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So aggressively nutty that it's considered -- by some -- to be a humor comic (although it's doubtful if that was its creator's original intention), BROTHER POWER, THE GEEK was created, co-written and packaged by Joe Simon, the co-creator of CAPTAIN AMERICA, and edited by former MAD magazine cartoonist Joe Orlando. Like Marvel's SILVER SURFER, BROTHER POWER, THE GEEK was a peaceful superpowered philosopher, but unlike Norrin Radd, Brother Power never found his intended audience. Unfortunately, BROTHER POWER, THE GEEK -- which may have originally been prepared for Harvey's line of superheroic "Thrillers" -- only lasted for a scant two issues (although decades later, DC revived the character as a member of its "Vertigo" imprint.)

This issue's 23-page "Brother Power As The Geek " cover-story was co-written and packaged by Joe Simon, co-written by Jack Oleck, and drawn by Al Bare and Bill Draut. Chapter One - "A Thing Is Born" starts with an introductory page unlike any other you've ever seen in any comic! It includes this "poem":

"The ages of man
have been marked by miracles.
Man himself is a miracle…
as is life.
Man the miracle has been striving
to create life for centuries.
In December of this year,
he created the spark of life.
It is a first baby step
in man's challenge
to the mighty force of nature.
This story is about man
and nature.
But mostly it is about
the soul of man."

It also includes a bizarre list of character-credits, "featuring Percy Chadwick Jr. as HOUND DAWG, Nick Cranston as PAUL, Paul Cymbalist as NICK and introducing CINDY as herself"! But the story actually starts as Hound Dawg's motorcycle gang, the Mongrels, disrupts a peaceful San Francisco hippie "love-in". Paul and Nick, two of the "flower children" who are injured in the fracas, are forced to take shelter:

NARRATIVE CAPTION: The abandoned tailor shop once did a brisk business before the unkempt brood moved into the neighborhood. Now, its machines rusting, its peeling walls vibrating with psychedelic design, it is a haven for the young hippies!

Paul's bloodstained clothes are soaking wet, so to prevent them from shrinking, he uses them to dress a tailor's dummy to dry them out near an old radiator. During the process, Paul accidentally can of machine oil on the dummy. But while the hippies slip into sleep, a bizarre process occurs:

NARRATIVE CAPTION:
The blood-stained dummy slips beside the radiator, and lays there…forgotten…absorbing dust and rain and oil…The young men sleep and awake and go about their useless lives…And the thing by the window lays there. Through summer, fall and winter…and the sun shines on it and the heat from the radiator warms it…Observe electrical energy from the heavens. Commonly referred to as a bolt of lightning…follow it as it snakes downward…Many scientists believe that if there is a source to kindle life, it will be lightning…An open window…the electrical impulses find the perfect conductor - the old iron radiator…the force slithers downward. Finds the oil soaked, blood stained rags…and sparkles to its death in agonizing convulsion. The thing by the window moves…fighting to live - to sustain the tiny scrap of sour born from the spark…That night, the rag dummy gets up and walks!

As Paul and Nick spot the shambling shape, their pad is suddenly invaded by Hound Dog and his biker gang, the Mongrels, who attempt to run down the living tailor's dummy. But the boneless "freak" grabs Hound Dog's chopper right out from under him and hurls it out the window!

NICK:
Brother Paul, that's power! BROTHER POWER!

While Hound Dog and his pack of Mongrels flee, Nick and Paul discuss their shaggy-headed new pal:

NICK:
It's for real, all right, but real what? It doesn't talk…is it evil? Good? Or just a GEEK!

PAUL:
Whatever, Brother Nick, it's our thing. Let's think that it was sent here to protect us. Like, who needs protection more?

NARRATIVE CAPTION:
The name sticks and catches on…Brother Power becomes a familiar figure in the area and oddly enough, he creates very little curiosity among the hippies, considering what he is…But the lazy ways of the hippies are not for Brother Power…Life is something special…He wants to savor life…to soar like a bird!

Chapter 2 - "The Mind Blowers Of P.S. 23" begins as Nick and Paul decide to teach Brother Power how to speak. Within a few months, "Pow" is fluently speaking "hippie-ese":

BROTHER POWER THE GEEK:
Man, I tell it like it is now! The sound is groovey! It blows my mind!

NICK:
Well, we taught him the language, but where did we trip up?

PAUL:
I'll cue you what's bugged…he talks like us!

Determined to help their shaggy friend, Nick and Paul enroll Pow in a local elementary school. But the poor guy is so ashamed, he folds himself to fit inside a bag to be secretly carried into his classroom. Fortunately, Brother Power learns fast:

PAUL:
So this is your hang-up - the science lab.

