By Keigen Rea — Welcome back to Rereads, a feature in which I’m rereading a comic once a month (at least) for various purposes, potential reasons including; not “getting it” with previous reads, not liking it at all the first time, experience and time providing a different perspective on the work, forgetting what happened, or any number of other reasons. The idea is to reread with purpose more than comfort, largely because a comfort read doesn’t interest me in the same way that a purposeful and critical read does, but I won’t be surprised if a comfort read sneaks in at some point in the future. Anyway, welcome!

Mister Miracle by Tom King and Mitch Gerads

This piece is dedicated to suicide prevention. In the U.S., call 1-800-273-8255 for a suicide prevention hotline that’s available 24/7. If you need help, or if you’re having suicidal thoughts, please reach out for help.

Today I’m Rereads-ing Mister Miracle (2017-2019), by Tom King, Clayton Cowles, and Mitch Gerads (in digital single issue format), published by Detective Comics Comics.

Mister Miracle by Tom King and Mitch Gerads.jpg

Why Mister Miracle?

Like last time, there are a few reasons. One is that I finally read Kirby’s Mister Miracle, giving me a very different lens on the character. I also read Sean Dillon’s (or, @deathchrist2000), One Must Imagine Scott Free Happy (https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1024421), a book of criticism on King/Gerads Mister Miracle. Also, I have a history of changing my opinion on comics written by Tom King, so I want to give this one a go and see how it shakes out.

Pre-reread thoughts

The first time I read this Mister Miracle run was the week the last issue came out. I had bought most of it but had yet to read it. I started it on Monday, and read the finale the day it released.

Now, it’s true that I’m a bit down on this series now, but when I first read it, I called it, “revelatory.” Was that an exaggeration, even at the time? Sure, but I know I enjoyed it quite a bit.

That being said, I’ve soured on it since, especially after reading Kirby’s Mister Miracle and seeing how imaginative, fun, and goofy it was. King/Gerads/Cowles Mister Miracle was only the second time I had read anything about Scott Free and Big Barda, and now reading other stories with them, I’m not sure how much I really like their interpretation. I’m fine with putting characters through the ringer and having them change, but I feel like there are better ways for Scott Free and Big Barda to be used.

This doesn’t mean I’ve made my mind about the series, which is largely why I read One Must Imagine Scott Free Happy, as I knew it was a literal book about why the series is good. The essays inside have already given me a new appreciation for the material, and it’s reminded me of the major plot points, which will help me figure out how I feel instead of just reading something that I has largely forgotten.

I think I’ll come out enjoying the comic for what it is and for the craft on display, but I’m not sure about how I’ll feel about the ramifications this series will have on Scott and Barda going forward. They’ve been off the board since the series concluded, but my hope is that they’re put in something soon and that whoever writes them doesn’t feel like they have to stick to the interpretation that this series puts forth.

Mister Miracle

It’s been a week since I finished Mister Miracle. I’ve sat with it, wrestled with it, and given it time to sink in. I thought about One Must Imagine Scott Free Happy. How did this Reread go?

Mister Miracle is a harder work than Rue Britannia. It’s about different stuff, and more difficult stuff. It’s longer. It’s denser. It’s not as interesting to me, but it is more relatable. It’s almost harder to write about because I’ve seen so many words written about it, even ignoring the literal book I read about it. It’s a book that drove a whole bunch of discourse across it’s run and beyond, so naturally my response to it is complicated. All of which is to say that I liked rereading Mister Miracle, but I didn’t like rereading it.

This is a great comic, on multiple levels. Mitch Gerads pulls double or triple duty, depending on how you count inking. Clayton Cowles is my favorite letter artist in comics, and this a book that further proves his skill. It’s a constant shame, but so many people praise King in his collaborations, but the reality is that I didn’t read King’s version of Mister Miracle, I read Gerad’s interpretation of the script. And he did a phenomenal job. Mitch does incredible work with 1/9 of a comic page, and is still able to be inventive with perspective and staging.

