I just loved Marshall Rogers Art in these reviews and he draws the Cape and the Action of Mister Miracle just splendidly ,,,

Mister Miracle #21



Confession time; this was the first comic I bought with my own money. Not asked/whined for, not given as a birthday or Christmas present, not borrowed from a neighbor. This was mine! I picked it out and paid for it (and the third issue of Man From Atlantis; so, 50%).

The cover is a little wonky, as it isn't entirely clear that Highfather and Barda are watching on a monitor. Also, Barda's positioning looks like she is in childbirth. That would be something new for DC, in the 70s. We'd have to wait for Miracleman #9 for that:



Still it's pretty cool and our first with MM in a deathtrap, a staple of the Kirby issues.

Our story begins with Barda lying on a table, like Sleeping Beauty (or Snow White, given Oberon's presence). Highfather tells Scott that she is dying. Granny's programming included the suggestion she would die if they were separated. Highfather has even had someone dress as Granny; but, Barda knows. Scott says he will find a way to save her and leaves. Highfather and Oberon chat, and Oberon tells Izaya that Scott will find a way, he always does. Highfather seems tickled by Oberon telling him about his own son; but, Oberon points out that he has known him longer (Scott grew up on Apokolips, then fled to Earth). Scott consults with Himon, the man who gave him the means to escape Apokolips. He asks Himon why he was led to believe he had no powers and that he would merge with Mother box. Himon replies it was part of Highfather's plan, to tame Orion on New Genesis and turn him against Darkseid, and strengthen Scott's peaceful nature, on Apokolips. That's one hellish boarding school and makes Lindsay Anderson's If look like Goodbye, Mr Chips.



Scott asks for one more thing, the layout of the Terrorium, the worst place on Apokolips (kind of like the bad part of East St Louis). We then cut to this truly awesome page, with a bit of an homage to Will Eisner:



Darkseid is seen in thought, when Granny interrupts. She is on Darkseid's Dog Cavalry Doo-Doo List; but, she brings news of Mister Miracle's big event, in the Terrorium. Darkseid shows Darth Vader a thing or two and chokes Granny, as she spits out that the flyer has been spread all over Armagetto. Granny doesn't understand what MM is up to and neither does Darkseid.



We cut to Darkseid's soldiers searching the streets, while Scott and Oberon watch from alley shadows. oberon asks why he is there and Scott tells him he needs his friend, to pull off what he has plan. They have a camera set up to broadcast images back to Barda. Scott goes out into the crowd of Lowlies and begins to do a bit of carnival barking. he tells how he was trained to be an aero-trooper and escaped and that the Lowlies can be free of Darkseid's rule. the Lowlies are afraid and say they serve Darkseid. Scott continues to tell them that they can be free and gives a demonstration, disappearing in a smoke cloud as Darkseid's troops arrive on the scene.

Marshall Rogers is on fire in this issue, even if Vince Colletta's inks tend to tone things down a bit.. If only Terry Austin was inking! Still, Rogers makes the setting look grim; but, offsets it with the bright Mister Miracle. Engelhart is in full cosmic messiah mode here and it sucks you in.

MM and Oberon escape on his aero-discs and set about their tasks. Meanwhile, Darkseid's minions search; but, fail to turn up any sign of MM. The next day, at noon, Darkseid and Kalibak are at the Terrorium, where the failed soldiers of Darkseid are struck down by Kalibak, as punishment for not finding MM. Suddenly, the sky fills with fireworks and Mister Miracle appears. He tells the Lowlies that he will face the power of Darkseid and emerge unscathed, just as they can, if they join him in rebellion. Scott is led off and searched, then he and Oberon are chained to a pillar. Darkseid wants it over quickly, to crush MM and destroy the seeds of rebellion. The Necro-file, a giant grinding buzzsaw, descends towards Scott and Oberon. Will out hero survive? tune in next week......

