Mister Miracle #4 (1971)
by Jack Kirby
I feel like this book would have sold more if they put Big Barda on the cover.
And she’s here from the first page, looking for Mister Miracle.
She can be such a pussycat!
Not really sure why she bothered to ask Oberon where Mister Miracle is, considering she has the means to instantly track him.
We last saw Mister Miracle dropping from a tremendous height while trapped inside a safe. It’s going be difficult for him to save himself!
Or not. Big Barda shows up just in time to get the safe…
…but that wasn’t necessary: Mister Miracle got out on his own.
No idea HOW, but at least he got out on his own and didn’t need external help like other Fourth World protagonists!
Too bad he’s working with a tough crowd.
And then he’s caught by actors on a movie studio. Which is located inside a regular skyscraper in the middle of the city.
Sounds legit.
I wouldn’t have a problem with cameras filming something here, but it’s a full set complete with a cauldron AND an iron maiden!!!
Speaking of maidens, the real star of the show is still around.
I like that, with the exception of Lightray, most of the Fourth World characters who fly do so in an unusual way. Orion has a very particular type of harness, Mister Miracle has anti-gravity disks beneath his boots, and Big Barda does THIS.
Shockingly, Mister Miracle escaped from the iron maiden.
We learn that both Mister Miracle and Big Barda used to be students / slaves of Granny Goodness, but now she has an official position.
The essence of Doctor Bedlam is following the events, while doing his best impression of Marvel’s Supreme Intelligence.
Since Mister Miracle can’t really do anything to Doctor Bedlam now, he just goes back home.
Finally Oberon starts bringing more to the table than just providing Mister Miracle someone to talk to: his verbal sparring with Big Barda.
We learn how Mister Miracle escaped from the safe: with a gadget that cut it open.
While I criticized his over-reliance on gadgets last time, I’m fine with this since it clearly involves A LOT of skill and the gadget doesn’t do everything for him.
He’s still really close to relying on this tech too much, though.
Normally I would hate this style of using the last part of the story to explain how the hero defeated the villain, but it does work with Mister Miracle’s theme of an escape artist.
And we close with the revelation that Big Barda is really hot.
Splash pages: 2 out of 22 (9%)
No double splash pages
Most Kirby panel
Most WTF panel
The following scenes makes it really clear that this is an ACTUAL iron maiden being used in a TV studio!!!
Mister Miracle #5 (1971)
by Jack Kirby
These death traps are going a little overboard.
But you know what’s the main focus of the artwork at this point.
Even without the sex appeal, how can you not love how much energy Big Barda brings to the series?
Our villains for the issue is going to be one of the lesser known Apokolips bad guys: Virman Vundabar.
He’s so over-the-top that he comes off in equal parts dangerous and goofy! I really with DC gave him more attention, I personally find him much more interesting than Desaad.
While Mister Miracle prepares for his next trick…
…we return to the actual focus of this series.
When Virmin’s goons try to take Big Barda by surprise, she summons her uniform to lead us into a Big Barda Fight.
This is a more well-though-out plan than usual: since the objective is to kidnap Big Barda, all weapons are completely silent.
Unfortunately the plan works, because while nobody can take her in a straight fight they have a Plot Relevant Ray to knock her out.
Meanwhile Mister Miracle explains where the gimmick of weird codenames comes from.
He then gets right in Virmin’s trap.
Virman worships “Prussian efficiency”, so naturally his plan involves:
A) trapping Mister Miracle in a coffin
B) hit it with a lot of hammers
C) blow it up
I would personally shoot Mister Miracle with the ray that is so powerful it can render Big Barda powerless, but I guess that wouldn’t be as efficient.
Assuming you don’t know what the word efficient means.
Wait, YOU DIDN’T EVEN BLOW HIM UP???
D) drop him in acid
Truly a master of efficiency.
We now move to the apparently traditional “Mister Miracle explains his escape” section.
I’m sure this tradition can grow tiresome, but I have to admit Mister Miracle has style.
It’s actually kind of rare to see Mister Miracle rescue Big Barda, they usually reverse the trope and SHE is the most likely to come to HIS rescue.
What isn’t rare at all, however, is the protagonist of a Fourth World series to let the villain go.
The main story is over, however we have a 4-page mini-story.
This isn’t anything new for the Fourth World, but this is a very different thing: it actually matters, because it’s a flashback to Mister Miracle’s youth when he was raised by Granny Goodness!
Specifically, the future Mister Miracle is being punished for not torturing his prisoners.
This actually tells you A LOT about the philosophy of Apokolips.
As if Granny Goodness wasn’t creepy enough already: her “orphans” constantly carry around recordings of her orders.
After he’s beaten up by other orphans, he’s visited by Metron to end Part 1.
Splash pages: 3 out of 26 (12%)
No double splash pages
Most Kirby panel
Most WTF panel
You have a weapon who can one-shot Big Barda and you don’t even attempt to use it on Mister Miracle!?!?
