Superman: House Of Brainiac Special #1 Review

     

         

Written by: Joshua Williamson
Art by: Edwin Galmon
Colors by: Edwin Galmon
Letters by: Dave Sharpe
Cover art by: Jamal Campbell
Cover price: $5.99
Release date: April 30, 2024

Superman: House Of Brainiac Special #1 delivers three tales set during the House of Brainac event. Brainiac's history with Czarnia is unveiled. Perry White and Bibbo fight anti-alien sentiment. And Amanda Waller learns the true identity of the Council of Light.
Is Superman: House Of Brainiac Special #1 Good?


Main Story (but not the Biggest story)

Brainiac reminisces about his first encounter with Lobo's home world, Czarnia. The Czarnians perfected immortality by a subset of citizens who couldn't divest themselves of the need for war and conflict. That realization triggered an unresolved question in Brainiac's brain.

Williamson's flashback filler adds an interesting new tidbit about Czarnia's past (pre-Lobo) and maybe drops a clue or two about Brainiac's motivations in this latest arc.


Campaign Headquarters (not the Main Story but the Biggest Story in the Special)

Bibbo gets hot under the collar when he receives a call at his bar asking if he's open for customers early in the morning. Bibbo isn't serving drinks, but he is taking donations for the Perry White Election Campaign.

Later, Perry White has his hands full as he takes on a political debate against an anti-alien opponent, leading to rough talk, rough crowds, and rough decisions.

Why the Hell is Mark Russell's lopsided take on immigration the biggest story in a House of Brainiac special when it has nothing to do with Brainiac? For Bibbo's sake, DC, get your act together.

Signal

Amanda Waller sends Peacemaker to track down a piece of intel from Max Lord, leading her to the location of the Council of Light. In a contentious meeting, the truth is revealed - the Council of Light is the collective of Brainiacs. Waller decides to cut off all collaboration, but Brainiac already has a plan in motion.

Revealing the identity of the Council of Light retroactively makes it seem like the House of Brainiac arc has been in the works for a long time. That may or may not be true, but this short achieves what it intended.



About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

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Bits and Pieces:

Superman: House Of Brainiac Special #1 makes the bizarre choice of sandwiching a heavy-handed one-shot about immigration, that has nothing to do with Brainiac, written by Mark Russell, between two shorts that give readers a small nugget of info about Brainiac's plans and motivations. I don't know what DC Editorial was thinking with this special, but it wasn't anything good.

4/10