Review: Absolute Superman #22

In what feels like a fast turnaround, Absolute Superman #22 came out this week, a mere 2 weeks after the last issue came out. It also starts a new arc for the book with Superman trying to track down Brainiac and, it seems, running into new villains on the way. 

The last arc with Superman fighting Black Adam alongside Hawkman and Steel was a beautiful brawl spanning the world and the moon. This issue, writer Jason Aaron continues to keep the action at a high level with Superman fighting Metallo, the mutated and tortured Christopher Smith Peacemaker. Indeed, the bulk of the issue are these two going at it, blood-soaked and brutal.

But much like the Black Adam story, throughout the brawl, Superman is hoping to make a connection, the de-escalate, and to help Metallo. I think that this is Absolute Superman's biggest strength. In this dark world where Metallo is a mentally addled young man tortured by Brainiac into being a weapon ... a sort of poster boy for the Absolute universe ... here is Superman trying to lift up, not punch down. 

Juan Ferreyra is back on art and brings it. Yes, the violence is gloriously rendered. But the character design is great too. And there is a page layout in the middle of the book that really reminded me of the power of comics, where words and images can mesh. Ferreyra is the perfect partner for a 1-2 punch art combo with Rafa Sandoval for this book. Sandolval does a great job on the cover with the looming Brainiac staring over the impending battle.

This almost felt like a rest issue rather than an opening chapter and was a bit of an exhale after the intensity of the Adam story. On to the book.

Review: Superman Annual 2026

Last week in Action Comics #1100, we saw Superman drained of his King Omega power and rescued from the time stream by Superman. This week in the Superman Annual 2026, we get the story of what happened to him between the end of D.C.K.O. and the rescue.

I'll start out by saying I liked this annual a lot. Writer Joshua Williamson and artist Eddy Barrows give us a pretty wild story, bouncing from the time stream to a desolate future to a villain's headquarters. We get plenty of Legions, an old Legion villain, a hero I haven't seen in a long time, and a character I thought forever in the dustbin of DC's limbo.

Barrows' art is it's usual graceful beauty. When the stakes get big, his art get big as well. But lately I have found his quiet moments, Clark talking to Lois in their apartment, where his art really sings. Yasmine Putri is on art for the back end of the book, introducing us to a new villain and showcasing the upcoming LSH book.

But what is this annual? The epilogue of D.C.K.O.? A backdoor prologue to the new Legion of Super-Heroes? The beginning of Kingdom of Zod? All of those things?  One thing that I like is that DC, at least the super-books, seem to be going from mini-event from mini-event. And yet, there hasn't been any event fatigue because while there is a thread through all of them, each book has been able to stand alone.

Whatever this book is, it works. As an long long long time Legion fan, I was pretty thrilled with the end of the story. On to the details.

Review: Superman/Spider-Man #1 Main Story

Superman/Spider-Man #1, the DC version of this historic crossover, came out this week! It's been 50 years since the original team-up so the time was right to put this out. And after the success of Batman/Deadpool and Deadpool/Batman, this made sense.

I'll start by saying that there are a million variants out there and for once I am completely on board with the sheer number of them this time. The covers delve into the deep benches of both IPs to come up with some cool concepts! Supermobile and Spider-Buggy?? Black suit Spidey and Black Suit Superman? Spider-Punk and Conner Kent? Peter Porker and Krypto! Too fun. Love the 70s Supergirl and Spider-Woman by Adam Hughes!

But it all comes down to the story. Mark Waid and Jorge Jimenez are on task for the main story, my coverage today and they nail it.

Obviously Waid is going to have a deep understanding of the characters' histories. So seeing some homages to classic Spidey made sense. Seeing Super-supporting characters from the Bronze Age made me smile. But seeing the two heroes so easily interact with each other was the special sauce. I used to read Spidey as a kid (haven't in decades) so there was a page filled with quips that made me honestly laugh out loud.

Jimenez brings the fun too. I like his Clark/Peter pages almost as much as the action stuff. But his take on STAR Labs made me want him to do a whole book with that cast. I might be biased!

It's pricey at $8.99 but I think it is worth it! There are a chunk of other Super/Spider stories after this main one I will cover in a couple of days!

On to the main tale!

Review: Adventures Of Superman:Book Of El #2

Adventures of Superman: Book of El #2 came out this week and was a solid second chapter to this year long arc. Writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson really hit the ground running in the first issue, bringing an Olgrun-charged Kryl-Ux to Earth and basically take over. The first issue ends with Superman thrown into the far-flung dystopian future.

