The wait is over and the rumors are true: Tom King and Mitch Gerads are collaborating on a New Gods book as “Mister Miracle” is set to debut the first of its twelve issues in August at DC. Channeling their inner Jack Kirby, King and Gerads are seeking to highlight the insanity of our current world, much like Jack Kirby did in his original “New Gods” series in the 70’s. The original “New Gods” was Kirby’s sci-fi rendition of the Christian Old and New Testament with Mister Miracle serving as the “escape artist Jesus.” Guess that makes Big Barda Mary Magdalene.
King was asked about this project’s relevance in an interview with Paste Magazine:
Why do you think Kirby’s neo-Christian mythos is still relevant today?
King: I think it’s a few things. If you actually read the “New Gods” tetralogy, this epic without an ending, it’s like dipping your head into madness. You feel a little bit like the Joker for a little while. And I mean that in the best way possible. It’s that feeling you get when you see a piece of art you can’t comprehend. I’ve been at this long enough and I know a lot of the creators, and I can see behind comics. I see what you’re trying to do, I see how they did this. I read Kirby’s stuff and I don’t see how they did this. He touched the id of America and let it flow through his fingers. There are a thousand ideas on one page and they don’t add up and then they do add up and they come apart and they come back together. Half of them are an easy metaphor to see and then the metaphor falls apart. It’s just utter insanity.
King has recently been penning “Batman” for DC as a part of Rebirth with David Finch and Mikel Janin (as well as Gerads for a few issues). His self-dubbed ‘Best Intentions’ trilogy (“The Vision” at Marvel with Gabriel Hernandez Walta, “The Omega Men” at DC with Barnaby Bagenda, and “The Sheriff of Babylon” at Vertigo with Gerads) dealt with many of the themes as “Mister Miracle” will, namely, where are you the most vulnerable?
Gerads will be channeling Kirby in his art and adding more color and fantasy-esque tones as most of his previous work has been very grounded. When asked about this style Gerads responded,
“Mister Miracle” seems more cinematic and visual than your previous collaboration.
Gerads: “Sheriff” is completely grounded in reality. For all intents and purposes, it definitely could have happened. “Mister Miracle” is super fun because I get to play with fantasy, but at the same time, I think I play with fantasy differently than most comic book artists. I still play with it in the real world. One of the fun things for me is taking all of these Kirby designs and taking the crazy world of New Genesis and the crazy world of Apokolips and boiling it down to more Game of Thrones. All that stuff is still there and the motifs can still be there. But I’m bringing it down to a base level that everyone can understand, and feels a bit more tactile and real.
“Mister Miracle” arrives in August from Tom King and Mitch Gerads with lettering by Clayton Cowles, with covers by “Doom Patrol” artist Nick Derrington. It will be edited by Vertigo and Young Animal editor Jamie Rich, which begs the question will this fall under the Vertigo or Young Animal banner? You can check out the full interview and some preview pages from issue #1 here.
