Mister Miracle #3
Writer: Tom King
Artist: Mitch Gerads
Letterer: Clayton Cowels
Publisher: DC Comics
Each issue of Mister Miracle has been so unique in terms of how it deals with the narrative, so I struggle to come up with words to describe it. The ‘new car smell’ of this series might have worn off, but it still delivers quality issues month in and month out. And, Mister Miracle #3 doesn’t fail to live up to the quality that the previous issues established.
The last issue of Mister Miracle gave us a full-blown war on New Genesis. This issue shows Big Barda and Scott Free on leave, trying to return to some form of normalcy while given this reprieve. Without showing the war, Kind and Gerads are commenting on the banality of the whole affair. How can people who have seen and done what Scott and Barda did in the last issue expect to return to their normal lives? Scott has a “performance” the day before he returns to the front. This situation is so crazy; if it wasn’t in a comic, it would be insane. Yet, we live in a world very similar to this. America and her allies have been in a non-stop war since 9/11. The absurdity of it all might be the way King and Gerads are providing criticism via comic.
Mitch Gerads is elevating his game every issue. I know these 9-panel grids require an intense amount of effort, but man, that effort really shows on the page. The artistic feat I want to point out, however, is the motion lines. Similar to how body position in a panel can lend itself to moving the story in a comic, Gerads uses the subtlety of a white line to illustrate motion as a method of moving the reader’s eye from panel to panel. Whether it’s the sagging of shoulders, drinking a cup of milk, or pounding a fist on a chest, Gerads uses the white line to indicate motion and, with that indicator of motion, the story is progresses from panel to panel so smoothly you don’t realize it. This is a deft piece of storytelling through art, and it demonstrates Gerads’ proficiency.
Verdict: Buy it!
Before this series is done, I am going to run out of adjectives to describe it. This series is so good it should be on your pull list. And, if the story of Mister Miracle isn’t your thing, you can still enjoy the pretty pictures.
