As a long-time DC Comics fan, I have seen Mister Miracle in the background of quite a few comic books, often accompanied by Big Burda. When I saw that he would be getting a new graphic novel series, I was super excited, as he is not a character I have delved too deeply into. This reimagining of his origin story was fresh, youthful, and delightful to read. Regardless of whether readers have no exposure to the characters or are Mister Miracle superfans, this book would be a great (re)introduction to the character and the world he inhabits!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

DNF. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the digital ARC of this book. I am sorry I was unable to finish this book.

I did not enjoy this story at all. I think mostly because I have no previous knowledge of the character and the story seems to start in the middle. The characters are either in another world or demission, maybe hell???? They want to escape and get to earth. The reason I say hell is because they are trained to die and rebirth or reform. But Mister Miracle has been able to escape the “school” or “training facility” but not able to help others do so yet. The story was not holding my attention. It also felt old in illustration, both in style and color. This could be because I was reading a galley so I will hold judgement on that factor. Over all, I did not really enjoy this book, which was sad. Maybe a second go I will like the character better. I do know some kids who will love it, and as such should be added to library’s DC collections.

I had a hard time putting this graphic novel down. The illustrations were stunning and really made reading this story a ton of fun. We see Scott Free desperately trying to break out of a dangerous place. When this place has a visitor they say things that makes Scott question many things he has been told his whole life. As this tale comes to a close life for Scott will never be the same.

DC Comics decided several years back to reintroduce a multitude of characters via YA re-imaginings. They started with the heavy hitters of course; Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman featured early on and those books were all bangers. Beast Boy and Raven also got three amazing release, which tied into each other, to cash in on their appearance on the show Titans. While I, personally, didn't love those as much, they were still solid. We hard-core fans kept hoping that eventually, DC would dig deep into the bench and start introducing the new YA fan base to some of our favorite characters. With this newest entry, our wishes have been granted.

Varian Johnson, Coretta Scott King, and award-winning writer and Afro-futurist artist, Daniel Isles, have pulled a fan favorite, Jack Kirby creation, Scott Free off the back bench and thrust him into the limelight. It's clear that Johnson and and Isles are fans because they made sure to keep the cast that surrounds the galaxy's greatest escape artist true to Kirby's vision, while also giving it a very welcome modern update. They knew that one can't tell a Mister Miracle story without also telling the story of his one true love, Big Barda, and the woman who's determined to ruin their lives, Granny Goodness.


While this is clearly a super-hero origin, it's also the story of how two people, seemingly different in every way, shape, size, and background, are destined to fall in love. While, we can't be sure that Kirby planned to make Scott and Barda stand-ins for Romeo and Juliet, this YA retelling makes it clear that Johnson and Isles think they could be. They are told to hate each other, and set up to fight and destroy one another simply because they've been brainwashed. What we see here is that true love, regardless of time, place or dimension, can't be denied.

The pacing of this story is neck breakingly fast, but that's not a bad thing. It forces readers to hang onto the book with both hands and never let go. In fact, some, like me, may go right back to the beginning when they finish just to spend time on the beautiful art by Daniel Isles. In the above panel, we see how much story he tells with the expressions of the characters. Even while Scott's wearing his mask, we know just what he's thinking and feeling.
Conclusion

Fans will be thrilled to see these characters again, particularly as they haven't been so well represented since Adriana Melo and Cecil Castellucci's criminally underrated Female Furies series, from a few years back. Those who may be meeting Scott, Barda and Granny for the first time will hold their collective breath as they tear through these pages.
The only real knock on this story is that it ended. This writer wants to thank Net Galley and DC Comics for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. Honestly, people need to go buy this graphic novel right now before it escapes your local comic shop or bookstore.

In this version of Mister Miracle, Scott Free is a boy in Granny Goodness's cruel Orphanage, the only child to escape the torturous X-Pit alive. With the help of his friends and new love Barda, he escapes to Earth to begin life as a hero. Johnson's variation of the Kirby character sticks to the original story beats quite closely, adding more friends for Scott and a sense of obligation to save others that the original lacked. Without knowing the original, however, some elements will make little sense and others lose their punch entirely. The secret of Scott's origin, known to comics readers, is teased here but not revealed. The riskiest element of this version is the creation of a colorist hierarchy at the Orphanage. While relatable to real life, Apokalips's generally neon-colored denizens don't fit into the framework without major revision and the impact of the choice lands oddly.

This is a fine book overall, and it's a book that I think a lot of younger comic readers will enjoy. That's one of the things I like about this imprint from DC is that it keeps the interest of young readers in mind. I think it suffers from being a standalone origin story though, this isn't unique to this book it's a problem that I think a lot of the books about lesser known characters have.
Scott Free aka Mister Miracle is a character I had a passing familiarity with from old Justice League cartoons and a passing familiarity was really all I needed to feel like this book spent maybe a little too much time trying to flesh out who Scott was or would eventually be. If I thought there would be a follow up this wouldn't be such an issue, but since we haven't seen much of that from DC I'm not holding my breath.
I also felt the coloring was a little flat, again not necessarily a problem unique to this book, and I will say in print it might not be as obvious in print as it was digitally.
To close on a more positive note, I did really like the romance between Barda and Scott. I felt like it brought out the best in both of their characters and their interactions really made the whole book. They were both charming and well written characters and after this origin story I would like to see Johnson spend a little more time with them both.

A refreshing take on a vital character from a vital voice. I can’t wait to revisit this book in print and have already ordered a paper copy.