BROTHER POWER THE GEEK:
Chemistry is my bag! I've been trying to find out what makes me go-go! Man, I'm loaded with electrical energy!

NICK:
Like, wow! You're a human generator. That lightning really switched you on!

BROTHER POWER THE GEEK:
That's it exactly! The wires that I'm strung out on are grooved with a million swinging volts! But when will I be switched off? How long is my trip on this Earth?

PAUL:
Poor Pow! Don't blow your mind, man!

NICK:
Come on, let's make another scene!

Then the odd trio stroll thoughtfully through the darkened streets of San Francisco. As they approach their "pad", they encounter a parade for "The Psychedelic Circus"! When one of the parade's floats breaks down, Brother Power lends his strength - that of "a hundred men" - to help, but it turns out to be a trap! Pow is bound with chains and dragged inside the float while Paul and Nick are beaten senseless by members of the Mongrels:

PAUL:
NO. NO!! Don't hurt Brother Power! He's very sensitive!

Although they realize they're no fighters, Nick and Paul organize their hippie pals into staging "a comic book hero happening" to confront the Mongrels and rescue Brother Power. Soon, in a parody of "The Spirit Of '76", they confront the Mongrels:

NARRATIVE CAPTION:
The gleeful brothers take to the proposal with abandon…an hour later, the Mongrels are accosted by strange sights and sounds…

NICK (singing):
SOCK IT TO THEM, BABIES
BEFORE THEY TUNE OUT OUR GEEKOUT!
FLEX YOUR MUSCLES! BANG UP THE MONGRELS!
THEY'RE OUR HANG-UP!
YEA, YEA, YEA, YEA, YEA.

Despite their good intentions, the hippies are thoroughly trounced by Hound Dawg and his Mongrels, who insist they haven't even seen Brother Power, the Geek! For days, Paul and Nick search the streets, looking for their lost "brother". One rainy night, they find themselves near the Psychedelic Circus. Since Brother Power was kidnapped during the Psychedelic Circus' parade, they decide to investigate the place. Accepting a job offer, they infiltrate the place, where they discover Brother Power helplessly on display in the circus' double-page-spread freak show! (Please note that many of these "freaks" are artistic "swipes" of bubble-gum sticker-card monsters originally designed by comic artists Wallace Wood and Basil Wolverton!) The exhibit is guarded by the Psychedelic Circus' strong man, but Paul temporarily blinds him with a shovel-full of mud while Nick attempts to free Brother Power from his chains. During their altercation, a spotlight is toppled, landing at the feet of the Geek! As it explodes, the resulting shock jolts Pow into convulsive action, breaking his chains as if they were mere paper clips! Now free, Brother Power easily defeats the strong man, despite being half his size. Later, back in their pad, Nick and Paul's pretty friend Cindy patches up Pow's fabric-skin. She also designs a special sweater for him, which combines the "male" and "female" symbols with a flower.

BROTHER POWER THE GEEK:
Gosh, Cindy, you work wonders with that needle and thread - your hands are so skillful - and gentle - and smooth -

CINDY:
It's nothing - a hem-stitch. That's all - I picked it up at the Singer Sewing Institute. I've designed this emblem for you - to identify you - you're our leader! My how attractive you look!

BROTHER POWER THE GEEK:
Do you really think I'm attractive, Cindy?

Cindy's attention inspires Brother Power:

BROTHER POWER THE GEEK:
I'm going to MAKE somebody of myself! Somebody a girl could be proud of!

NICK:
YOU? What could YOU be, Pow?

BROTHER POWER THE GEEK:
I could be anything I set my mind to! With the right girl to inspire him, a man could be…could be PRESIDENT!

NICK/PAUL:
Oh, brother!!

And soon:

NARRATIVE CAPTION:
Spurred on by visions of love, Brother Power is not to be discouraged! With unlimited vitality, he loses no time in launching his chosen career…

BROTHER POWER THE GEEK:
You need a representative who understands your problems! If elected, I will support your programs - LOVE, PEACE…FLOWER POWER!