Aw, I couldn't do that to you. Scott quickly slips his bonds and frees Oberon. He searches for a dump chute, that Himon told him about. He and Oberon escape, as the Necro-file nears the bottom. It grinds into the ground and destroys itself. Then, Scott and Oberon emerge in the rubble. Scott addresses the crowd and tells them he has challenged Darkseid and won. He then winks at the camera and tells Barda it ws for her. She wakes up out of her coma. We also see that some of the Lowlies have had their own awakening. it's a spark; but, revolutions begin with a spark.

This is a truly great issue, with throwbacks to Kirby's fine tales of escape and challenging Darkseid and his minions, while putting it smack dab in the darkest hellhole of Apokolips. If they ever do a Mister Miracle movie, they need these scenes. Scott has become a messiah and Barda is raised in his miracle. We are told that Scott will next challenge Darkseid, in his own lair. You know we will be back for that.

Engelhart and Rogers are bringing their A-game to Mister Miracle and it shows, especially in contrast to Gerry Conway. Engelhart has a goal in mind and is working towards it, focusing on everyone. Conway seems stuck on Orion and Darkseid, ignoring great characters..However, this is Engelhart's last issue. He departs here, and John Harkness takes over for an issue. Well, sort of......

Supposedly, DC used and claimed the "Return of the New Gods" trademark in order to prevent Marvel from publishing Kirby's new epic under its original title:

Return of the New Gods #15



Our cover is from Rich buckler and Joe Rubinstein. It's not bad, though it's kind of crowded. Lightray's color-scheme is wrong and I have no idea who the guy in the background (with the orange skin) is; he looks like a cross between Red Tornado and Wildfire. Based on the story, i suppose he is a random warrior of New Genesis. I'm not wild about the color choices on most of the covers of this run. Issue #12 is the only one I really liked, with it's nice channeling of Kirby and dynamic look. The rest leave a lot to be desired, from a design point. Less is more, guys.

Inside, we find that Don newton is not here. instead, we have cover artist Rich Buckler. Buckler has been known to follow on Kirby titles, aping his art. I kind of wish he had here, though the art isn't bad. i looks more like Barry Windsor-Smith, especially with Lonar (looking very Conan-esque) front and center. yeah, we finally get some Lonar! Of course, we are told he likes to be on his own. Duh, his name is Lonar, not Crowdar! Anyway, he's up in Alaska, freezing his tuchus off, except, as a New God he won't show it. He's riding around on his horse, Thunder, glad to be in a desolate area. he says hello to his eskimo buddies, when a stranger comes crashing down. It turns out to be a kid from Granny Goodness' orphanage, on Apokolips:



The boy collapses and Nomak (the guy with part of the Anti-Life Equation in his head) and his wife come to the aid of his boy. Lonar thinks to himself he doesn't know what to do, he isn't used to crises. Methinks this doesn't bode well. We cut back to Orion, since he's the clear star here, as he has been searching, fruitlessly, fr Darkseid's base on Earth. he gives up and switches identities to hide out on Gen Torch's (who I called taylor, last time) SAC base. He runs into the General, who still thinks Orion is part of some plot from enemies at the joint chiefs. As they walk down the corridor, he starts channeling Gen. Ripper, from Dr Strangelove. Does that make Metron Slim Pickens?

Meanwhile, Lightray is in San Francisco, strolling with junkie Richard Roe (who looks pretty healthy, for a heroin user) and his old lady, Debbie, who Lightray is apparently trying to pick up, the way he is acting. She digs him too, man. Far out! Richard storms off, then gets attacked, so, Lightray to the rescue. It turns out that Roe owes these guys money and has ben dealing for them.. God damn the pusher-man!



While Lightray contemplates Roe's morals, Mother Box calls. Lightray takes off and is drawn to Alaska, where Lonar fills him in and presents Lucifar (there's a name that'll bring trouble), who escaped Granny and now Nmak and his wife have seemed to adopted. Have to comment; not only is Nomak living in an igloo, for our first stereotype, he and wife are seen in caveman-like furs, inside, adding to "primitive." It's not unusual, for the period; but, it is a bit much.

