Do you ever eat a dinner at a fancy restaurant and just go 'eh?' I mean don't get me wrong, the atmosphere is amazing and so is the service. But the quality of the food seemed to have dipped since the high praise the restaurant got back a couple of months ago. That's what it felt to me as I read this somewhat bland issue of the 'Brainiac' arc.

It may seem nitpicks but two problems I had with this book started with the beginning. Sure Cat Grant is hot as any female in comics, but did we really have to put up with that outfit? It sorta defeats the whole purpose of Clark stating in #866 that 'she really greiving at the loss of her son' when she's making guys act like a character from a Tex Avery cartoon. It also gives us the lame jokes of Supergirl stating that she has...well you should know by now looking at that lovely figure that it's not what nature intended.

But my biggest problem with this issue was the reveal of the 'true' Brainiac. Let me give you another methaphor with this reveal....Say that you've known someone your whole life and he/she was the weakest kid out there. Sure he/she had the brains but could never impress anyone with their athletic talents. Now turn the clock forward 70 years and suddenly your friend is as fit as Jack La Lanne and can now punch as hard as a Strong Man contestant. That's what it felt like when seeing this humongous Brainiac before me. It just feels off really...I mean ever since Brainiac was created he seemed to be a skinny, nerd with every incarnation of the character. Now seeing him the size of The Terminator makes it seem a little silly that Brainiac couldnt just make his clones look like this from the get go.

Don't make these nitpicks fool you though, this is a soild issue. The art is still great as Frank is definitely defining the 'Best Superman artist' achievement. Plus the interactions of Ma and Pa Kent; and the discussion with the true Brainiac and Superman was still pretty good. It just seems to me that this issue started with TnA; went into a ridculous new form of Brainiac; and finally gave us a pants wetting idea that Earth is going to suffer for a few issue of this title. I'd still say pick it up cause it's entertaining threw and threw...Let's just say that Johns might not be the Greek God that we all have been praising him for.