But when a master criminal assassinates the old man, Scott assumes the mantle of Mister Miracle to avenge his fallen friend. Along with his new sidekick Oberon, Mister Miracle then travels the country, escaping from an array of insane traps, and righting wrongs all while fighting off a rogues gallery of Apokoliptian soldiers tasked with bringing Scott back to his home planet for judgment at the hands of the dastardly Granny Goodness.
Of the titles in Kirby's Fourth World series, Mister Miracle was the only one I remember reading as a kid. He was a member of the Justice League, so to me he was a real established superhero. Names like Darkseid, Orion, New Gods, and Forever People- theose were like those non-super star baseball cards you got while looking for a Jose Canseco or Nolan Ryan in a package of ball cards. I considered them commons. I would get dozens of Kirby titles in grab bags as a kid and I'd toss them into the corner of my comic book trunk and read the few Superman and Batmans peppered throughout. Man, how wrong I was to overlook this Jack Kirby gems.
I've overlooked that mistake nowadays, collecting the Fourth World series reprinted in trades. Mister Miracle and Jack Kirby's Fourth World Starring Mister Miracle represent the final two pieces to the Fourth World puzzle that I was missing. The adventures of Mister Miracle, Oberon, and eventually the female fury from Apokolips, Big Barda were the most like a superhero comic and thus are the most sought after of the Fourth World titles. It took me forever to find these for less than cover price. (I've seen this book sold for as much as $100 on eBay and Amazon- no joke!) But once I did, I snatched them up before anyone else had a chance to beat me to it.
A beloved treasury that is worth every penny- if you can find it. A little goofy, a little odd, but a whole lot of fun and adventure.
Worth Consuming
Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.
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