Action Comics #869 Recalled

DC Comics, November 2008 (in shops: 2008-09-17).

"Brainiac" part 4 of 5! Krypton's greatest adversary has set his sights on Superman and his homeworld as his endless quest for absolute knowledge continues. But the horrors within Brainiac's ship are nothing compared to the alien behind it. Superman's world is about to change as the build-up to the Superman event of 2008 races towards its conclusion!

This was the penultimate issue of the Brainiac Story, written by Geoff Johns featuring interior art by Gary Frank & Jon Sibal, and a Gary Frank cover.

DC decided to recall the comic due to cover content: the cover depicts Superman, in civilian attire with his 'S' shield clearly visible, and his adoptive father outside the Kent farmhouse, sharing a beer (or maybe a root beer).

DC issued a statement to retailers that the issue was recalled, and that any copies featuring the original cover be destroyed. The next week, DC reprinted the issue featuring a cover where the label on both the bottles of beer were changed to read "soda pop".

Some estimated that around 1,000 issues of the first print are thought to exist making it likely rarer than the Elseworlds recalled edition but not demanding anywhere near the same prices as the "microwaved baby" comic.

At the time of revising this page (mid-November 2021), the CGC census recorded 400 gradings of the "Recalled Edition", with one in the top grade of 9.9 (mint minus).

At that same time, the CBCS Population report recorded 11 gradings of the "Recalled Edition" with four in the top grade of 9.8 (near mint/mint).