhile, in Kandor, Supergirl has to defend her cousin, who is seen as maybe not mourning in the proscribed manner, but has a reason the Kandorians should know. It's Brainiac, who has challenged Superman to battle and "pre-set cosmic bombs" to preclude interference from the JLA. Brainiac, somewhat snarkier than usual, also does a lot of talking since he knows Supes would only answer in Kryptonian; but he started the fight fourteen minutes before Krypton's light was set to reach earth, mocking that he will be "too occupied with me to pay your proper respects when the big burst finally arrives!" Thoughtfully, Brainiac makes sure Superman gets to see the explosion--by forcing him too, magnetizing him to his ship, since he has calculated the light will blind him! It's a cliffhanger ending, since the rest of the issue is an Atom story. Read more!

"The End" Week: R.E.B.E.L.S. '96 #17 and R.E.B.E.L.S. #28!

Spoiler alert, guys: sometimes I buy a last issue--or two!--just for this feature. From 1996 (duh) R.E.B.E.L.S. '96 #17, "Deliverance" Written by Tennessee Peyer, pencils by Derec Aucoin, inks by Phyllis Novin; and from 2011, R.E.B.E.L.S. #28, "Starstruck, conclusion" Written by Tony Bedard, pencils by Claude St. Aubin, inks by Robert Campanella.

R.E.B.E.L.S. was a spin-off from L.E.G.I.O.N., which was itself a spin-off: it was launched out of the Invasion mini-series and was also a prequel to the Legion of Super-Heroes. The Legion was set in the 30th century, while the L.E.G.I.O.N. was set in the present: it began as L.E.G.I.O.N '89, and ticked up every year until its cancellation with L.E.G.I.O.N. '94 #70. During the Zero Hour crossover, it was relaunched as R.E.B.E.L.S '94, although it was perhaps an acronym for nothing. (Or, per DC's wikia, "Revolutionary Elite Brigade to Eradicate L.E.G.I.O.N. Supremacy.") In-story, the the L.E.G.I.O.N. was an interplanetary police force for hire, created (mostly) by Vril Dox, who is perhaps better known as Brainiac 2. He was the son of the Superman villain Brainiac, and the ancestor of the LOSH's Brainiac 5: Vril was probably closer to lawful neutral, and could be a bit manipulative. And so was his son, Lyrl Dox, the bad guy of the first R.E.B.E.L.S. series, who mind-controlled the L.E.G.I.O.N. and was on the verge of taking the whole galaxy, while still a baby! Vril manages to derail his son's plans here, seemingly reducing Lyrl to a normal infant. Maybe.

Maybe not, since Lyrl appears in the next R.E.B.E.L.S. last issue, seemingly at least teenaged; as this time the team is rebelling against the control of Starro. (Which, along with the usual starfish-facehuggers, had some kind of prime host here.) Along with traditional members Captain Comet and Lobo, this team had Adam Strange, Starfire and her (mostly) evil sister Blackfire, and a Validus precursor of some sort, Tribulus. The latter's mental lightning is used to destroy the Starro-spore on Vril, who then uses Tribulus to punch the prime Starro through a portal so Lobo can beat it, presumably to death. Now freed, the planets Rann and Tameran enter a mutual defense pact, with Vril serving as Blackfire's "consort." Lyrl disappears, as the L.E.G.I.O.N. prepares to deal with a crisis on Oa; but this was the last issue before Flashpoint and the New 52 relaunch; and I don't think the L.E.G.I.O.N. or R.E.B.E.L.S. teams have appeared since, although they may have been mentioned in passing.

I'm not sure any incarnation of the group was a huge seller, but that's a fair run: DC (and Marvel, for that matter) don't seem to support this kind of mid-tier book anymore.

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Today, an inventory...er, imaginary story:

From 1984, Superman Special #2, "The Demon with a Cape!" Story by Cary Bates, art by Gil Kane.

I'm not positive this was an inventory story, but maybe: the main conceit of this "imaginary story" is that Brainiac here avoided transforming into the metallic new version, remaining the classic green-skinned alien. And...that's about it, it's a pretty standard Superman story otherwise. I say that because usually the imaginary stories go a little harder, like Superman dies or becomes a polygamist or a Canadian or something.

