Writers: Joshua Williamson & Mark Russell
Artists: Edwin Galmon, Steve Pugh & Fico Ossio
Color Artists: Jordie Bellaire & Rex Lokus
Cover Artist: Jamal Campbell
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $4.99
Reviewer: StoryBabbler
The Earth has recently been invaded by Brainiac, who unleashed an army of Czarnian warriors, who captured not the city of Metropolis rather all its metahumans, including the Super-Family. Now that Superman found and teamed up with Lobo, we take a step away from that to focus on Brainiac who muses over his actions and the goal he pursues. See Superman: House of Brainiac Special #1 to learn more about Brainiac’s motives for his actions and get a glimpse of his goal.
Review:
Okay, so like many anthologies from Marvel and DC Comics, the stories within it are very hit and miss as far as quality goes. I will come out say which ones, in my opinion, are good and which ones are bad. The first story is the best by default; it’s nothing great but it’s actually relevant to the main House of Brainiac event with its focus on Brainiac himself. The second story is the worst and the least said about it the better. The third story is the most potentially divisive considering its significance to the upcoming Absolute Power event and the status quo of Amanda Waller at this time. But lest get to the proper review.
The first story is written by Joshua Williamson and drawn by Edwin Galmon, and it essentially covers when and how Brainiac bottled the Czarnian city which housed the Czarnian army of General Chacal before Lobo wiped out the rest of their people. It’s rather interesting considering it takes place in Brainiac’s early years of his interstellar collection, which is reflected in his costume design and Skull Ship design. We get some new characters, some lore around the Czarnian species and their immortality. But above all, we see a nugget of what possibly fuels Brainiac’s motivations for doing what he’s doing right now, possibly relating to his family that he once had on his homeworld of Colu. But the comic doesn’t come out and say it, so we’ll have to see the ramifications of this in the main story in Superman and Action Comics.
The second story is written by Mark Russell and drawn by Steve Pugh. Now, I said earlier that this story was the worst of the bunch and for good reason. It’s essentially more of Mark Russell’s infamous poor social commentary in the guise of a story. I won’t waste too much time on it other than, it’s a skippable story and you lose nothing from not reading it.
The third story is written by Joshua Williamson and drawn by Fico Ossio. Now, this one is the shortest of the three, yet it has the most significance towards Amanda Waller and the upcoming Absolute Power summer event. In this story we get a big reveal of who Amanda Waller’s new mysterious partners are. MASSIVE SPOILER ALERT. TURN BACK NOW IF YOU DON’T WANT TO BE SPOILED.
Okay, it turns out that the mysterious Light Council she’s been working with are all Brainiac and his alternate selves. Mind you, we don’t get an in-depth explanation behind why Brainiac formed this secret “council” or even why he teamed up with Amanda Waller, despite their hostile history in the last decade, and aided her in her goal of “removing superpowers from the world”. And for those invested in this storyline, the reaction will most likely be mixed to say the least.
Final Thoughts:
Superman: House of Brainiac Special #1 brings an issue that expands a little on Brainiac’s past and possible motive for his current invasion. Naturally, the stories in this issue are hit-and-miss, with the first one being the best story by default, while the second is the worst, and the third is the second best but it has a bit of trouble. The third story makes a big reveal concerning Amanda Waller and her mysterious secret allies that may divide readers invested in her story and the upcoming Absolute Power event, so mileage will vary on that.