Lightray says they must take the boy to New Genesis and Nomak and wife say they are coming, too. They hop the next Boom Tube and emerge there, where our primitives are immediately scared doo-doo-less. he chastises Lightray, then talks to the boy, who says Darkseid sent him as part of a new "Pact", in exchange for Esak, much as Orion and Scott Free were exchanged. As the irony sinks in, parademons attack. Is there no NORAD or DEW Line on New Genesis? You'd think a planet at war would have someone standing guard; but, nooooooooo, these guys are a bunch of peace-loving hippies who get Pearl Harbored every 5 minutes. They need a hitch in the Marines to sort them out!

Ahem......

Lightray and Lonar enter the fight, while Highfather calls for the cavalry, the remaining New Gods, on Earth. They turn up and much demo-butt-kicking ensues. Nomak and the Mrs head off down an alley, where they run smack into Darkseid. Lonar saw them take off and runs after, only to arrive too late, as Darkseid has pulled what he needed out of Nomak's mind. he tosses him like a ragdoll, while Lonar attacks, and gets his clock punched. Darkseid heads off. Back at the battle, orion figures out that they need to pool their powers, via Mother Box and we get more literal deus ex machina. The battle is won, until we see highfather bring out Lonar's corpse and orion blames Lucifar and is about to attack him, when Highfather stops him. We end as the New Gods carry off their dead.

Well, more fighting without much of a set-up. We get a tiny bit of Lonar, without a lot of character development, though he goes out swinging, which is something. However, as I suspected, he was the "red shirt" of the New Gods. Any bets on Jezebelle's lifespan?

Buckler's art is okay; but unspectacular throughout. He has a few nice moments, like this:



and this:



but, that's about it. Even his buildings are more generic than Newton's, when he shows New Genesis. Some have commented that Newton's more realistic style doesn't suit the epic; but, Buckler is really out of his depth; and, I like Rich Buckler. I love the work he did on the Giant Size Fantastic Four #4, where they meet up with the 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse; his Deathlok work, and his early work on All-Star Squadron and the Mighty Crusaders, for Archie's Red Circle line. he's just not bringing his A-game to the table.

Meanwhile, Conway gives Lonar some screen time, though he still doesn't add a ton of personality. Lightray isn't served much better. He still seems to be treating this as more of a superhero book than modern mythology. he has some nice twists and turns to the plot, like the boy Lucifar, and a new Pact (without an actual Pact); but, his battles tend to come out of nowhere and things are getting kind of repetitive. His plot is advancing; but, he seems to be padding things with pointless action. Things pick up when Darkseid enters the picture and you get the picture that Conway is doing this series just so he can write Darkseid. I suspect he isn't alone in that; he is one of DC's most layered villains. We also still know very little about our six humans, except that Gen Torch is a paranoid Richard, Richard Roe is a junkie, Nomak is primitive, Lorraine can sing, Donald Bradford is a scientist, and Dave Lincoln was defined by Jack Kirby and hasn't done much here. Torch has gotten the most screen time, since he is usually near Orion, who gets the most screen time of the heroes. They are just mcguffins, which is really detracting from the epic nature of the story. By contrast, Engelhart and Rogers are turning Mister Miracle into a messiah and getting good mileage out of Oberon and Darkseid's minions, plus, presenting an epic story. Kind of wish Engelhart was doing the whole thing. he had a better handle on cosmic, than Conway. We keep hovering between B and C+ territory, here, gradewise. Issue 12 was the only thing approaching an A. Will Conway step it up as Darkseid goes after more of the Anti-Life Equation? We'll have to see. Newton will be back next issue, though, so that should help things a bit.

I believe John Harkness was a pseudonym that Englehart sometimes used when he wanted to disavow a story that he felt had been taken away from his intentions by the editors. If this is true, it would be interesting to hear him talk about whatever it was he disliked about Mister Miracle #22.

(edit:) Found this quote on Steve Englehart's website:


Why did they pick Mister Miracle, I wonder? I thought I remembered reading somewhere that Englehart never particularly liked Kirby's Fourth World stuff in general, but perhaps I'm mistaken.

New Gods #16



Our cover by Al Milgrom is suitably dynamic; but, the background detail is a bit too close to the foreground and clutters up the image. I think it would have been better to have it pushed further back. Also, the color mix is still pretty mediocre.