Brainiac has hoodwinked an alien planet into believing he was their "mystic seer," and that Superman was a demon bent on their destruction. With a satellite converting the star's orange radiation to red, Supes loses his powers, and is in pretty deep until a telepathic alien girl conspires to help him. Brainiac punches Superman up a bit, and sentences him to the "throne of agony," which has him worried for a minute. It's a fun little story with nice art, but I think they probably should've either set it...or maybe released it before Brainiac's upgrade.

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They really could use a bigger tank. Or habitat. Or whatever.

Got a pile of figures this weekend! Seventeen loose figures from eBay, including the classic Brainiac and Luthor there!

The only downside? A few duplicates, and short on accessories. Mr. Terrific didn't come with his stupid T-Sphere thing, for instance. I don't need it, probably wouldn't use it, yet it somehow gnaws on me that he doesn't have it. Ditto the silly Bat-Laptop thing that came with the Imperiex series Batman. I skipped him when he first came out, but the paint really makes him look like Burton-era Batman.

Anyway, finished a strip with some of the new figures already, but might not schedule it for a bit.

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80-Page Thursdays: Superman Family #183!

Another Thursday, another 80-pager: I have always wanted Superman Family #182, probably because of the cover. This is Superman Family #183, which is now just disappointing to me, even with stories from Jack C. Harris, J. Aruns, Bob Toomey, Cary Bates, and Paul Kupperberg; and art by Carl Potts, Al Milgrom, Kurt Schaffenberger, Vince Colletta, Bob Brown, and more.

Supergirl takes the lead with "Shadows of Phantoms!" The title should've been a clue, but I was distracted as Kara rescues a test pilot that probably should've been Hal Jordan. Later, students at Kara's school are victimized by a sleep-research study--luckily, this was 1977, or that could've gotten really creepy--and Supergirl faces a Phantom Zone criminal of her own. I'm not sure if Shyla ever made another appearance, which would be a waste.

There's another shaggy dog of a Krypto story, Jimmy Olsen vs. smugglers, a Perry White story that reads like it was written by J.Jonah Jameson, and Brainiac gets completely owned by Nightwing and Flamebird. The latter should be a bigger deal: Brainiac attempts to destroy Kandor, the city he once shrank, in order to drive Superman insane. You wouldn't think NW and FB would let him off with just a beating.

Lastly, there's "The Day Lois Lane Walked All Over Superman!" It's only made notable by a surprisingly chatty narrator, who has a surprise cameo at the end. I won't say!

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What do potential comics readers love? Subplots about the workplace? Yay!

I was thinking about this issue, when I saw the news that Clark Kent was quitting the Daily Planet; but of course I wasn't remembering it correctly. From 1988, Superman #25, "Head Trips" Written by Roger Stern, pencils by Kerry Gammill, inks by John Beatty.

I had thought this issue featured more subplots involving the Daily Planet staff; and was thinking readers were more likely to put up with that when comics were seventy-five cents an issue. Now that comics are three or four bucks a pop, no one wants any panels devoted to Alice the copy girl or Cat Grant's son or whoever; they want capital-E EVENTS. All killer, no filler! World-shattering crises! Devastating emotional conflict! And so many decapitations...

Still, this issue doesn't devote a lot of time to subplots, since it's mostly about the newest incarnation of the Brainiac/Luthor team. This was barely two years after Crisis on Infinite Earths, and the villainous pair were much changed: both were dumpy, overweight, older men.

Although at this point, "Brainiac" was a sideshow psychic named Milton Fine, possessed by the alien Vril Dox. Luthor thought "Vril Dox" was merely a delusion, caused by Fine's brain tumor; but arranged to have the tumor removed and replaced with a control device.

Meanwhile, Clark Kent is already having problems, and is both exhausted and distracted. (We may have seen part of the reason why some time ago...) Then, Clark is stricken with a series of dreamlike hallucinations: Luthor attacking the Planet staff, Superman having his secret identity exposed in different ways, Superman accidentally killing Lois while going after Brainiac.

Superman confronts Fine in the hospital, and Brainiac lays his cards on the table, attacking Supes with a variety of psychic powers. Eventually though, beaten, Brainiac immolates himself, seemingly dying in a fireball. Of course, that's another illusion, and now Brainiac has the upper hand in his partnership with Luthor, since he has the control chip removed from his head.
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"Ghost Rider, $20.99"

Oh, fudd. I was working on a strip yesterday, and then scans didn't want to load for a DD post today, so we'll move this a day forward...even though I'm not ready.

