Brain Boy #6 (2024 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Matt Price is a young man with a miraculous ability. His highly advanced brain allows him tremendous mental powers including levitating, telepathy and the ability to control others minds. However, Matt's talents will face their most difficult tests when he takes a much needed vacation in the Canadian wilderness.

Code-named Brain Boy by the secret government agency that he works for, Matt's abilities were the result of an accident that happened while he was still in the womb. An electrical tower collapsed on the vehicle carrying his parents. The blast killed Matt's father while transferring energy into his mother. That massive power surge accelerated the prenatal Matt's cerebral cortex, turning him into one of the most powerful psychics ever known.

On his vacation in the Great White North, Matt arrives at a small fishing town where small town life is anything but normal. Most of the townsfolk appear to be in a daze. The two young children that Matt can get to talk to him keep inviting him to take a swim in the community swimming hole. But instead of crystal clear water, the lake has a sickly green hued to it.

When Matt arrives at the lodge he is to vacation at, he meets a man that while arrogant and brash, is the complete opposite of the zombified citizenry. That all changes when the man is persuaded to take a dip in the lake and he emerges from the waters an empty shell of himself.

Now Matt finds himself on the run as the last visitor to the community that hasn't swum in the mysterious lake. With his psychic abilities not working against the community, Matt will have to use his intelligence to find the secret of the lake's bizarre mind altering properties or he'll become the next victim of the mysterious reservoir!

Brain Boy debuted in the pages of Four Color Comics #1330 (March, 1962). Co-created by Herb Kastle, and Gil Kane, the next adventure of Matt Price was Brain Boy #2. His self-titled series concluded with this, the 6th issue. Brian Boy would make a cameo appearance in Alan Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen universe before being revived in a brief 2013 series released by Dark Horse Comics.

'The Mindless Ones' was written by Kastle. The story which elicits fears of who can you really trust has elements of the classic sci-fi thrillers Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Village of the Damned. Adding to the chilling tone of this issue is a one-page prose story titled 'The Devil Worshiper' and a 4-page backup feature starring the white Tibetan trained mystic; the Strange Mr. Ozymandias. 'Devil's Acres' was crafted by Frank Springer, who was also the regular artist on the Brain Boy spin-off from Dell Comics.

Painted cover by Vic Prezio.

Completing this review completes Task #2 (Comic From the Silver Age (1956-1970) ) of the 2024 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.