Don Newton is back on the book, and immediately he shows why he should have been doing the covers:





Our story begins with the funeral for Cannon-Fodder, I mean Lonar. Gerry Conway rambles on, with Orion thinking the synopsis of the previous issue, across two pages (makes Don McGregor look terse), distracting from Don Newton's gorgeous art, as Lonar's body is brought to the Source wall. Think Newton was too realistic? Look at that:



Right after they thrust the body into the energy of the wall, Mother Box, Orion's intergalactic pager, goes off and he is back to the ranch. It reminds me of Gene Autrey and the movie serial The Phantom Empire. Autrey has to broadcast his radio show every day, at the same time, or lose his contract and his ranch. Every episode, he has to stop what he is doing and run back to the ranch to sing a couple of songs. With Orion, it's the same thing; he's back at the SAC base, getting Gen. Torch out of trouble.

Orion finds the base being attacked by the Jolly Green Giant's little brother, Titan, and much fisticuffs ensue. After saving the general (who is becoming more comical, with each issue), Orion gets an attaboy from the general and they go to his office to discuss the history of the New Gods conflict. We get Beautiful Dreamer and the Forever People name-dropped, with the remark that they disappeared from the universe months ago. In other words, nobody liked that series and no one wanted to revive it. Or else, they hated space hippies; and, who doesn't?



After another two pages of exposition dump, Orion heads off to Metropolis. We next get Darkseid engaging in a bit of child abuse:



This issue also shows that Gerry Conway can't remember the name of one of his characters as Gen Torch is called Mathew Torch and Maxwell Torch, a few pages apart.

Anyway, Orion meets up with Jezebelle, in Metropolis, along with old acquaintances Dave Lincoln and Claudia Shane. Claudia thinks there is some romance going on with Jezebelle and Orion, though he dismisses it. Jezerbelle, not so quickly. They join Mother Boxes (no, it's not a metaphor; get your mind out of the gutter). Highfather tells them that Lucifar has given them a clue about the whereabouts of Esak. He directs them to Happyland, Desaad's derelict amusement park, where mankind's mental terrors were brought to life. It was destroyed in Forever People and is abandoned. The couple heads there and are soon attacked by parademons. They defeat them, and one of Dr Bedlam's animates, then discover the place is an empty wreck. Orion realizes that it was a decoy, to lure them away from Gen Torch. We cut to the paranoid Torch losing his grip on reality, when Titan shows up.

Not a bad issue; but Conway is pretty wordy in this one. As I say, Newton's gorgeous two-page spread is covered up in narration boxes and thought balloons. The conversation with Gen. Torch gets pretty darn wordy. Newton makes the best of it, illustrating his mastery of body language and expression. He gets to indulge in a bit of action later, during the battle with the parademons; but, not for long.

I'm not keen on the development of Gen Torch.  He was a gruff, hard-nosed military man, in the beginning; but, he is becoming more and more a comic relief, who cowers behind oil drums, when Titan attacks his base. He is totally losing it at the end, when Titan turns up, in the shadows (of course). You don't get to be a 3-star general by being a coward or by falling apart when faced with the fantastic. You fall back on your training and experience and direct your men in a defense and counter-attack. Conway seems intent on turning this into Dr Strangelove, without the wit. Newton makes it work far more with his expressions and body language, than Conway does in his writing.

I'm also not keen on Darkseid slapping Esak' not because it is child abuse (that fits into Apokolips); but, because Darkseid would never lower himself to such an act. Darkseid is cold and leaves physical abuse to his lesser minions, like Granny and Desaad. Darkseid's mere presence is terror and Conway seems to forget that.

Of course, Happyland turns out to be a trap, since the information came from Lucifar, the exiled boy from Apokolips. Like calling him Lucifar isn't a big billboard that says "evil!" Subtle this series ain't, though neither was Kirby.

On the plus side, the stakes are rising, as Darkseid now has 1/3 of the fragments of the Anti-Life Equation. He is that much closer to total domination of the universe. The issue does end with a sense of foreboding doom.

