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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This version of Scott Free was a pleasure to read after Tom King and Mitch Gerads' version. I loved seeing his struggles imagined through the lens of a young black man. Some plot points felt rushed, but with a character that is pre-established, that's forgivable. This is a great Young Adult examination of the character and his friends as he grows up.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment
I'm not the target audience for this YA reimagining of the origin of Mister Miracle, but I enjoyed this a lot. The story holds true to Jack Kirby's characters while putting a fresh, modern spin on them. As high school students of color they look and act like real teenagers (including some curse words), albeit in a pretty wild milieu. The action moves quickly and the relationships develop believably. The artwork by Daniel Isles is spare, like little else in comics, certainly not the DC house style, and works well with the story. The coloring is a palette of pastels that complements the drawings.
DC Comics has been hitting it out of the park with its latest comics, many of which involve teaming up stellar YA and kidlit authors (L.L. McKinney, Sarah Kuhn, and others) with incredible artists. Mister Miracle: The Great Escape by writer Varian Johnson (of the middle grade graphic novel Twins) and illustrator Daniel Isles is another graphic novel to add to your superhero comic collection if you’ve been enjoying comics like Shadow of the Batgirl and Nubia: Real One.
I went in with absolutely zero knowledge of Mister Miracle and while it took me a bit to get situated in the story, I enjoyed the journey I went on. If you know a lot about Mister Miracle, you might enjoy the references or possibly dislike the changes — but I can’t speak to that. I thoroughly enjoyed the story, setting, and the character of Scott Free. The story follows Scott Free as he struggles to escape the nightmarish Goodness Academy, while grappling with trauma from his past surviving the school and its terrors. The stakes are high — it’s escape or live a very, very short life as a soldier — and the school is merciless. Along the way, Scott learns a little more about friendship and love, and maybe gains a clue as to who he is.
I think you can tell from the cover that the art is absolutely stellar. There’s some interesting stylistic choices throughout, and personally, I really enjoyed them. I loved how dynamic the movement and action was, and the colors were evocative and atmospheric.
The story, as I mentioned, might be a tiny bit confusing if you, like me, don’t know anything about Mister Miracle but you figure out what’s going on pretty quick. It’s a fast-paced, exciting read that will keep you reading — while pulling a chuckle out of you as Scott snarks at his enemies, jokes with his friends, and faces down his fears. The only aspect of the story that didn’t completely grab me was the romance, which within the limits of the graphic novel felt a a bit rushed. I imagine Mister Miracle’s romance is pulled from the source material, so I get the constraints there, but that’s an aspect of the story where I wish the story had diverged.
Overall, Mister Miracle: The Great Escape is a fun read with gorgeous illustratiouns, and another great addition to the new YA DC comics coming out lately. I’ll be looking forward to whatever’s next by Varian Johnson and the next YA DC comics offering!
Recommendation: Get it soon!
I went in with absolutely zero knowledge of Mister Miracle and while it took me a bit to get situated in the story, I enjoyed the journey I went on. If you know a lot about Mister Miracle, you might enjoy the references or possibly dislike the changes — but I can’t speak to that. I thoroughly enjoyed the story, setting, and the character of Scott Free. The story follows Scott Free as he struggles to escape the nightmarish Goodness Academy, while grappling with trauma from his past surviving the school and its terrors. The stakes are high — it’s escape or live a very, very short life as a soldier — and the school is merciless. Along the way, Scott learns a little more about friendship and love, and maybe gains a clue as to who he is.
I think you can tell from the cover that the art is absolutely stellar. There’s some interesting stylistic choices throughout, and personally, I really enjoyed them. I loved how dynamic the movement and action was, and the colors were evocative and atmospheric.
The story, as I mentioned, might be a tiny bit confusing if you, like me, don’t know anything about Mister Miracle but you figure out what’s going on pretty quick. It’s a fast-paced, exciting read that will keep you reading — while pulling a chuckle out of you as Scott snarks at his enemies, jokes with his friends, and faces down his fears. The only aspect of the story that didn’t completely grab me was the romance, which within the limits of the graphic novel felt a a bit rushed. I imagine Mister Miracle’s romance is pulled from the source material, so I get the constraints there, but that’s an aspect of the story where I wish the story had diverged.
Overall, Mister Miracle: The Great Escape is a fun read with gorgeous illustratiouns, and another great addition to the new YA DC comics coming out lately. I’ll be looking forward to whatever’s next by Varian Johnson and the next YA DC comics offering!
Recommendation: Get it soon!
dark
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I don't understand the idea of taking Kirby's 4th World (or the Eternals for that matter) and giving a muted color palette and drab illustrations. It's especially incongruous with a showy character like Mister Miracle. Similarly, the story lacks flourish as well.
