Data courtesy of the Grand Comics Database under Creative Commons license.

Issue Details

Issue #869
Published November 2008
Cover Price 2.99 USD; 2.99 CAD
Pages 36
Editing Matt Idelson; Nachie Castro (associate)
Notes This issue went on sale 2008-09-17 (one week late from the solicited shipping date of this issue). DC announced in a press release on 2008-09-09 that this book would be late due to a "printing error". When it did ship, the cover was slightly different than the solicited cover; instead of holding bottles labeled Beer, Clark and Jonathan were now holding bottles labeled "Soda Pop". Apparently, that was the reason for the delay, as some copies have surfaced from the original printing that still had the beer bottles on them.

Cover Details - "Brainiac Part 4"

Characters Superman; Jonathan Kent; Martha Kent; Lois Lane; Headship
Genre Superhero
Pencils Gary Frank (signed)
Inks Gary Frank (signed)
Colors Brad Anderson (signed)
Notes This issue went on sale 2008-09-17 (one week late from the solicited shipping date of this issue). DC announced in a press release on 2008-09-09 that this book would be late due to a "printing error". When it did ship, the cover was slightly different than the solicited cover; instead of holding bottles labeled Beer, Clark and Jonathan were now holding bottles labeled "Soda Pop". Apparently, that was the reason for the delay, as some copies have surfaced from the original printing that still had the beer bottles on them.

Cover Details - "Brainiac Part 4 [Beer Cover]"

Characters Superman; Jonathan Kent; Martha Kent; Lois Lane; Headship
Genre Superhero
Pencils Gary Frank (signed)
Inks Gary Frank (signed)
Colors Brad Anderson (signed)
Notes This cover came from the original printing that still had bottles labeled "Crow" and "Beer" on them. A few copies were not destroyed and have turned up in the marketplace.

22 page Superman story "Brainiac Part 4 Mind Over Matter"

Characters Superman; Brainiac; Supergirl [Kara Zor-El]; Lois Lane; Catherine Grant; Jimmy Olsen (cameo); Steve Lombard; Ron Troupe; Brainiac Probe; Zor-El; Alura; Jonathan Kent (cameo); Martha Kent (cameo); Kandor; Argo City (flashback); Headship
Synopsis Brainiac's probes arrive in Metropolis, and Supergirl and Lois confront them. On the ship Superman and Brainiac continue their confrontation, and Superman gains the upper hand, putting Brainiac temporarily out of commission. He then goes to get the Kandor bottle, which starts communicating with him. Supergirl's parents are alive in there, and tell how they and Argo City survived the initial destruction of Krypton using Brainiac's technology. But Brainiac tracked them down, destroying Argo City, which forced Zor-El and Alura to send Kara away to Earth in the moments before destruction. But Brainiac has recovered; he severs the communications link and recaptures Superman. Supergirl is also captured and brought to the ship. A bottle starts forming around Metropolis, and the ship then fires a weapon into the Earth's sun.
Genre Superhero
Script Geoff Johns
Pencils Gary Frank
Inks Jon Sibal
Colors Brad Anderson
Letters Rob Leigh
Notes Story continued from the previous issue, and continues in the next issue.

1 page DC Nation promo (ad from the publisher) "DC Nation #130 [September 10, 2008]"

Script Ian Sattler
Letters typeset
Notes Ian talks about Batman: Cacophony, written by Kevin Smith, and how the existence of it was kept secret until the San Diego Comic-Con. Ads for Action Comics #870, DC Universe: Decisions #1, Final Crisis: Revelations #2, and Trinity #15. Appears on page 34 in this issue.

5 page promo (ad from the publisher) "House Advertisements"

Notes House ads for: DC Universe: Decisions, Trinity, Secret Six, Frank Miller's Absolute Ronin, and Final Crisis (October 2008 checklist). Appear in various places in this issue.

7 page advertisement "Ads"

Notes Total of 5 one-page and 1 two-page ads for: Hubba Bubba Glop (gum, Wrigleys), Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood (video game, Sega), Batman: Build Your Own Gotham Adventure! (toys, Lego), Dinosaur King (video game, Sega, 2 pages), Star Wars: The Clone Wars (TV, Cartoon Network), and Lego Batman: The Videogame (video game, TT Games). Appear in various places in this issue.