Brother Power the Geek #1

History

Joe Simon conceived the character as a deliberate reworking of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, transplanted into a San Francisco–era crash pad, and simultaneously hoped to capture the 'wandering outcast philosopher' quality that had made the Silver Surfer a hit with college readers. Simon was sole credited writer and cover artist, but per his own interview in Comic Book Artist #5 (TwoMorrows, Summer 1999), the interior pencils were ghosted by Al Bare — a longtime Simon collaborator from their Sick magazine days — with Simon providing layouts and inks; the book's indicia credited Simon alone, as was common industry practice at the time. The character was originally titled Brother Power the Freak, but DC management, reportedly at the urging of Superman family editor Mort Weisinger, insisted the name be changed because 'freak' carried drug-culture connotations; 'geek' — then meaning a carnival performer who bit the heads off live chickens — was considered the safer alternative. The series was cancelled after only two published issues: according to Simon, a fully completed third issue was pulled just before it was to be plated for printing, and he refused for the rest of his life to reveal its plot or release the artwork.

Trivia · 8 facts

• First appearance of Brother Power the Geek (also known as The Geek), written and cover-drawn by Joe Simon, with interior pencils by Al Bare — published September–October 1968 (on-sale date July 16, 1968) by DC / National Periodical Publications.
• Issue contains two chapters: 'Chapter One: A Thing Is Born' and 'Part 2: The Mind Blowers of P.S. 23,' both scripted by Simon and penciled by Bare, plus a short biography of Joe Simon.
• Also introduces supporting cast members Nick Cranston, Paul Cymbalist, Cindy, Hound Dawg, and the biker gang the Mongrels — all in their first appearance.
• The character's name was changed from 'Brother Power the Freak' to 'Brother Power the Geek' at DC's editorial insistence, reportedly driven by Mort Weisinger's concern that 'freak' implied drug use.
• The entire original series ran only two issues; a third issue was completed but cancelled before printing, its contents never disclosed by Simon.
• The series was killed partly due to internal opposition: former editorial director Carmine Infantino stated in retirement interviews that Weisinger lobbied publisher Jack Liebowitz to shut the title down, objecting to Simon's sympathetic portrayal of hippie culture.
• The character was revived twenty years later by Neil Gaiman in Swamp Thing Annual #5 (1989) — reprinted in Neil Gaiman's Midnight Days — where Brother Power was recast as an imperfect elemental connected to all human simulacra; he later appeared in a Vertigo one-shot by Rachel Pollack and Mike Allred (Vertigo Visions – The Geek, 1993).
• Brother Power is referenced as an escapee from 'comic book limbo' in Grant Morrison's Animal Man run, and appears in cameos across Kingdom Come, Planetary, Tom Peyer's Totems, The Brave and the Bold vol. 3 #29 (2010), and Grant Morrison's Multiversity Guidebook as a member of the Love Syndicate of Dreamworld on Earth-47.

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