Mighty Mouse #1
Writer: Sholly Fisch
Art: Igor Lima
Colors: Pete Pantazis
Letterer: Tom Napolitano
Publisher: Dynamite
A review by Greg Brothers
Here I come to save the day! It’s a saying that’s been uttered hundreds of thousands of times by the tiniest of heroes: Mighty Mouse. While I’m not old enough to have seen the original, I do remember cartoons as a kid that featured the pint size hero. In addition to my childhood memories, the fact that there seems to have been a string of successfully reboots of classic cartoon characters in comics recently has added to my excitement towards the debut of Mighty Mouse #1.
Sholly Fisch does an excellent job of reintroducing the character to the masses. By the end of Mighty Mouse #1 you know exactly what Mighty Mouse stands for and how most of his adventures have gone since his debut in the 40’s. It’s also obvious by the end of the first issue what Mighty Mouse means to his fans, real and fictional.
Mighty Mouse #1 could have easily been just about the nostalgia. If they would have stuck to nostalgia they would have been able to sell a few books and called it a day. However, Fisch did not decide to just rehash some old stories and call it a day, instead telling a story that relates to something all of us have probably experienced at some point.
When Mighty Mouse #1 is boiled down to its core, it’s a story about dealing with bullies, being left out, and what we do when we need to escape and find a truly happy place. The way that Fisch jumps back and forth between reality and fantasy works well in introducing Mighty Mouse, but it tells us the story of Joey and how he deals with being bullied and left out. Lima and Pantazis use a nice combination of fuzzy and muddled colors and lines versus the bright and sharp classic hero.
The Verdict:
Check it Out! If you’re a fan of Mighty Mouse, then Mighty Mouse #1 is a must read. It’s a fun look back of everything that Mighty Mouse was while finding a way to bring the character into the current day landscape. If you know very little or nothing about Mighty Mouse, then Mighty Mouse #1 will be an entertaining read. The only reason that this is not a Buy It from me is that I’m not sure where they plan on going from here. The end of the book provides a chance to really take some chances moving forward, however, and I am excited to see where it might lead.