Here in the second issue, we aren't in present-day Smallville anymore. We are in some unknown future with unknown leaders and semi-unknown descendants of Superman. We are in frontier land as readers so we need to learn. One thing I know about Johnson, he is a world-builder. Between efficient scenes which establish a starting ground to back matter text pages which flesh out some history, we are really immersed in this world. But it isn't just world-building, there is a scene talking about the character of Superman that is brilliant. There isn't a lot of plot advancement here because we are dropped in. I am not complaining.

Scotty Godlewski remains on art and really makes the proceedings look sharp here. From the knight-like Summer Men to the creepy Luthor in charge to the late-age Fortress, things are vivid and crisp.

On to the book.

Review: Absolute Superman #7

Absolute Superman #7 came out last week and was another interesting look at the Absolute Universe, showing how different this universe's Brainiac is from the one we know from the main DCU. It also once again shows the different take writer Jason Aaron is taking on this Absolute title from books like Batman.

Aaron is doing this complete slow burn on this book, world-building and showing us this world slowly. Last issue was an almost complete flashback issue looking at Smallville and Superman's arrival. This issue is entirely focused on Brainiac. Superman is barely even name-checked. No Superman in a Superman book? 

That isn't to say this book isn't interesting. It is. And it's horrifying. Much of this issue looks like a David Cronenberg movie. Brainiac is a sadist. He is murderous. He is unhinged in a way the robot from Colu has never been. It's terrifying. It also raises as many questions about Brainiac as it answers. There is more to mine here. It even sets up the next big arc and I assume the next Absolute take on a classic villain.

Artist Carmine DiGiandomenico is unleashed in this issue. This is a crazy violent and over-the-top grotesque issue and DiGiandomenico leans in. Don't eat a big lunch before you read this. There is enough vivisection and tissue mutilation in this book to last a year.

I have praised this book for it's slower tempo and building up this world. But even I am starting to wonder if this book is lacking enough Superman to keep my interest 100% focused. I read this book to learn about this Kal. Where is he?

On to the book.

Review: Superman The Last Days of Lex Luthor #3

In August 2023, DC released The Last Days of Lex Luthor #1. 

In April 2025, DC released the finale, The Last Days of Lex Luthor #3, the book I am here to review a day. It is interesting that the last 2 chapters came out within a month of each other, but nearly 2 years after the first. 

My philosophical question for the readers is this. Do dramatic delays in a comic release somehow impact your enjoyment of it? I can't help but think that Doomsday Clock might have read better if it came out in a timely fashion. Or if read in one sitting when you aren't wondering when the next chapter is coming out.

I know. Why am I talking Doomsday Clock in a review of this book?

This is a fine Elseworld book. This has an interesting, and I might say controversial, ending. I don't know if I like the ending here. The art by Bryan Hitch and Kevin Nowlan is scintillating. I am glad I bought and read this. From the tour of the DCU to the update of the Luthor origin to the interplay between Lex and Superman, it has been a fun read.

But I really wanted to be blown away by the ending of this book, probably because I have been waiting so long for it. And that is probably unfair of me to have scheduling drama alter my expectations. Of course, the ending falling flat for me is probably as big a reason as any.

On to the book.

Review: Absolute Superman #5

Absolute Superman #5 came out this last week and it felt like the closing of a first sort of arc. We end on a cliffhanger of a sort for sure. But it feels Krypton is finally behind us.

Writer Jason Aaron has been doing a ton of world building in this series so far. We have had issues focusing on Lois Lane and Krypton and Jor-El and Lara. In some ways it means that Superman has been in the background. We have seen young Kal and heard his thoughts. But grown-up Superman? We know him more from his deeds than his words. 

This issue is similar in approach. We see current day Superman reacting to the death of the villagers last issue, now trying to track down the Christopher Smith Peacemaker. And there is a lot of action for sure.

But the meat of the issue is the flashbacks to Krypton leading us up to its destruction ... finally! Aaron uses Krypton as a cautionary tale for Earth, for sure. There is literal battles between the haves and have-nots. There is the damage to the environment that leads to the planetary explosion. It nears ham-fisted in its telling but doesn't go over the line. And while Krypton is gone, Kryptonians are not. Hmmm ...

