Mister Miracle, whose new limited series is launching today from DC, can escape anything. That’s his whole superpower; preternatural abilities of escape. In the opening of this book, though, Tom King and Mitch Gerads show Miracle attempting to commit suicide. He fails, narrowly, and a story about escape in a more fundamental sense begins.
King and Gerards deal with Jack Kirby’s Fourth World quite a bit here, but mostly it serves as a backdrop. What this book is really about is depression, fear, and the emotions we want to escape from and the methods we use to do it. We lie to ourselves, we expect others (in this case Scott’s wife, Barda) to carry us, we deny anything’s wrong. What makes the story fascinating is how carefully and tartly King weaves in the story of the Fourth World. Highfather is a distant, lousy dad. Orion is the bloviating macho cousin who thinks Scott just needs to toughen up. And looming above the story, never seen but constantly mentioned, is Darkseid, whom Gerads shoves bluntly into the story with a layout filling the page with black panels saying, simply, “Darkseid Is.”
It’s a fascinating book, especially in light of DC’s wholehearted embrace of Kirby’s earnestness elsewhere in the company, with Kamandi dodging nukes and the Newsboy Legion ocean-hopping. Scott is a master of escape, but no matter where he escapes to, his problems come with him, and it promises to be a hell of a book.
Redlands #1, Image Comics
Jordie Bellaire and Vanessa Del Ray, two artistic powerhouses, team up for a fascinating horror book. The fact that this book is creepy and gory as all get out, and seems to be nothing more than setting the stage for the rest of the run, is an announcement of sorts. Bellaire is best known as a colorist and Del Ray, of course, as an artist, but both have shown in their discussion of comics in interviews and social media a much keener awareness of the medium than they’ve been allowed to show in these roles. That’s finally on display, and it’s exciting to see.
The Defenders #4, Marvel
This team book is blatantly put together to sell to fans of next week’s Marvel series, but Brian Michael Bendis and David Marquez are having so much fun doing it, it’s hard to get too worked up about that. Bendis and Marquez just want fun fight scenes, snappy and funny dialogue, and engaging plot twists, and all are in abundance. It’s a throwback to ’70s Marvel without feeling hidebound, and just too much of a hoot to put down.
The Shadow Vol.3 #1, Dynamite
To this point, Dynamite’s books about The Shadow have largely played it safe. Lamont Cranston is ensconced in his ’30s pulp era, not our world. So Si Spurrier and Daniel HDR pull the rug out from under the book. The Shadow, in this volume, has been alive for more than a century, killing evil men and terrifying much of the public, to boot. Spurrier cleverly builds to the twist, here, but takes the time to pay tribute to the pulps in certain ways. The Shadow still has moralizing to do. Still, it’s a fascinating take and looks to be more than just another pulp homage.
Hulk #9, Marvel
Having dealt with depression, Mariko Tamaki and Georges Duarte decide that wasn’t heavy enough, and tackle body image, rage issues, and drugs in a book that should feel much heavier than it really is. That Tamaki’s script takes on a range of issues so deftly, without feeling preachy or smug, and ties them so carefully to a standard superhero plot, is impressive in of itself, but that Duarte can balance out the issue by keeping it serious without making it grim is no less of an achievement.
Kill Or Be Killed #11, Image Comics: Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips’ take on the vigilante story takes a sharp, nasty turn here, with an intensifying noir flavor.
Quake Champions #1, Titan: This book manages to give a story to a video game that lacks one, a fairly impressive feat in of itself.
Night’s Dominion Season 2 #1, Oni Press: Ted Naifeh delivers a briskly fun fantasy story mixing superheroic vigilantes and Conan-style iron-thewed heroes and heroines.
Skin and Earth #2, Dynamite: This SF romance continues to be intriguing, not least because the romance is grounded and gives the dystopia it’s set against more depth as a result.
The Newsboy Legion Special, DC Comics: Watching Howard Chaykin play this gee-whiz type book completely straight is weird, but it’s heartfelt.
This Week’s Best Collections
Mega Princess Vol. 1, BOOM! Studios ($15, Softcover): Kelly Thompson and Brianne Drouhard affectionately mock fairy tales with a princess who gets the power of all other fairy tale princesses. Except she really wants to be a detective, and the fun is the witty ways Thompson and Drouhard find to find a use for seemingly useless abilities like pea-detection.
EC Archives: Incredible Science Fiction, Dark Horse ($50, Hardcover): EC’s horror comics are its best known, but its SF comics are amazing as well, especially the art, which let the imaginations of EC’s art stable run even more wild than it already did.
Angel City: Town Without Pity, Oni Press ($20, Softcover): Janet Harvey and Megan Leavens take on a classic noir with a few twists in a fun, well-considered crime book.