Over the past few years, writer*Tom King*has made quite a name for himself in the comics world, producing critically acclaimed titles like*The Sheriff of Babylon,*The Omega Men, and*The Visionfor Marvel Comics. After a stint writing the adventures of Dick Grayson as a secret agent in the pages of the appropriately titled*Grayson, he took on the task of following up*Scott Snyder*andGreg Capullos*five year run on*Batman, as part ofDC Rebirth. And though those were some pretty big shoes to fill, a year later,*Batman*is one of DCs most acclaimed books under Kings watch.
Now, King is tackling a different*DC Comics*icon, although one far less known to more mainstream audiences. Arriving on August 9 is the first issue ofMister Miracle, King and artist*Mitch Gerads*take on*Jack Kirbys*creation from the early 70s.
For those unfamiliar with the character, Mister Miracle, whose real name is Scott Free, is the son of Highfather, the ruler of the peaceful world New Genesis. As part of a peace treaty with the dark planet*Apokolips, Highfather agreed to an exchange of heirs with its ruler,*Darkseid, the God of Evil. Scott traded places with Darkseids second-born son*Orion.
Scott grew up in a virtual hell on Apokolips, and As he grew older, he rebelled against the rule*of Darkseid. He eventually fled to Earth, along with Apokoliptian wife Big Barda, and the two eventually became members of the Justice League International. Mister Miracle became known not only as a hero, but as the worlds greatest escape artist. Hes popped in the DC Universe here and there ever since, most recently in*Geoff Johns Darkseid War story in*Justice League. But now King and Gerads are set up to tell the definitive Mister Miracle story with this new, 12 issue mini-series.
Although many other writers and artists have attempted to tell their own stories using Jack Kirbys*New Gods*characters, few have been terribly memorable (there are some exceptions of course). King and Gerads are looking to change all that with this new series focusing on Mister Miracle, presenting the character in a way weve never seen before. But did King feel pressure following up Jack Kirby on one of his most famous creations?
I never dont feel pressure said King, of following up not only Kirby on*Mister Miracle, but taking over for Scott Snyder on his tremendously popular run on*Batman.*If youre ever writing and you say to yourself man, I frickin*nailed*it!, and its perfect, then just stop. The reason you write is to walk out on a high wire.
Mitch Gerads and I wanted to try to make a book that was as good as a*Watchmen*or a*New Frontier, with something that reflected current times. Im not saying that we did that, but I can try to do it. Because when I think of our current times I feel a little bit like Im trapped
like when I wake up in the morning, I feel like Im in a world that I dont understand.
But why use Mister Miracle of all character in the DC pantheon, to tell an epic tale that reflects our modern world? Why not a Superman or a Batman? King explains why it had to be Scott Free, saying*right now, it feels like theres nowhere to run. And the rules that I once thought made sense dont make sense anymore, and it just feels like were all in this together and theres no way out, and we cant escape. And what better way to write about that feeling than with the God of Escape? It seemed like a good fit.
King elaborated: I served my country, I did that. I was in the CIA, and I served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and I love this country with every part of my body, and I was willing to risk my body and my family for it. But I wake up in a country I dont understand anymore. But its not my job to just write Trump Sucks! thats ******** to me. Read someones Twitter feed for that. *Yet I feel as an artist, its my job to talk about the paranoia of this time, its my job to do what the (filmmakers) from the 70s did, with movies like*The Parallax View, to describe that feeling that we all have to live with something thats absurd, and yet we have to go on with our lives. Thats what were doing with*Mister Miracle.
Although*Mister Miracle*is a self contained story, something DC hopes will be a perennial, King promises it will have greater implications for the DC Universe as a whole, telling us yes, its in continuity, but its a self contained story
but one that will impact the DCU for years to come.
The first issue hits comic shops on Wednesday, August 9.