The book has been getting good reviews, like here for instance, and I think I definitely need to pick up Ghost Rider #33 after flipping through a copy recently. Briefly, and from memory: a war for heaven is over, leaving bad angels in charge, Ghost Riders Johnny Blaze and Dan Ketch MIA, and the Caretaker dead. As his daughter mourns him, she remembers Ghost Riders of the past, and there are some doozies: G-Man Ghost Rider of the 1930's, 70's Ghost Truckers, Native American Ghost Riders, and more. They've really made Ghost Rider a legacy character, something not often seen from Marvel, but it could also almost work like a Ghost Rider Corps. Hey, it'd be an excuse to bring Vengeance and Blazing Skull out of mothballs. All they need is maybe a chest emblem and a catchy oath.

Shoot, wish I had a Vengeance figure now. I do have one of the little ripcord motorcycle ones, though...I haven't read a lot of his appearances, although I remember him being a mainstay of the later years of Marvel Comics Presents. I do have a full run of Ghost Rider 2099, and I still like that one. Might re-read it now, I know I have it out for some reason.

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"Like the opposite of a moped. But still kinda embarrassing."







Page from Uncanny X-Men #385, "Shell Game" By Chris Claremont, German Garcia, Michael Ryan and Randy Green; inks by Panosian, Pepoy, and Ketcham. And I didn't read the previous chapter, but those are the laziest flying motorcycles ever. Tron cycles would've been a step up, even if they were flying. There's no reason for a comic to have a special effect that wouldn't be out of place in a mid-nineties syndicated sci-fi show like Night Man.

Deadpool is a touch oversized for the Storm Hawks Dark Ace cycle, and I haven't picked up the Batpod yet, but it reminded me of that issue. Unfortunately.

I had thought about posting a page a day until I ran out, but I was worried that they wouldn't read well, so we'll be doing them here and there. MODOK's yard sale isn't intentionally swiped from the classic Twisted Toyfare Theatre with Dr. Doom's yard sale: I just needed a way for Deadpool to get his hands on some high-tech nonsense, and he's not done yet...That, and since it seems unlikely Hasbro's going to make A.I.M. troops, MODOK's a bit shorthanded. Figuratively and literally, I guess. Read more!

Defending comics, which shouldn't be harder than standing two dozen super-poseable figures but is.

Sonuva...When I started roughing this train of thought out, Walmart had the DC Superheroes Brainiac for five bucks, and I missed it. Grr. Then I thought I may have to dig some more, since I knew they had more clearance than that...and then I did find it. Not too bad, not as super-poseable some others, but pretty serviceable for an evil skullfaced robot.

This was a pre-Crisis revamp (as was Lex Luthor's green battlearmor, also in this set of figures) although I think the spaceship shaped like Brainiac's head has made more appearances than this version of Brainy. The redesign is way more toyetic than a bald green guy in short pants, but I can't help thinking it was just done to mess with Legion of Super-Heroes continuity...

But what I was really thinking of, was the comic packaged with Brainiac, which I already have. Not because I had bought it off the comic shop shelves, but because I picked up the Bizarro action figure already, and it came with that toy. For the most recent Superman DCSH, Mattel just packed in the same comics again; which meant Lex Luthor and Brainiac came with comics at best tangentially related to them.

In the same vein, the new Hasbro Marvel Legends do not include a comic, while the ToyBiz versions did. Not to bash Hasbro, but ToyBiz was all about the pack-ins: weapons, the so-called 'Doop stands,' build-a-figure pieces, small vehicles or bases, and/or trading cards were all sometimes, even often included; but always a comic. (Well, some characters got poster books, which sucked. Those were like saying 'this character has a 30+ year history, and we can't find a good single issue featuring him. Here's some covers.') Admittedly, not all of the pack-ins were winners: a lot of the 'Legendary Riders' really, really weren't.


And a lot of people didn't care for the comics. Some didn't like the selections, as it could very well seem an utterly random choice. Others didn't need reprints of books they already had, now stuffed with ads for wrestling toys and MegaMorphs. Some had an issue where the character didn't do much, or appeared in a different costume. Some were edited, removing subplots or unrelated material, others weren't. Many would have a cover, chosen as a more iconic image, attached to a different comic.

