Mister Miracle

[BlueLanternKal]

Tom King Wrote Mister Miracle For Modern America

Spoiler

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 Capullo’s*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 DC’s most acclaimed books under King’s 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 Gerad’s*take on*Jack Kirby’s*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 Darkseid’s 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 world’s greatest escape artist. He’s 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 Kirby’s*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 we’ve never seen before. But did King feel pressure following up Jack Kirby on one of his most famous creations?

“I never don’t 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 you’re ever writing and you say to yourself ‘man, I frickin’*nailed*it!’, and it’s 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. I’m 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 I’m trapped…like when I wake up in the morning, I feel like I’m in a world that I don’t 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 there’s nowhere to run. And the rules that I once thought made sense don’t make sense anymore, and it just feels like we’re all in this together and there’s no way out, and we can’t 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 don’t understand anymore. But it’s not my job to just write “Trump Sucks!” – that’s ******** to me. Read someone’s Twitter feed for that. *Yet I feel as an artist, it’s my job to talk about the paranoia of this time, it’s 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 that’s absurd, and yet we have to go on with our lives. That’s what we’re 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, it’s in continuity, but it’s 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.

http://nerdist.com/tom-king-mister-miracle-interview/

 

[Motown Marvel]

I'm totally into this. King's Batman run has been underwhelming. But this has the potential to be as good as his run on Vision which was one of the best books of 2016.

 

[Gee]

Considering it's a 12-issue mini, I'll trade-wait for the inevitable deluxe hardcover. Really hyped for this.

 

[Babillygunn]

Just caught this and read the first three issues. I'm loving it even though I'm not clear on what's going on or what is true and what isn't. Can't wait for more of the story to come out.

 

[Motown Marvel]

Yeah this has been exceptionally good so far.

 

[JewishHobbit]

I'm having trouble following this book in a monthly format, but I have a gut feeling that this book read in one setting is going to enter "classic" talks. It has the feel of something amazing, even if I'm too slippery-minded to get it yet. I'm eager to read it through all together once it's finished.

 

[Gee]

Issue #5 is fantastic. A great follow-up to the Batman annual when it comes to the DCU's power couples.

Spoiler

"Stay." Damn, you just know they'll get through this because they care so much about each other.

 

[Babillygunn]

I love this so much. Best book of the past year. Issue #8 was awesome.

Spoiler

”Batman kills babies”

Lol.

 

[Babillygunn]

Such an amazing series. But what the heck did I just read? That last issue was beautiful but soooo confusing.

 

[CrimsonMist]

Such an amazing series. But what the heck did I just read? That last issue was beautiful but soooo confusing.

It's been generating lots of interesting conversation.

My take-away:

Spoiler

The ending reminded me of the Bobby Ewing Shower twist on Dallas. Scott made it out alive, but the lesson is that depression doesn't, and shouldn't, own and control you. It exists, but so do you. So make the best of it. It's not one way or the other.

The other explanation is that, based on page 15, the plane of existence where Scott exists is the true Fourth World. It's the place he sees when he closes his eyes and tried to escape. He made it there. On the other hand, it's as simple as this: The opening caption says that a new trap has been sprung on Scott, a trap so diabolical in it's simplicity - he's in the clutches of a trap that he doesn't want to escape from, but can at any time. Which is kind of bleak but maybe these two explanations go hand in hand? Was it a trap? Is Scott's situation good or bad?

I don't know. I plan on re-reading the whole series to see if there's something I'm missing. There's too much nuance in this series that it's hard to remember on a month-to-month (if that) basis.