Mister Miracle #12 is out today, bringing the Eisner-winning series to a close.
There will be no spoilers in this article. In fact, instead of doing a traditional review of this issue, I’d like to drop all formalities and just reflect on this series and discuss what it has meant to me.
In March of last year, I left a corporate job, one that I was only at for less than a year, but still had broken me on an emotional level. Towards the end of my tenure there, I wasn’t sleeping, and I just didn’t feel healthy. Recognizing this, I formulated an exit strategy and got out ASAP.
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But this job made me stop and take notice, and for the first time in my life I realized that I may struggle with some mild anxiety and depression. I spent a lot of time thinking about this.
Then, in August, Mister Miracle #1 came out.
I had been hearing about the book for months, and even interviewed Mitch Gerads about it at MegaCon. I had been looking forward to it, but actually reading it blew me away. These guys, Mitch and Tom King, somehow managed to put together a book that exactly tapped into how I was feeling at the time. I felt trapped. Trapped by work, and by life in general. The world was a trap, and I didn’t know what to do. I felt insignificant in the grand scheme of things. I saw myself in Scott Free.
For the record, I don’t feel like my Mister Miracle experience is at all unique. I think the series has succeeded because so many readers felt the same way, and I think that’s what Tom and Mitch were going for.
But as the series progressed, I felt something strange. This comic about anxiety and depression, and a literal war between Heaven and Hell, it wasn’t making me feel bad. Instead, I felt hopeful.
Despite all his problems, Scott had a support system, specifically in his wife Big Barda. Barda was always there for Scott, and – to me – she was the true star of this series. There’s a reason she’s on the cover of issue 12 taking a bow with Mister Miracle. She comforted her husband when he needed it, and (literally) slapped him out of his funk when he needed that too. Then they had their son, and I noticed that, as long as he had his family, Scott seemed to be doing better.
And that made me happy. Part of it probably had to do with the fact that Scott and Barda’s relationship reminded me of mine and my fiancé’s. It made my emotional connection to the story stronger. Moreover, it said to me that all the bad shit in your life doesn’t seem so bad if you have someone to go through it with.
Again, I’m not going to spoil how the series ends, but no matter how it does, I think the point stands. Sometimes life beats you down and you feel powerless, but in the true grand scheme of things, that doesn’t matter. The bad feelings are going to come and go; there’s no stopping them, and there’s probably no answer. What matters is the here and now, being with the people you love and enjoying it while you can. Maybe that’s an overly simplistic view of things, but it’s what the series said to me, and I can sleep better with that.
Anyway, thanks for letting me ramble, and I hope you all got the same joy from Mister Miracle as I did. Sorry if you were expecting a normal review, but this is just an issue that you need to read for yourself. Suffice it to say, the series sticks the landing.
All that’s left to say is “thank you.” Thank you Tom and Mitch, thank you Clayton Cowles and Nick Derington, and Brittany Holzherr and Jamie Rich.