Ms. Marvel, for example, came with a Dodson cover circa House of M, but over Avengers Annual #10: excellent Michael Golden art, but Ms. Marvel only appears in costume in flashback. That was the issue where she lost her powers and memories to Rogue, remember? Not a highlight for her character. And those comics probably should have been highlights, right?

Mattel's DCSH followed ToyBiz's lead on the comics, but seems to be phasing them out already. And there's probably a million reasons not to include them: expense, licensing fees (as a branch of Marvel, I'm pretty sure ToyBiz was getting a deal on including the comics, whereas Hasbro may have to pay more), international (non-English) sales, shipping weight, cost of paper.

Then there's even some buyers and parents that prefer not to have a set backstory for a character, because that way they (or God forbid, kids) can make their own. Brainiac would probably work pretty well for that, and I remember a review for Marvel's Deadpool where the reviewer loved the figure so much, he made his own history for him, without ever reading or wanting to read a Deadpool comic. (I had thought that was from OAFE, but I don't entirely recall.) I would say he's missing out, but then again who am I to rain on his fun? I can pretty easily imagine kids having fun with Psylocke or Ms. Marvel figures and being absolutely better off not knowing some of the details of the characters' pasts. ('Now my eyes are ripped out!' 'Now I'm pregnant for no reason!')

So, with so many reasons why not to include comics, I had better come up with a damn compelling one to keep them, right? Right?...yeah, you would think.

I guess my main argument would be, and others probably smarter than I have pointed this out as well and with maybe even figures to back it up, do comics want to be the tail, or the dog? The comics industry could continue to backslide, to cannibalize its fanbase by selling only to the same readers over and over again; while making the real green on movies and toys and merchandising. Or, Marvel and DC could make at least a halfassed attempt to reach new readers by continuing to include comics with their toys. Never mind that (at least in terms of short-term profits) cultivating new and future readers isn't strictly their job. Never mind that a large portion of buyers may already have or not want the comics--and if you don't, I strongly encourage you to give them to someone who does. Give 'em for Halloween. And the expense has got to be fairly manageable as a loss leader-slash-advertising insert. It comes down to, are comics worth reading, or, are they just going to become a cheap way to pitch a prospective movie or game? As my wife called 300 once, are comics just eggs, little movies that haven't been made yet?

All right, let's look at Brainiac again. Surprisingly, I didn't see a review for him at OAFE; either for the DC Super Heroes version, or the DC Direct Crisis on Infinite Earths one. Michael Crawford had a review of the DCSH version, which includes a photo of Brainy's braincase that I could not get for the life of me. Here's a link to the DC Direct page, and their 'Robot Brainiac,' who appears to have ball-jointed hips, no hip-pods, brighter eyes, and a slightly larger skull dome, which to me looks like a robot afro. Just for good measure, here's the Wikipedia page for Brainiac, but I noticed it didn't point out the Robot redesign was from George Perez...because it's not, Ed Hannigan is credited as designer. (Perez did the Luthor armor. Duhr.)

I counted 21 joints for DCSH Brainiac: neck, 2 shoulders, 2 biceps, 2 elbows, 2 wrists, 1 chest, 1 waist, 2 hips (and the hip pods swivel out as well), 2 mid-thigh, 2 knees, 2 mid-calves, and 2 ankle. Because of the robot-ness of the design, most of the joints don't stick out the way they might on a human character. Still, in playing with him with the Oldest Son and counting the joints, Brainiac's legs got loose. Almost floppy, too many jello shots loose.

Both shoulders and the head have transparent covers over 'wires,' a nice effect even if it seems antiquated now, but it's still a better look than a robot in short pants. The tubes in his back are allegedly detachable; I don't know if I'd try it, but if they come loose during play don't panic. Aside from the comic, Brainiac does get the shaft as far as accessories: no bottle city of Kandor, no shrink ray, no model of his skullhead ship or weird little Koko monkey. Bit of a rip, that; but it is regularly $10 (in this area) against roughly $15-17 for DC Direct, and DC Direct is usually lacking in accessories as well. (DC Direct is a slightly larger scale, however.) For comparison, Toybiz Legends could be had for between $8 and $12; and so far Hasbro Legends are $10.

Anyway. Just a thought, and now that I've gotten that out of my head, now I have to try to remember or look up if Brainiac has appeared like that post-Crisis... Read more!