I wanted to like this a lot more. Instead it feels unfinished. Apokolips's societal structure is a bit difficult to introduce in a story this short, much less make sense of Scott Free, Big Barda, and the who Darkseid thing. A lot of things had to be taken at face value rather than having any meaning behind them. Scott is searching for answers, but he's also trying to escape from this school that's a gateway into the Apokolips army. That part of the story is pretty straight forward. The relationships don't get enough time to grow or really feel like friendships, nor do the differences between the grunts and the officer classmates. The art is fun, with Scott's iconic costume turned into a hoodie and face mask, and the muted colors fits well with this dark place. The few examples of his escape artistry feel true to the character. I think people might be confused if they don't know about this part of the DC universe or these characters.

Thanks to NetGalley & DC Comics for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.

"Mister Miracle" is an odd hero in DC's history, he's heavily involved in Darkseid (baddest of the bad in DC) and his conquering stuff. Though, MM isn't interested in conquering anything. It's especially highlighted in this graphic novel where Scott Free (Mister Miracle) simply wants to escape from Apokolips to Earth and get away from Darkseid & Granny Goodness' evil regime.

I haven't read much Mister Miracle so I came in this blind. I really enjoyed the reimagining and I was happy to see the graphic novel pushed the dystopian angle of Apokolips and didn't sugarcoat it. Scott Free is highlighted as a self-serving protagonist who struggles with morality on a planet that prefers the morally evil angle. I really enjoyed seeing Barda and Scott's evolving relationship and Barda was a great character on her own.

The artwork got a bit weird at some points--though I LOVED the colors! It was somehow vibrant and muted and it worked really well! The one villain toward the end had the most ridiculous-looking face and I couldn't take him seriously but that's a pretty minor complaint, so.

Can't wait to read the next one!

The Review

This was such a powerful and fantastic read for both DC fans and YA fans alike. The exploration of one of DC Comics most hostile and chilling settings and the hierarchy that resides on the planet was such a refreshing change of pace, and focusing on a love story that is rarely shown in the grand scheme of things in the multiverse was amazing to watch unfold, especially in a YA setting. Apokolips proved to be the perfect fictional world to explore class systems and racism as a whole, showing that while those such as Prince Kalibak and Darkseid themselves look down upon everyone, even those that serve them have others to look down upon, and highlights the damage and hatred that kind of mindset can bring about in others.

The characters were the true heart of the narrative. Scott is the perfect YA hero here, giving readers a personal perspective of life in Granny Goodness’s orphanage, an iconic DC location in comics, and showing how he and Barda met and fell in love in a fresh and socially relevant way was amazing to read. The diversity and action balanced well with one another, and the deep-cut DC Comics characters and locations will have DC fans thrilled.

The Verdict

A memorable, fresh, and entertaining YA and DC Comics graphic novel, author Varian Johnson and Daniel Isles’s “Mister Miracle: The Great Escape” is a must-read graphic novel and the perfect start to DC Comics’ 2022 schedule. The action, the muted tones in the art to highlight the despair that comes from a life on Apokolips, and fantastic character growth made this a brilliant read.

This was cute, A good, heartwarming, read it in one go, graphic novel that did well translating aspects of Apokolips to it’s intended audience. The story was straightforward, but effective, if not stunningly memorable, but I’d definitely reccomend for young teens. As a matter of personal preference, many of the art choices didn’t particularly serve me anything, especially the choice to use such a muted color schemes, but such gripes are easy to overlook.

Scott Free lives on another planet in a school run by a matriarch named Granny Goodness in a prison-like manner. There are several ranks of types of students in the school and Scott is one of the lowest due to being an orphan. He has teamed up with the school janitor to try and escape from the school to another planet, Earth. Scott doesn't seem that skilled and keeps getting caught but he is relentless. He seems human and just wants to help his friends and know more about himself.
The art style in this is rather blobby and undetailed but was easy enough to follow. There was some unnecessary cussing and a little violence. The story wasn't that compelling but could make a great title to give to an unmotivated reader.

Thank you to DC Comics and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Mister Miracle: The Great Escape is an amazing #ownvoices superhero graphic novel for teenagers. I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered this was a graphic novel and not an illustrated novel. The story revolves around Scott Free, a black teenager who is the new, reimagined Mister Miracle. Scott lives on the futuristic planet Apokolips, and he makes a plan to escape. However, he ends up falling in love with Big Barda, the head of the Female Furies. Will he follow through with his plan, or will the plan end up getting scrapped?

Overall, Mister Miracle: The Great Escape is a wonderful #ownvoices graphic novel that will appeal to fans of Miles Morales's Spiderman or Jaime Reyes's Blue Beetle. I am totally here for these reimaginings of popular characters as PoC. As a Person of Color myself, I've always wished for more representation and diversity among superhero comics. This book fills that void and need for representation, and I am so excited to support it! One highlight of this book is the amazing, color-filled art. The book has a similar style to Young Justice and Teen Titans Go, which are two of my favorite series. If you're intrigued by the description, or if you're a fan of superhero graphic novels, I highly recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in January!

I’m enjoying all of the young adult graphic novels that DC has been releasing lately. This one was fine. I wish I had read some Mister Miracle comics before this, and I bet I would have liked it even more. I would want to read more of this character in the future. I also really enjoyed getting the character Big Barda. Will recommend to superhero fans.

Bonus: Varian Johnson, author of books like The Parker Inheritance, is a great author, and that goes for this one as well.