Mister Miracle #1

Written by: Tom King
Pencils, Inks and Colours by: Mitch Gerads
Published by: DC Comics

Wow! Just wow! Those were my first two thoughts after reading this first issue by King and Gerads. I am not that well versed in their previous collaborations - I only read the first issue of Vision and I have never read Sheriffs of Babylon - but after this first issue, I am going to have to make it a must to read them.

The issue starts, not like any issue I’ve read in awhile, if ever, with Scott Free, Mister Miracle, lying on his bathroom floor with what appears to be self-inflicted wrist wounds. That’s right, in the first three pages, King and Gerads show us Mister Miracle trying to escape what is usually unescapable: death.

King and Gerads then give us 20 pages of what happens next. It’s hard to talk about the story and writing without talking about the art and the layout of the comic. King and Gerads choose to use the 9-panel layout format to tell a fast paced account of what happens after Mister Miracle tries to take his own life. We get glimpses of the effects it has on his wife Big Barda; we get glimpses of Orion and Highfather; we are offered the perspective of the media - we have to assume here that Mister Miracle is a known celebrity in this comic; and finally, we are told that there is a looming battle. And within this frenetic storytelling, we get a panel here and there announcing to us the reader that “Darkseid is”. What exactly? I have a feeling we will find out.

Mister Miracle #1 is a hard comic to review insofar that it just works. And it works on so many levels. You can always tell when a writer/artist team knows one another pretty well because the writing compliments the art which compliments the writing. King and Gerads opening to this 12-issue mini-series is near perfect in that it gives you just enough information that leaves you wanting more. And with this 12 issue format, we know going in that King and Gerads have this already planned out, and that we won’t be left hanging in the end. I for one, cannot wait for the next issue.