We also get an in-story comment on this being a more superhero take on the 4th World, as Orion arrives in Metropolis:



All in all, this is a step up from the past couple of issues; but, the uneven nature of this story is hurting the epic quality. It feels like Conway is making this up as he goes. Kirby did that; but, he had a destination in mind and he was a much better "jazz" creator. I think if Conway would stop trying to "Marvelize" this and just run with it, it would have been far more memorable. I still think it is overlooked and deserves to be collected; but, you can see why it wasn't a hit with fans of the period (if they even saw it).

Mister Miracle #23



Engelhart and Rogers are gone; but, we have Steve Gerber and Michael Golden replacing them!

Marshall Rogers does our cover, which had me disappointed when I picked it up on the newsstand and opened it, to find him absent from inside. The disappointment wore off as I read through the issue. The image here is pretty trippy, with some blue-skinned, long hair hippie-type, some rock snakes, and some odd statues in the background. All suitably weird and cosmic. Definitely says Gerber to me!

When we last saw Scot, Darkseid had knocked him down a cosmic hole. He's not sure if he is going to survive and is thinking of Barda and Oberon, when he notices ground rushing towards him:



He meets up with our space hippie, Ethos, in what he calls, The Oasis.

Now, when you look at that art, do you immediately identify it as Michael Golden? I don't. He's inked by Joe Giella and I can't tell if he is stifling Golden's pencils or Golden drew this one rather loosely; but, it doesn't have his trademarked artistic tics, apart from extreme close-ups. We don't get those doe eyes that he often used, those faces, the little line effects he gave to expressions, or some of his other easily identifiable traits.

Anyway, Scott recognizes the voice and thinks it is Mother Box; but, is told it isn't. He then thinks it's one of Darkseid's minions; but, it's not. It's not a message from Highfather. Ethos tells Scott he must break free from his preconceptions to become the messiah he thinks he is, and that includes the idea that Apokolips and New Genesis represent the powers of the universe. it's all really philosophical and trippy and Scott is befuddled as we are.

Scott walks through a door and finds himself at the wheel of a vehicle, in a circular race, on Apokolips, like something out of either Wacky Races or Death Race 2000. Scott begins to understand that Ethos is telling him that the war between Apokolips and New Genesis is a cycle that revolves around and around and never ends. He pilots his car off the raceway, towards space; but, comes crashing back. The Lowlies ask him to save them and e says to save themselves. They throw food at darkseid, who wipes them out and tells Scott that he caused their destruction. Scott then finds himself in Ethos' Oasis. He still thinks it's a trick, then enters another doorway, where he ends up in a jungle. He is attacked by Orion and Barda (who now has really big horns on her helmet, or vanes, or whatever you call the decoration). He sees ant-like humans and is shrunken down to their size. He joins in helping them build their mound, when Darkseid comes along to stomp on the anthill. Scott fights and succeeds in toppling Darkseid, but he crushes the people.

Scott is back on the Oasis and realizes that his efforts to lead people to fight Darkseid only hurt them. He realizes he is a balance between the two worlds and that his true affinity is for Earth and that he is not divine, but human. Ethos tells him he must become a secular messiah, if he is to truly "save" people, neither a part of New Genesis nor Apokolips; but, a part of Earth. he is sent on his way, with the words that he is now his own man.



Wow, that is certainly a 180 form Engelhart. Scott is no longer a messiah for the Lowlies of Apokolips or a warrior of New Genesis; but, a symbol of freedom for Earth. It kind of fits, as he was a refugee from the war, in Kirby's original and spent most of his time on Earth, just wanting to live a life and perform. It's all very metaphysical. This is the Gerber we know, from Omega, The Unknown, Defenders, Howard the Duck (especially the early stuff), and Guardians of the Galaxy. He's not going to take the standard path. It's not Kirby, ether, though it isn't that far off, when you think about it; just kind of a altered perspective. It's weird; but, intriguing and makes me want to see where it leads. If there is a fault, it's that the art seems not to be whole, as Golden and Giella don't seem to gel. Next issue sees Russ Heath take over the inking and Golden's style comes through as we expect. This is still the more exciting and more cosmic of the two revived series.