The art remains spectacular. Rafa Sandoval is hitting it out of the park here. This is a global destruction issue with earthquakes, spaceships, and civil unrest. It is filled with an angry Superman battering his way through troops. Sandoval makes the whole thing beautifully flow.

We are still world building for sure. On to the book.

Review: My Adventures With Superman S2 E8

The eighth episode of the second season of My Adventures With Superman, titled 'The Death of Clark Kent',  came out this week and was another interesting episode, perhaps opening up a door for a better ending for Supergirl than I have been expecting.

My reviews of this show have been an interesting exercise for me. I actually am enjoying the show as a whole with its wholesome foundation, its somewhat darker plot themes, and it's anime twee-ness. It is a crazy mix. 

There is no doubt this is a small town Superman with small town beliefs and a very earnest approach to helping people. Superman is that wholesome protagonist that the whole show is built on. But the themes of the show are ones of isolation, persecution, and loneliness. This season has Superman truly questioning if he fits in on Earth and it is amplified by Luthor and the government turning the people against him. 

Add to that, you have the Brainiac/Supergirl story. Brainiac wants to recreate Krypton. He wants to convince Superman that he doesn't belong so he can use Kal. And he has been using Kara this whole time. It means that Superman is going to have to choose Earth. Kara is going to have to reject Krypton, at least the vision of it Brainiac has been filling her head with. 

But mixing anime cuteness and wholesome 'aw shucks' Smallville with genocidal Supergirl's and depressed, isolated Superman and keeping it cohesive is tough. I think about the movie Thor Love and Thunder which had Jane dying of cancer, a god-killing being kidnapping children and threatening to sacrifice them mixed in with ludicrously bad humor attempts. It didn't work. 

Somehow this show is pulling it off. I'm enjoying it overall. 

I still wish Supergirl had a better backstory ... but the truth is that might come to pass. On to the particulars.

Review: Action Comics #1066

The House of Brainiac storyline wrapped up this week with the last two chapters released on the same day. Interesting choice. The arc has really been very entertaining up to now, building up some mysteries and momentum, throwing characters together to fight the bigger threat, and amping up Brainiac as a mad villain. 

Here in Action Comics #1066, part 5 of 6, writer Joshua Williamson keeps the momentum going. One thing that I like about this story is how we see the breadth of the super-family and even see people like Lobo and Luthor joining in to stop the Brainiac Queen from annihilating everything. There are some interesting possible callbacks to other stories as well that keep a veteran like me happy.

That said, I still don't 100% know what all the mysteries in Brainiac are about. The glitches, the hole in his memory, the gathering of other Brainiacs, the whole goal of the thing is still a little vague in my head. I keep puzzling about the 'why' and I don't get enough answers to be satisfied.

And there are a couple of confusing moments in this issue that also had me wondering where this would all go.

The art remains fantastic as once again Rafa Sandoval and Miguel Mendonca team up to bring us some incredible action. This is a sort of horror/sci-fi setting and it works well. Laura Braga pencils a Lex/Lena backup and brings a very different style but it works for a story looking back at young Lena.

In the end, I think this was a solid book but perhaps not up to the excellence of the prior issues.

On to the particulars.

My Adventures With Superman S2 E6 - Darkest Of Dark Supergirls

Last week I reviewed the fifth episode of My Adventures With Supergirl. It was the introduction of Supergirl to the show and it wasn't pretty. She was once again portrayed as the dupe of the villain and basically dark.

Well, I just watched My Adventures With Superman S2 E6, "The Machine Who Would Be Empire", and if you thought E5's Kara was a dark Supergirl, you ain't seen nothing yet. In this episode we finally hear the name Brainiac as the bad guy. And he has been acting as Kara's 'father'.

I'll start out by saying it is clear that Kara has been mentally tortured throughout her life, raised by a heartless Brainiac who has warped her thoughts and bent her into a tool for his evil. He also seems to have outright mind control over her. In many ways, she isn't responsible for the vile events she has done. And settle in because they are despicable.

I'll also say that I know that in the end this Kara will turn, become a hero, and be a force of good. We see in many places in this episode she has a good heart at her core.

But neither of those two things, her manipulation or her good heart and eventual hero turn, make up for what I had to watch here. 

Because this decision to do this to Supergirl was just that ... a creative decision. Show runner Josie Campbell could have introduced Kara in any sort of ways. But instead she chose to make Kara a tool for the villain, a genocidal maniac, a person who at the end of this episode is living in pain.  

