Scott Free is the single finest name ever given a superhero, and a perfect name for the hero and entertainer and revolutionary named Mister Miracle. Jack Kirby's Fourth World rumbled to life slowly and steadily in those earliest days, a time when the relationship between characters was still mysterious. Who was Darkseid's son, how had a person like Scott Free come to be on Apokolips, what was Apokolips really, and on and on the questions rolled. They were were mostly answered though the saga itself was never really finished.
Mister Miracle proved to be the most successful of the Fourth World books, lasting a few issues longer than New Gods and Forever People, and Scott Free himself proved a durable hero. He and Barda married, an event which made appreciate him more as I like married heroes. Eventually after a revival along with the other New God types he showed up here and there and eventually became part of the revived and revised Justice League in a post-Crisis DC universe.
The hero and his wife Big Barda and partner Oberon continue to entertain with a very successful maxi-series coming to an end just this month. I haven't followed month-to-month, but I will likely give the trade a tumble.
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The '87 one-shot jumped off the stands into my hands (that cover!) and formally introduced me to the Kirby portion of the DC universe. Great Kirby-esque art and a great Fourth World recap by Mark Evanier. It served as helpful background for the revamped Justice League, which I was fortunate to collect from the launch. Fine pick, Rip!
ReplyDeleteNo one does the Fourth World like Steve Rude. He doesn't mimic Kirby, he evokes him with stunning artwork.
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One of my favorites, too. Glad he's still hanging in there.
ReplyDeleteHe's definitely found a life after Kirby. Escape cancellation he has.
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Mister Miracle could make a top 20 heroes list based just on the costume. It's one of my favorites.
ReplyDeleteI admit I didn't like too much at the time, but I've grown to love it. The muted colors used at first were certainly distinctive, but the bolder red and yellow really makes him pop on any cover.
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Oh, I'm a sucker for the red, yellow and green color scheme, plus I love the full mask, and the cape makes it look even cooler.
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