Jack Kirby's Mr. Miracle

Mr. Miracle holds an odd place in the DC universe and in Jack Kirby's New Gods pantheon. Besides his role in the New Gods saga, Mr. Miracle is perhaps best known for his time in the Justice League International along with his wife Big Barda and his diminutive sidekick Oberon. This collection presents the first Mr. Miracle stories, revealing Mr. Miracle's origins on both Earth and in Apocalypse. The dialogue is often a bit wooden but there is plenty of action and Mr. Miracle is a very unique hero with a great supporting cast. Be warned. While Kirby's sketches hold up well here, this is a black and white book (you'll have to check out the New Gods omnibus from DC for the colored version). The best stories are both epic and intimate. Think Homer having Hector place his helmet on his son's head between battle scenes in the Iliad or Natasha playing with her doll as the armies of France and Russia collide in "War and Peace." Kirby understood this and, while Mr. Miracle is no Achilles or Pierre Bezukov, he does a fine job of showing an epic space saga and moments like Scott Free trying to impress Barda with his cooking skills. Kirby is also very good at showing glimpses behind the curtain. Most of the times Mr. Miracle makes a bold escape, he tells Oberon or Barda or even the bad guys how he managed to pull it off. Sometimes, as the old Masked Magician tv specials showed, learning how the trick was performed is more interesting than the trick. Kirby uses it as an interesting narrative device. While not colored, this book shows the origins of one of the funnest, most interesting but alas underutilized characters on the DC roster. It also offers a glimpse at the work of Jack Kirby, one of the titans of comic books.

Dating me, but: I hooked onto to Mister Miracle back in '71 or '72?. For some reason, the post office comic stand (operated by a blind man) didn't carry "New Gods" or "Forever People" on a frequent basis, but I was always able to pick up "Mister Miracle." I picked up the entire run (and other "Fourth World" titles from the drug store down the street) and I totally dug the Scott Free vibe. These titles are B & W, and that's a shame, but in a way it kinda frees Jack Kirby (and inkers Vince Colletta and Jack Royer) from the very pedestrian coloring of the 1970s. Ignore the cliched and leaden dialogue and just let the images pour over you: Then you'll understand why Kirby is The King. I had a blast reading these comics again after 30 years. Hope you will, too.

This is classic Kirby. No one else creates mythology like he does. His New Gods / Fourth World books were some of the best comics ever done -- a nice blending of world mythologies with the American comic-book mythos. Mr. Miracle is his Heracles, Horace, Heru, etc., and is just as entertaining today as it was when it was first written. The black and white art may put off some potential readers, but Kirby's art sans the color really brings out the weight and depth of his lines.

Jack Kirby never ceased to amaze me as an artist or as awriter/creator. Mr. Miracle was indeed a very interesting character. Today's Spawn character bears a very strong resemblance to him... Even though the art work is in black and white, it is still very fresh and exciting. The story of a super escape artist was never before tried and it took Jack Kirby to pull it off. This book is a must for fourth world fans ,Kirby Fans, D.C. COMICS fans and grown ups who remember their youth. Mr.Miracle, Big Barda, Granny Goodness, everything Kirby could think of for his fans are in this Book. For the aspiring cartoonist, this book is a great source of inspiration. Do the late "KING KIRBY" a favor and buy yourself this book.The artwork,and the writing are excellent! Jack Kirby's creativity was as amazing as all the superheroes he created. Mr. Miracle was a very entertaining and fun book. END

Scott Free aka Mr. Miracle is the brain child of comicdoms greatest mind Jack "The King" Kirby! Based on his friend Jim Sternako, an amateur escape artist, Mr. Miracle is a look at a Super escape artist! He's quite different than the normal fist flinging fighters of other comics. Do your self a favor and make Granny Goodness happy and order this book! You wouldn't like to see her upset would you? (gulp!)