Beyond this, I was struck hard by the humor in the series. It’s buried by the focus on suicide to some degree, but the series is able to consistently be funny, both in sitcom-style moments and in big blockbuster ones. That’s impressive, but not overly surprising, as King and Gerads are good at delivering humor amidst horror.

Before I get into what I didn’t like, I will say, this story is great. It’s dense, and I think that density isn’t always a good thing, but the stuff that works is awesome. The focus on fatherhood after a traumatic upbringing is something I particularly loved, but there are a hundred little moments across the series that just work. It is good, I’ll read it again and enjoy it in the future.

It wasn’t all good though, and I’m recruiting some words by the brilliant and powerful Allison Senegal to help explain the major issue I have with the series: “basically, the ideal Big 2 comic gives readers/fans a mix of discomfort/new direction (things that take the characters through changes and into new concepts) and comfort/familiarity (making those changes and concepts feel true to those characters).” I had seen Allison express this idea a few different times on Twitter (@maliciousglee), and it defines my biggest problem with Mister Miracle; that the series doesn’t feel like it has enough to do with any prior Mister Miracle stories, the balance between “new direction” and “familiarity” is all out of whack. While the plot is good, and great in places, the characters don’t track with my past experiences enough for me to feel like this is an extension of those stories. To me, it feels like pieces of the core concept are based in past stories (“Darkseid is,” Scott being an escape artist, his general upbringing), but other parts feel inconsistent (all of the New Genesis characters are a particularly glaring weakness).

Those do have some defense though, especially when Scott’s depression is taken into account. Depression changes your view of others and yourself. It warps your perspective. It could be used as an explanation for people acting wonky, it’s just Scott’s perception. Or, of course, you could just argue that this series isn’t in continuity, and is us simply viewing Scott Free in a universe where the characters act this way. That’s a valid interpretation, and again, the story is good, so that perspective would help me have a better view of the story.

Which is kind of my other problem: there is no good reason for this to even be a Mister Miracle story. There’s no good reason that King/Gerads/Cowles couldn’t just file those serial numbers off and make a Vertigo comic about a super actor, his Big wife, and a depression metaphor acting as his space dad. At the least it’d make me feel better about the weird characterizations and odd lack of Shilo, but I think Metron’s offer for Scott to go to a “real” universe would be much more meaningful if the character was an original character that existed outside the DC universe.

Besides that, it feels like putting this story outside the main continuity was wasted potential. Scott Free doesn’t get many chances at a solo series, and it feels more damaging than anything to punt him on his own instead of building more connections and building on already existing ones. Similar to the above, I don’t really see the point of using a character if you’re not using their specific histories in the story.

Final Thoughts

Okay, gotta remember, I did enjoy a whole lot of this book. It’s messy and formalistic and gorgeous. It’s funny and dense and dour. It’s a good superhero story, with some of the most interesting and unique art of the century. I’m mixed on some parts of it, but what I lost sight of in the last year is that, ultimately, it’s a story that I enjoy, despite it’s shortcomings. This feels like a bit of a mixed success, but I’ll call it a win for Mister Miracle, because I know I like parts of it now, which I didn’t a few weeks ago.

Thanks for reading! Next time, I’ll be Rereadsing Fantastic Four by Mark Waid, Mike Wieringo, Karl Kesel, Paul Mounts, Richard Starkings, and Albert Deschesne.

Mister Miracle by Tom King and Mitch Gerads

Mister Miracle
Writer: Tom King
Artist: Mitch Gerads
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Publisher: DC Comics
Scott Free is the greatest escape artist who ever lived. So great, he escaped Granny Goodness' gruesome orphanage and the dangers of Apokolips to travel across galaxies and set up a new life on Earth with his wife, Big Barda. Using the stage alter ego of Mister Miracle, he has made quite a career for himself showing off his acrobatic escape techniques. He even caught the attention of the Justice League, who has counted him among its ranks. You might say Scott Free has everything--so why isn't it enough? Mister Miracle has mastered every illusion, achieved every stunt, pulled off every trick--except one. He has never escaped death. Is it even possible? Our hero is going to have to kill himself if he wants to find out.
Buy It Digitally: Mister Miracle