Tuesday, August 8, 2017

Mister Miracle #1 Review


I Believe in Miracles

Written by: Tom King
Art by: Mitch Gerads and Clayton Cowles
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: August 9, 2017

I am not a fan of the New Gods or Mr. Miracle in particular, but I am excited to become one.  Yes, I am putting a whole lot on Tom King's shoulders, but I've seen pictures of him on Twitter and I think he's strong enough to support me.  Sure, I do like to visit a buffet now and again and really love fast food, but I try to stay in as good a shape as a man my age can.  I mean, I haven't run a marathon, but I play basketball on the reg and stay as active as a comic book reviewer can.  Okay, enough about my eating and exercise, let's get on with the review...


The issue opens in both a meta and horrific way...Mr. Miracle, "the strangest. most incredible hero ever to appear in comics", has slit his wrists.  We get back to that, but first we see Scott Free as a kid and he's very cute and very precocious.  I realized by this point that this was not going to be the best introduction to Mister Miracle and maybe, that wasn't the worst thing.

Back with the man himself, he is back at home and gets a visitor...Orion.  Unfortunatley, he hasn't brought a get well card, but instead, beats the crap out of Scott.  Barda interrupts it all and we do get a little New Gods background before Orion heads home.  The scene ends with Scott (and the reader) left wondering if maybe Scott has gone through too much lately.



We then head off to another meta scene as Mister Miracle hits the late night circuit.  The questioning quickly goes to his suicide attempt and we get the gist of this issue (if not the series)...can Mister Miracle escape death?  Yea, it's a bit heavier than the usual comic book fare and while I think others will likely lose their minds over the concept, it's interesting, but I am going to sit tight to see where it all goes.

Meeting up with Highfather, Scott learns a little more that will obviously push the series forward.  Darkseid...Anti-Life Equation...changing reality.  you know, Darkseid stuff!

The issue then ends by showing that either Darkseid is working overtime or Scott is going looney...maybe it's a bit of column A and column B.  I guess we will have to wait and see what's really going on, but for now, Barda and Scott may not be ready for a war, but they are heading for one.



Once I got my head wrapped around what Tom King was doing here, I did enjoy it.  Sure, we get the standard Tom King repeating dialogue that usually drives me insane, but here is not so annoying.  The mystery of whether or not Scott is right in the head or being messed with by Darkseid (or someone else) does have me intrigued, but I do have a few problems here.  The pacing is a bit off and I can't say this issue was exciting from page one to the end.  However, I did like this issue and am looking to see where it all goes.

Another reason I enjoyed this issue was Mitch Gerads' art.  It's stylistically rough at times, wavy to the point of confusion and pretty damn good.  Sure, I am personally getting tired to Tom King's books going the nine panel route, but if it looks this good, I can get past that.

Bits and Pieces:

This is not an introduction to Mister Miracle, but Tom King gives readers an intriguing story that is just getting started, but already feels pretty big already.  I do think the pacing is off, but the art and mystery of it all have me intrigued going forward.

7.9/10


8 comments:

  1. Good fair review , not a ten by any means like all the reviewers who have alive affair w king think it is, but a good start none the less

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    1. Oh man, you took the words right out of my mouth. I have seen like ten reviews that gace 9 or 10 to the issue. I liked it, and I think an 8 is a more reasonable score.

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  2. Personally I'd give the story more like a 6/10
    I hate the yard it just looks gross ugly
    In my exposure to Mister Miracle in the past was as part of the JLI with Booster and Guy and Ted Kord so suicidal New God with a boring story that I can't even enjoy looking at this was in my opinion my worst book of the week
    And if you asked me before the story who my favorite Kirby character was I would have probably told you mister miracle

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    1. After rereading this story and discussing it with others, FUCK THIS GARBAGE. 4/10

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    2. Man, I went the opposite. Just thought it was meh after first read and after subsequent readings I really really like it.

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  3. Is it me or does this feel and look a bit like Lemire's Moon Knight?

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  4. Will Eisner once said something to the effect of, "what makes comics so special isn't because they tell extraordinarily wild stories, but because they're intimate." I like the way King explores big ideas through small emotional, character driven stories. I have never been a fan of Mr. Miracle or The New Gods, but this has me excited for more. 7.5

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