They made Supergirl the villain again. They made her emotionally and psychologically abused again. And they made her dark again. 

And frankly I'm sick of it.

Because we start the episode with her bathed in red light, angry eyes, and vowing to convince Kal to join her in rebuilding the Krypton Empire with her 'father'.

Review: Superman #14

Superman #14, part 4 of the House of Brainiac event, came out last week and was just another excellent chapter in this arc. Writer Joshua Williamson continues to push this story forward while adding new mysteries and wrinkles to keep the momentum building. He also is leaning into DC history and continuity here. From all the Brainiacs, to call back to recent mini-series, to maybe deeper dives, I love it.

There are three sort of plot lines in this issue. Superman and Lobo are skirmishing while General Chical watches on. This plot sort of truncates in this issue and not in the way I assumed it would. I like being surprised. And when I say it truncates, it truncates.

There is the ongoing Lex and Supergirl team-up. Obviously I am following this one pretty closely. Given the weird history when Matrix Supergirl hooked up with Lex, seeing the two together always has some historical resonance. I like here how both don't seem to like or trust the other but they understand that Brainiac is the bigger threat. Here there are a couple of new nuggets to mull over.

The last plot is Brainiac's actual plot. We know he has some holes in his memory ... I have a theory, We know he is building something. We get to finally see it. He actually kind of wins in this issue with the book ending on an ominous cliffhanger. 

Together that is some great stuff. I have the usual questions and nitpicks. But from a story view, this is great.

Rafa Sandoval and Miguel Mendonca combine on art again here and continue to shine. Sandoval's Superman is the sort of physical presence I like. Giant, broad chested, intimidating when he needs to. Mendonca does most of the Supergirl pages and his style is a little rough but solid. The action and panel composition is great. 

On to the details.

Back Issue Box: Action Comics #546

You know it is a tough week when here we are on Wednesday and I still haven't been to the comic book store this week. I probably won't get there until tomorrow!

So while I promise I will get to reviews of the new releases soon, I figured I could dip into the back issue box again today. After reviewing the semi-trippy origin of the new Brainiac in Action Comics #544, I figured I'd cover the ending of that arc in Action Comics #546. 

I have only recently been reading this Marv Wolfman run on Action Comics in the immediate pre-Crisis wind-down of the character. I have to compliment him for his efforts to expand the scope and grandiosity of the book. He introduced Syrene and Lord Satanus. He brought Brainiac back and then amped up the danger of the villain. Heck, this story feels like a mini-event with the finale guest starring both the JLA and the Teen Titans. (The Titans were at the top of the heap at this point.) He even tried to shake up the supporting stories, splitting Lois and Superman and having Clark date Lana. Maybe the powers that be realized Superman and the universe needed to be updated and reinvigorated.

But he also seems to have increased the crankiness of Superman overall. As Clark, he is a little angry, a little put upon, a little twitchy. Part of it that this Clark wants to enjoy his life and the way he has lived up to then feels off. That wish to optimize the Clark life means his Superman often acts like he is tired, doesn't want to move on to the next threat, and almost wishes he could sit back and relax. There is just a tinge of emotional and physical fatigue here. Interesting in a way, but off-putting.

Gil Kane really breaks it all out in this issue given the guest stars, city street battles, and the one-on-one fight of Superman and Brainiac. This new Brainiac isn't the easiest design and at times Kane seems unsure of the proportions, the head/face plate being inconsistent in places. Still, my admiration of Kane as grown over the years. And I'm 99% sure he basically traced a Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez pic in this issue. Overall a good job here.

On to the details.

Brainiac Who's Who Pages

With House of Brainiac showcasing all the forms of Brainiac and with my recent review of Action Comics #544, I was struck with how much Brainiac has changed over time. One of the ways I sort of try to catalog the changes on this site is to look back at some of the official biographies of characters ... the Who's Who pages.

We'll start with the original, the mid-Crisis 1985 Who's Who. This issue was on the racks just 2 years after Action Comics #544 and the same month as Crisis on Infinite Earths #6.  So this version of Brainiac was relatively new. 

This is a nice page with art by Ed Hannigan, the designer of the new form. There is a nice retelling of his origin, a 12th level intelligence construct sent out by the Coluan computer tyrants to reconnoiter worlds for them to conquer. Given Vril Dox as a pseudo-son to cement the humanoid persona.  I forgot about that aspect of his origin to be honest.

