Kirby fans opinion on Mister Miracle. 3 3

[Laszlo the Mudjar]

So recently I subscribed to Marvel Unlimited as well as DC Universe, and I've been reading lots of books that Kirby drew.  Honestly I didn't care for Thor as much as I thought, and I'm finding I really like Mister Miracle especially when I consider it's Kirby written, Kirby edited, and Kirby pencilled.  I admit I'm biased because I personally own 1-25 in decent quality, but what do other Kirby fans think?  Is Mister Miracle worth a Kirby collectors notice?  If I'm honest with myself, I find I prefer his later work to his earliest work, but that's probably mostly due to my age having grown up reading Silver and Bronze and not really reading much from the Golden Age.

 

Anyways, just wondering what Kirby fans think?

 

Here's my number 1-3

 

[FoggyNelson]

I only read a couple issues but they sure have great artwork ‼️‼️Kirby at his finest‼️‼️

[KirbyJack]

I enjoy the Fourth World books more every time I re-read them. I usually think of them as an entire body of work, but I admit that I like New Gods most. Mister Miracle is probably second. They're all certainly worthy additions to a Kirby Kollection. I'll stop short of joining Foggy's vote, tho. I consider his Silver Age work on FF and Thor to be his greatest height.

[ThothAmon]

[Robot Man]

I bought them off the stands as a kid. Read a few and lost interest. Haven’t read them since.

Same with Thor. Was my least favorite Marvel at the dawn of the SA. Maybe it was all that mythology stuff which I couldn’t relate to.

I will agree that Kirby’s work morphed and refined a lot into the SA. Never even close to my favorite comic artist but one that is so iconic in the world of comics. And was one heck of a nice guy to his fans. 

[Ken Aldred]

On 4/6/2022 at 3:49 PM, ThothAmon said:

 

 

The first original, imported, American Kirby comic I ever owned.

Fond memories.

Edited April 6, 2022 by Ken Aldred

[Mr bla bla]

I really, really like all the fourth world books by Kirby. I think his work during the 1970ies is the stuff I ressonate the most with today.

[BitterOldMan]

Don’t miss Mister Miracle #6 with Kirby’s parody of Stan Lee as Funky Flashman and his sidekick Houseroy (Roy Thomas).

[Zonker]

Mister Miracle was I think the most uneven of Kirby's original DC tetralogy.  #1 is quite a bit weaker than Forever People #1, New Gods #1 or Jimmy #133/134 in terms of introducing new mind-blowing concepts.  #2 debuts Granny Goodness, but sets the tone for a lot of what was to come: gimmicky resolutions using previously-unmentioned.Apokolips technology to solve a plot problem.  I thought #3 was great (Doctor Bedlam sets off everyone in a skyscraper to attack Mister Miracle, who somehow has to work his way down to the ground floor to escape from that building).  The follow up in #4 introduces Barda, but had a gimmicky cop-out ending to the problem posed in #3.  #5 was another gimmicky resolution.  #6 was the hatchet job on Stan Lee and Roy Thomas (could have been great with a lighter touch, but this one came across as just mean, and out of character for Kirby).  

I thought the high point of Kirby's original run was his excellent #7-#9, with Scott Free returning to Apokolips to "earn" his freedom by legitimately escaping again.  #9 was his back story, equally well-told as "The Pact" in New Gods #7.  But at that point, New Gods & Forever People were about to be cancelled, and Kirby abandoned the Fourth World mythology for the remainder of his Mister Miracle run.  Kirby's final issue #18 was I thought the best of the back half of his issues.

Edited April 6, 2022 by Zonker

[kav]

thor is my favorite

[davidtere]

The OP asked:  Is Mister Miracle worth a Kirby collectors notice? My answer would be yes although, I agree with @KirbyJack on  both his 4th World preferences in  that order (New Gods, Mister Miracle). Quite frankly Mister Miracle could be a future show or movie someday (if that's your jam).  Having full runs of all the fourth world stuff is cool and honestly still affordable on many levels. Twomorrows Publishings recent book, Old Gods and New provides incredible detail on what was going on with the series, Kirby and DC when it was being published. It is a must read for every Kirby-phile that really wants to delve into possibly Kirby's greatest 70's creation. 