Did not get this.
Did not get this.
An interesting origin story, but it felt strangely devoid of superhero business for a book about a guy who eventually becomes a superhero. I did really enjoy the unexpected love story, though!
Check out my full review at Forever Young Adult
Check out my full review at Forever Young Adult
So far, the books I've read from DC's current All Ages imprint have either been very good, or else poorly, and often problematically written, especially given that they're intended to be progressive and positive. This is the first book I've read which is neither.
This is a perfectly fine children's book version of a DC superhero book. Sure, the characters all behave differently than they do in the regular DC Universe, that's fine. I thought the art style didn't blend well with the story, but it was fine. And the story itself was about what I would expect from an all-ages adventure book. It wasn't for me, but that's ok. It was designed for kids. But, unlike some of the other books in the series, I didn't feel this book was Out Of Touch with kids. There was no attempt to use modern slang that actually played out over thirty years ago, the characters behaved like teens and not like adults imagine they behaved when they were teens. It was fun.
The ending was predictable, but in an upbeat way that rewarded the reader. It wasn't too unbelievable (you know, for a book about a space torture planet that's had to be scaled down for a kids' book), and it wasn't insulting to kids or adults who had read up to that point.
If this sounds like faint praise, I apologize. This is a good book for kids. Just not a great one, and there are dozens of excellent all-ages graphic novels coming out these days. This is a good second tier book if you're a voracious reader who's already gone through a ton of other all-age books.
This is a perfectly fine children's book version of a DC superhero book. Sure, the characters all behave differently than they do in the regular DC Universe, that's fine. I thought the art style didn't blend well with the story, but it was fine. And the story itself was about what I would expect from an all-ages adventure book. It wasn't for me, but that's ok. It was designed for kids. But, unlike some of the other books in the series, I didn't feel this book was Out Of Touch with kids. There was no attempt to use modern slang that actually played out over thirty years ago, the characters behaved like teens and not like adults imagine they behaved when they were teens. It was fun.
The ending was predictable, but in an upbeat way that rewarded the reader. It wasn't too unbelievable (you know, for a book about a space torture planet that's had to be scaled down for a kids' book), and it wasn't insulting to kids or adults who had read up to that point.
If this sounds like faint praise, I apologize. This is a good book for kids. Just not a great one, and there are dozens of excellent all-ages graphic novels coming out these days. This is a good second tier book if you're a voracious reader who's already gone through a ton of other all-age books.
I am not familiar with the Mister Miracle graphic novels or comics but it was sent over and I love reading graphic novels, so I gave it a chance.
Mister Miracle follows Scott Free, a student at an academy/ orphanage, that is more like a prison than anything else. His goal is to escape his school and make for Earth, only that is not done so easily.
Scott is a pretty typical teenage boy, he has jokes and talks a lot, getting himself into trouble at every available instance. But he also tries to stand up for others. While a smart ass, he seems like a good-natured teen.
The world is miliary-themed and messy and the illustrations do a good job of showing that. I liked the detail throughout. There was just enough text and dialogue to keep things moving but not too much to drag the story down. I was a little confused by one detail that was recurring - there were little red dots throughout the graphic novel, often emphasizing movement, but it seemed like it could be blood at first so I kept thinking it might be blood and I was very confused about the choice stylistically.
Overall the story was a good one, it emphasized burden and the weight that it can carry even for teens. This was a fun coming of agee / origin story and it was a good book to pick up for Black History Month. If you are looking for diverse characters, some action, and maybe even a little love, this would be a good graphic novel to pick up.
Mister Miracle follows Scott Free, a student at an academy/ orphanage, that is more like a prison than anything else. His goal is to escape his school and make for Earth, only that is not done so easily.
Scott is a pretty typical teenage boy, he has jokes and talks a lot, getting himself into trouble at every available instance. But he also tries to stand up for others. While a smart ass, he seems like a good-natured teen.
The world is miliary-themed and messy and the illustrations do a good job of showing that. I liked the detail throughout. There was just enough text and dialogue to keep things moving but not too much to drag the story down. I was a little confused by one detail that was recurring - there were little red dots throughout the graphic novel, often emphasizing movement, but it seemed like it could be blood at first so I kept thinking it might be blood and I was very confused about the choice stylistically.
Overall the story was a good one, it emphasized burden and the weight that it can carry even for teens. This was a fun coming of agee / origin story and it was a good book to pick up for Black History Month. If you are looking for diverse characters, some action, and maybe even a little love, this would be a good graphic novel to pick up.