But this catches us up to the recent change to this emotionless 'unique organic' life form with infinite technology at his disposal. 

While this version only was around for 5 years or so, it struck a chord. I am glad this design remains around today either in the Brainiac ship form or the drone soldiers look. 

But the changes didn't stop there.

Back Issue Box: Action Comics #544

The House of Brainiac event  by Joshua Williamson is underway and off to a solid start. 

One of the pieces of the plot that has grabbed my attention is the appearance of multiple iterations of Brainiac which have been seen on the villain's ship. Are these all within current continuity? Plucked from different timelines? Or universes?

With this mystery on my mind, I thought it would be interesting to look back at some Brainiacs as a back issue review.

Action Comics #544 was given the 'Anniversary' gold ink trade dress that DC used back in the day, celebrating 45 years of Superman being around. It contained two separate stories, updating Luthor and Brainiac in the immediate pre-Crisis days of 1983. 

From the viewpoint of history, this issue hit the mark. The Luthor armor introduced here has been around in some version ever since. And the updated, skeletal and monstrous Brainiac has been a staple since, even if used more for the villain's drones. 

In this time, Action Comics was being written by Marv Wolfman with art by Gil Kane. Wolfman was doing his best to sort of re-invigorate the Man of Steel, bringing in new villains like Lord Satanus, having Clark date Lana, and issues like this where old school villains got a bit of a polish. 

I won't be covering the Luthor story on this post but it is harrowing. 

The Brainiac story is almost a bit magical in its plot. and ends on a cliffhanger. Alas, I'll have to hunt for Action Comics #545! I don't own it. ]

 

I'm not the biggest Gil Kane fan but he does his best with the story. It features some seriously Kirbyesque sequences as well as alien landscapes and war. But Kane is up to the task. I love the cover with the almost scared Superman surprint looking at the new villains. Dick Giordano brings a bit of smoothness and polish to Kane's work here.

On to the book and the 'new' Brainiac!

Review: Superman House Of Brainiac Special #1

I've very much been enjoying Joshua Williamson's House of Brainiac. We're just two issues in and I am already clamoring for more. So I was pretty excited to see the Superman House of Brainiac Special solicited for a dreaded 5th Wednesday.

Now the first two issues sizzled. This one has three stories, two directly linked to the Brainiac arc and one catching up on Perry White's mayoral run. 

Joshua Williamson writes the two Brainiac stories. The first one covers how Brainiac got a hold of the Czarian city he controls. It also gives us another link to the uncertain thinking we have seen Brainiac suffer from in this arc. The second Brainiac story has a much better reveal, something that I really liked. Unfortunately it also involves the now ever-present Amanda Waller, a character I could do without. Edwin Galmon provides a sterile futuristic art style to the Czarnia story. Fico Ossio brings a much muddier, grittier art style to the last story.

But it is the middle story that I found lacking. Writer Mark Russell does two things which sat wrong with me. One, he puts forward a rough and rumpled version of Perry White. That's not my Perry. And Russell is known for the political leanings in his stories and this one is no different. This one is a bit heavy handed and rather simplistic in its approach to a real problem. Steve Pugh remains rock solid on art. 

So this felt like a little step back from the tsunami of the first two issues. On to some details.

Review: Superman #13

Superman #13 came out this week, the second chapter of the House of Brainiac storyline and another winner, especially if you are a Supergirl fan.

The arc started just last week with an absolutely crackling opening chapter, full of action and mystery. Writer Joshua Williamson and artist Rafa Sandoval keep their creative feet on the gas, cranking everything up. We get some new information to continue to build the story. We get new mysteries, including a big one about Brainiac's motivations. And there is still a lot of action, showing just how scary Superman would be if he sort of lost his filters. 

In comics, there is more than action and plot. There is characterization. Seeing Superman seethe over Brainiac's attack and take out some of his frustration on Lobo was tremendous. It humanizes Superman a little. And hearing Lobo be a sort of amateur therapist was also fantastic. 

But the biggest win in this comic was Williamson's take on Supergirl. She is confident. She is angry, appropriately so given her history with Brainiac. She is brash, willing to take risks to fight her foe. She's young and learning. We even hear about a history with Brainiac 5, something we haven't seen in a long time. That shows that Williamson is knowledgeable of her history and respects it. Heck, even the cliffhanger is a Supergirl moment.

I have been singing Rafa Sandavol's work for a while now. He really is shining here. It's like he has elevated his game, bringing in more layered and detail to his work, perhaps because he was given time to do this whole arc? 