That being said, there is not much Kirby that I don't like, although I have my preferences, so I may have a strong bias. My avatar may be an indication of that. Below is a recreation of Big Barda I had Mike Royer do for me in the early 2000's. 

[ADAMANTIUM]

I've had Mister Miracle #6 at CGC since October last year, economy  

I forget what I had it graded as  vf surely  

[Laszlo the Mudjar]

On 4/6/2022 at 3:37 PM, kav said:

thor is my favorite

You can't have 2 favs.  You already put dibs on this guy I thought??

 

[Laszlo the Mudjar]

On 4/6/2022 at 3:41 PM, davidtere said:

The OP asked:  Is Mister Miracle worth a Kirby collectors notice? My answer would be yes although, I agree with @KirbyJack on  both his 4th World preferences in  that order (New Gods, Mister Miracle). Quite frankly Mister Miracle could be a future show or movie someday (if that's your jam).  Having full runs of all the fourth world stuff is cool and honestly still affordable on many levels. Twomorrows Publishings recent book, Old Gods and New provides incredible detail on what was going on with the series, Kirby and DC when it was being published. It is a must read for every Kirby-phile that really wants to delve into possibly Kirby's greatest 70's creation. 

That being said, there is not much Kirby that I don't like, although I have my preferences, so I may have a strong bias. My avatar may be an indication of that. Below is a recreation of Big Barda I had Mike Royer do for me in the early 2000's. 

Yeah this thread brought up an excellent point for me.  I own zero New Gods and they are definitely in my collecting range and there's only a handful.  I think barring that big Golden Age Captain America Comics buy getting in the way, I think collecting the Kirby New Gods might be fun in '22.  Glad I asked the question!

Edited April 6, 2022 by Laszlo the Mudjar

[Laszlo the Mudjar]

On 4/6/2022 at 2:58 PM, BitterOldMan said:

Don’t miss Mister Miracle #6 with Kirby’s parody of Stan Lee as Funky Flashman and his sidekick Houseroy (Roy Thomas).

I admit as a fourth level collector I am amazed at the incredible depth of knowledge here.  I would never have realized it was a parody.  Knowing that now - what a great line:

"There lives the driven little man who dreams of having it all!!! . . . The opportunistic spoiler without character or values, who preys on all things like a cannibal!!!"

 

Hah, what a line given the context!

 

 

Edited April 6, 2022 by Laszlo the Mudjar

[Laszlo the Mudjar]

Do I become a creepy old man if I admit Barda in uniform does more for me than bikini Barda???

 

[davidtere]

On 4/6/2022 at 1:33 PM, Laszlo the Mudjar said:

Do I become a creepy old man if I admit Barda in uniform does more for me than bikini Barda???

 

 I Like them both. 

 

[aardvark88]

On 4/6/2022 at 6:51 AM, Laszlo the Mudjar said:

 I'm finding I really like Mister Miracle especially when I consider it's Kirby written, Kirby edited, and Kirby pencilled.  I admit I'm biased because I personally own 1-25 in decent quality, but what do other Kirby fans think? 

Here's my number 1-3

 

Mr. Miracle #2 was the first back issue I bought with my pop bottle money. Full of action, excitement for a tyke. For the younger generation, MM #19-25 had incredible Marshall Rogers, Mike Golden covers, interior art, good lettering.

[DavidTheDavid]

I love the character.

I encourage Mister Miracle fans to read Tom King's and Mitch Gerard's Mister Miracle if they haven't already. I was struggling as the parent of a small child when I read it, and it was really moving.

Edited April 6, 2022 by DavidTheDavid

[Phicks]

Mister Miracle by Kirby is awesome and totally worth any reader’s time.  The recent Tom King mini series was great too.