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.

Supergirl Who's Who: Team Superman #1 1998

I am such a fan of DC Comics Who's Who entries feeling they are a great way to introduce readers to characters and a universe. I wish that DC would put out a New 52 Who's Who series but my sense is they don't even have a good enough handle on the new universe's timeline to put out an encyclopedic look at their characters.

Back in the pre-internet days, these Who's Who pages were also one of the only ways to learn about characters. And I thought for dedicated Who's Who issues, I would read about characters whose books I would never really touch. In this day when character information is just a google search away, I still think there is room for a Who's Who series.

As for DC, they haven't done a dedicated Who's Who since the 'loose leaf' format one from the mid-1990's. Instead, they would often slip some Who's Who pages into Annuals or special one-shots. In this instance, I thought I would post the Supergirl Who's Who page from the Team Superman Secret Files #1 special from May 1998.

What a beautiful page with text by Peter David (who was writing the book at the time) and drawn by Stuart Immonen! I don't know of any other instances where Immonen drew Supergirl. I have liked his work since the 5YL Legion reboot.

This issue came out just three months after Supergirl's flame wings and angelic powers had first manifested. So we barely touch upon what her powers are.

But one thing I love is that whole second paragraph which sums up what I loved about this book and about Supergirl in general. Linda got to see the world 'through the eyes of a being who only looks for the best in others.' That is a perfect line to describe Supergirl. And, of course, as this was Matrix, the merging with Linda gave her some humanity and a soul that needed to be redeemed. Just wonderful stuff there.

Moreover, this issue has a bunch of other Supergirl-centric Who's Who pages!
Buzz & Linda by Peter David and Amanda Conner
The Danvers by Peter David and Derec Aucoin
Leesburg Friends (Cutter Sharp, Mattie Harcourt, and Dick Malverne) by Peter David and Yancy Labat
Wally (the God Boy) by Peter David and Leonard Kirk
Comet by Peter David and Leonard Kirk
Twilight by Peter David and Amanda Conner

If people want me to review these as well let me know.

I have also covered official Who's Who pages and other similar sort of informational text on this blog in a number of places here: http://comicboxcommentary.blogspot.com/search/label/Who%27s%20Who

And I will admit that I have been thinking about Who's Who a lot lately because of how much I have been enjoying the Who's Who Fire and Water Pod Cast which has been taking a look back at the original Who's Who series from the late 1980's. Run by Rob from Aquaman Shrine and Shag from Firestorm Fan, the podcast is well worth listening to if you are a DC fan.

Boston Comic Con Wrap-Up And Commission #1: Drew Johnson; Adam Hughes Stops Commissions

The Boston Comic Con was this weekend and was just fantastic. As a lifelong New Englander, and current Massachusetts resident, I am so happy that the area has this convention. It has just grown in leaps and bounds over the last several years. And this year was the best one yet with a huge list of talent in attendance, panel discussions, all in the comfy and roomy Hynes Convention Center. I went both days and was able to meet a bunch of creators I admire, grab a lot of signatures on books, and buy some books. I mean ... I got to talk to Frank Quitely, Joe Kubert, Darwyn Cooke, Howard Chaykin, Matt Wagner, JG Jones, etc. That is a day well spent.

As always, at conventions like this I try to grab Supergirl commissions to add to my collection and this time I got a handful. I try to pick an interesting mix of artists to get commissions from - those with a Supergirl history, those with a distinctive look, and just artists that I love. My first target at this convention was Darwyn Cooke but unfortunately he wasn't sketching.

Next on the list was Dave Johnson. I love Johnson's covers, especially his Detective Comics run. He is probably best known for his 100 Bullets covers. I also think his Uncle Sam and Freedom Fighters covers are really appealing as well. This is definitely Johnson's style and a bit more cheesecake than the usual piece in my collection, although not extreme or over the top. There is sort of a coy flirty feel to the piece. I really love Johnson's work so I am thrilled to have this piece in my collection.