On to the book.

Joshua Williamson On 'House of Brainiac' And Supergirl

Action Comics #1064 came out last week and was a stellar opening chapter to the House of Brainiac story. I was quite impressed with the execution. If the first issue is any indication, this looks like it is going to be a great arc.

Over on AIPT, Joshua Williamson did a very thorough discussion on his approach to Superman and this story in particular. This is a very in-depth discussion on many aspects of the House Of Brainiac. So it is definitely worth reading in its entirety. Here is a link:

https://aiptcomics.com/2024/04/09/house-of-brainiac-deep-dive/

One thing that is clear is that Williamson is thinking about all the characters in the super-family and discusses Superboy, Lena, and others.

He also talks about Supergirl. And that is the part I am going to focus on.

Review: Action Comics #1064

Action Comics #1064, the first part of the House of Brainiac arc, came out this week and was an unbelievably fantastic issue on many levels. If there was ever a 'jumping on' Superman comic, something to recommend to friends, it's this one.

This is how you start a mini-event perhaps designed to bring in new readers. Showcase everything that there is to love about the main character - here Superman's earnestness, his geekiness, his heroism. Give a glimpse of the cast of the book. Ramp the action up to 10. Introduce the main villain and have there be a serious threat on the horizon. Sprinkle in some mysteries and you have a crackling open chapter.

Here, Brainiac arrives with a Czarian army to grab 'the smartest personin Metropolis ... it isn't Lex or Superman. Brainiac is looking for some missing piece of information. It is all out mayhem in Metropolis involving the entire Superman family. The book ends on a doozy of a last page. 

But if that wasn't enough, there are small and some big nods to Superman history. Let's start with a 'triangle' chapter number on this cover, so reminiscent of the beloved Triangle Era of the Man of Steel. We are reminded this is a Superman family. There's some mysteries solved and mysteries introduced. Supergirl really shines. It's spectacular.

Rafa Sandoval is on art and he picks up right where he left off when he was on the book with Phillip Kennedy Johnson. The character moments are wonderful and fun. The action sequences are bold and loud. Sandoval does a great Supergirl to boot.

So hang on to your boots for some highlights!

Review: Action Comics #514

With House of Brainiac starting this week, I thought I'd dive into the back issue box to cover Action Comics #514, on the racks in September of 1980. 

I will admit that this was a recent purchase out of the bargain bins at my local store which had just about filled a long box with very late Bronze Age Superman. I had been on the lookout both for Brainiac issues and issues from this time period, a sort of hole in my Superman collection.

It doesn't hurt that one of the main plot points of this issue is Brainiac returning  since his 'death' in Superman #338, a book I covered on this site nearly 16 years ago. It is also an issue that has one of the most bad-ass Supergirl moments in history. Readers get a decent tour of the Fortress. 

The book also has a pretty wild ending, one that warrants a little more investigation! First off there is a heavy dose of comic book science. And then a crazy turnabout to close things. Throw in some usual Bronze Age insanity and you get a decent issue. 

Art is by the legendary team of Curt Swan and Frank Chiaramonte. Swan clearly is a master, spinning a Superman story that feels like a Superman story. It doesn't hurt that Swan was the Superman artist for me in the formative years of comic reading.

So settle in for some craziness. On to the book.

Back Issue Box: Action Comics #339

The latest Superman crossover event 'Queen Brainiac' is right around the corner. The seeds have been planted by Joshua Williamson in his Superman book. And with Jason Aaron's 3-part Bizarro arc mercifully over, the arc will be in the Action Comics book too.

With Brainiac on my mind and (of course) the theme of this site being Supergirl, I thought I'd head into the back issue box and find a Brainiac/Supergirl battle I hadn't covered yet!

Action Comics #339 sports a nifty dual cover with Supergirl getting as much of the spotlight as Superman. Our hero is there on the left, trapped in a Kryptonite cage by Brainiac! Great cover by Curt Swan and George Klein. And you may have noticed the scrawl across the cover. Yes, that is a scan of my copy of the issue, signed by the legendary Jim Shooter.

This was Shooter's first work for DC, back when he was just a teen! You will see that Shooter actually does a wonderful job on Supergirl, showing her resilience, her intelligence, her strength, and her humility. So settle in for a fun story with a true battle between Brainiac and Supergirl, a wonky Silver Age solution and fabulous ending!

On to the book!