Mister Miracle #6 (1972)
by Jack Kirby
Even Mister Miracle isn’t so sure about this trap.
We begin with our introduction to Funky Flashman, a stingy conman with money troubles, and his sycophantic assistant Houseroy.
Who just wants to inherit his house.
Once Funky Flashman puts on a hairpiece and fake moustache, it would have been clear for anyone knowing comic creators in 1972 to figure out what Kirby is doing here.
Because “Funky Flashman” is a parody of Stan Lee, and “Houseroy” is a parody of Roy Thomas.
You can see the resemblance from how they looked in the early 70s.
While Mister Miracle is once again busy preparing a trick with Oberon…
…Funky Flashman is already talking with Big Barda. How did he even find her? Well, he’s been hired by Mister Miracle as his promoter.
Funky is treated like a sleaze who doesn’t respect Big Barda until she demonstrates super-strength.
Although honestly this attempt to make Funky unlikeable is a bit ham-fisted, and if you figure out that he’s a parody of Stan Lee it comes across as mean-spirited.
You might say that the attempt to make him unlikeable works TOO well, because I just can’t stand his pages.
To be fair, I doubt too many people were buying this book for the plot.
It’s like the characters themselves feel uncomfortable with the very concept of Funky Flashman.
Which is frankly a bit odd, considering Big Barda should be more worried about her old Apokolips co-workers showing up.
This is kind of big deal…
…but focusing on an annoying conman apparently must take priority.
I mean, he’s just acting as Mister Miracle’s promoter for his upcoming tour. If instead he wants to lay low to throw the Apokolips people off their track , JUST CANCEL THE TOUR!!!
I disagree, Mister Miracle: based on previous stories, the Mother Box™ DOES do everything.
Meanwhile Big Barda is attacked by Lashina, probably the most well-known of her previous colleagues.
The villains are tracking Mister Miracle through the Mother Box™, which is currently in the hands of Funky Flashman. Who I should highlight has it because Mister Miracle GAVE IT TO HIM.
If you don’t know that he’s a Stan Lee parody, Funky Flashman being in love with the sound of his own voice and constantly praising his own genius gets tiresome.
If you do know, it’s kind of distasteful. It’s not like every single Kirby book doesn’t include a letters page praising his genius.
Thanks to the Mother Box™, Barda’s old teammates are able to come to Earth. This gives us our fist good look at the Female Furies.
Left to right we have Mad Harriet, Stompa, Lashina and Bernadeth.
The latter is the one that seems to show up the least; she’s actually Desaad’s sister, and just as sadistic because HOLY CRAP is that a terrible way to go!!!
Words can’t describe just how distractingly unfunny Funky is.
The Female Furies destroy the house (and presumably kill Houseroy) in “a marvel of contrast”, but Funky Flashman gets out of it with only his next scheme in mind.
And we close with yet another jab at Flunky, while vowing to take the fight to Apokolips next issue.
We do, however, have another mini-story about the young Mister Miracle.
Turns out the reason he isn’t brainwashed like the other orphans is that Metron changed his diet.
Sooo… does everyone else eat that stuff on Apokolips?
Splash pages: 3 out of 26 (12%)
No double splash pages
Most Kirby panel
Most WTF panel
You’re basically angry at your promoter for promoting your tour.
Historical significance: 8/10
Big Barda completely changes the dynamic of the entire series. She will also be integrated with the DC Universe a lot more than most of the Fourth World characters.
Silver Age-ness: 4/10
All the villains are incredibly weird and campy, with the tendency of the hero to just let them go.
Big Barda seriously lowers the score, however, because she’s a rejection of MOST Silver Age tropes regarding women.
Does it stand the test of time?
#4: 8/10
As a conclusion to the Doctor Bedlam story is a disappointment because Kirby, as it was to be expected, got bored with the idea and jumped straight to something else. That being said, as I keep repeating Big Barda brings some much-needed freshness that is QUITE a head of its time for 1971.
#5: 9/10
Virman Vundabar (which I’m shocked isn’t spelled with a W) is the kind of total insanity that you can only get from Jack Kirby. All my praise for the new dynamics brought by Big Barda are still valid, but the addition of a short story that FINALLY is worth reading adds at least one point.
#6: 4/10
Ugh. Why did the introduction of the Female Furies have to be dragged down by Funky Flashman? If you don’t know this is a parody of Stan Lee, it’s just Kirby trying to bring comedy and completely failing at it. If you DO know it, it’s much worse. It doesn’t fit the story and to me it comes across as unnecessarily mean and honestly kind of unprofessional.
The relationship between Big Barda and Mister Miracle was heavily based on Kirby’s own relationship with his wife Roz, by his own admission.
Barda’s looks were reportedly based on actress and singer Lainie Kazan; I’ve seen speculation that it’s because of her posing for Playboy in 1970.
I wonder why, out all the Fourth World series I’ve revied so far, Mister Miracle is the one that lasts more issues.
