In the character’s 50 year history, Jack Kirby’s Mister Miracle has gotten out of the most inescapable situations, none more dire than the threat of being forgotten by the comic-reading public. In 2017, writer Tom King and artist Mitch Gerads gave us a different take on the character Scott Free in their acclaimed series Mister Miracle. Today, author Varian Johnson and artist Daniel Isles introduce Scott Free to modern, younger readers in Mister Miracle: The Great Escape.
Scott Free is a prisoner of Apokolips, attending the Goodness Academy under the eye of Granny Goodness and her Female Furies. Unable to recall his past — even his own name — Scott defies his oppressors and concocts a secret plan to do something no one has ever done before… he’s going to escape Apokolips. Alive.
Things take a turn when a new leader is brought into the Furies and given the mission to break Scott. Scott and Barda seem to be falling for one another in spite of their opposition — or is getting close to Scott all a part of Barda’s plan and mission? With Scott’s plans foiled, a new opportunity to escape Apokolips arises when Prince Kalibak comes to the Academy to deal with Scott Free once and for all. Even with Barda as his trainer, Scott doesn’t stand a chance against Kalibak in combat. Escaping Apokolips — even just getting out of this alive — is going to take a miracle. It’s a good thing they call Scott “Mister Miracle”… okay, no one calls him that.
Yet.
Johnson infuses Scott’s story with a discussion of class and identity politics that mirrors the discussions taking place in the real world today, giving Scott’s story a new urgency and importance for young readers. Isles enhances that with a modern, urban style that speaks to the story and provides a freshness to these characters that have been around for half a century. Presenting Scott as a high schooler in an academy full of mean girls is a great way to retell the story of Mister Miracle in a way that young reader can instantly connect with.
Pick up a copy of Mister Miracle: The Great Escape on Amazon, at your local comic shop, or wherever graphic novels are sold.
Disclaimer: a copy of Mister Miracle: The Great Escape was provided for review purposes. All opinions are my own.