Chapter 3 - "Dragnet In Hippieland", opens with this caption:

NARRATIVE CAPTION:
But there are deep shadows on the Hippieland horizon in the person of the Psychedelic Circus impresario…

After the Psychedelic Circus' ringmaster reports Brother Power for ruining his show, the San Francisco police surround the candidate's political headquarters. The circus' strongman leads the attack, but after Brother Power somersaults him into a wall, he leaps through the window to freedom. But as he crawls into the sewer system to escape, Brother Power, the Geek, leaves a trail that's picked up by Hound Dawg and his Mongrel bikers:

NARRATIVE CAPTION:
Hiding! Running! Darting into shadows, Brother Power becomes a FUGITIVE!! It is a shattering experience for one who reached for the stars…the daylight is deadly!…THERE! AHEAD OF HIM - SANCTUARY - a tunnel beneath the freeway! Then - a chance meeting - THE MONGRELS!

As their battle is broadcast live on television (presented by network newsmen Chet Huntley and David Brinkley, no less!) Brother Power grabs Hound Dawg's motorcycle and uses it to lose himself in nearby San Francisco. Soon, the "establishment" forces of the San Francisco police and the National Guard trap Brother Power on the Golden Gate Bridge. When he hears that they plan to handcuff him, the sensitive Geek just can't accept the notion of being chained again, so he revs up his motorcycle and crashing through the bridge's guard rails, plunges into the waters of San Francisco Bay, to the accompaniment of somewhat less-than-spectacular sound effects:

SFX:
Phzzzz

NICK:
Poor Pow! He had such a short trip on this Earth! A hank o' hair, a rag and a bone! He was hardly more than a DUMMY! Yet, he was almost the very most!

PAUL:
There, in the deep still waters, rests a man who COULD have been - a congressman - a governor - even -

CINDY:
…Even PRESIDENT!

NARRATIVE CAPTION:
Is Brother Power dead? Maybe, maybe not…Will he lie forever at the bottom of the bay…to become part of the sludge…And finally fade away? Find out in the next swinging issue!

Also included in this issue of BROTHER POWER, THE GEEK is the 2/3-page text feature "Meet Joe Simon":

"With this issue, Joe Simon returns to D.C. Comics after a long absence. 'I knew they couldn't get along without me,' he grinned with pride. Regarded as '[the Dean of Storytellers,' this book marks his return to a field helped create. JOE SIMON was IN on the GROUND FLOOR of comics. 'I used to work in a BASEMENT,' he insists. To show you how far back Joe really goes, he proclaims that 'I was around when all these long-underwear super-heroes were wearing jockey shorts!'

"Perrenial comic book fans will remember Joe for the many super-heroes he created, among them CAPTAIN AMERICA, THE BOY COMMANDOES, MANHUNTER and THE FLY. He also wrote the first full book on CAPTAIN MARVEL, establishing the format for one of the great episodes in the GOLDEN AGE OF COMICS. 'Then one day I shouted 'SHAZAM!' and found myself turned into a sailor in WORLD WAR TWO,' he recalls.

"After that, Joe discovered YOUNG ROMANCE. 'Not the real thing,' he moans, 'the publication.' This book was a huge financial success and created a new bonanza in comics, yet Joe had to give it up. 'I found I used to stop young girls on the street and give them advice.'

"Born in Rochester, N.Y., Joe started out by working for various daily newspapers as a sports-political cartoonist and feature writer. This career ended when William Randolph Hearst started dissolving his newspaper empire. As he closed one paper, Joe got shipped to another, then another, and so on. 'I would have held out,' says Joe, 'but Hearst ran out of newspapers.'

"It was then that Joe Simon discovered comics. Here he could be creative and didn't have to live out of a suitcase. The rest is history.

"A prodigious worker, Joe works from midnight to 4 A.M. His daylight hours are occupied with a kennel of Great Danes, five you Simons and a wife who, incidentally, 'never read a comic book.' As Joe puts it, 'Now you know why I have to work nights!'

"In recent years Joe's creative work has been sorely missed by comic book fans. His hectic schedule today allows for only an occasional foray in the field. At present he divides his time between being the editor of a humor Magazine, producing advertising supplements for the New York Sunday Times, and art directing political campaigns.

"As far as his political creations are concerned, Joe produced three comic books for Gov. Nelson Rockefeller when he was a big winner. 'I was hoping some of that 'winner' would rub off on me,' he admits.

"'I wanted to do another comic book, but there were enough of the traditional super heroes. The hippie scene fascinated me. I mean the peace movement, the love-your-neighbor, flower-power part, the student movement. I felt this should be the background for a contemporary story. The hero would have to be a version of the ultimate hippie," and so the GEEK was born."

ODDBALL Factoid - Supposedly, "The Geek" was originally intended to be called "The Freak" but DC management was concerned that "freak" might be perceived as a drug reference!

For more from Scott Shaw!, visit his Web site at http://www.shawcartoons.com/.

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