When I first read “Doctor Mirage” #2 I was reminded of the 1932 Universal monster movie The Mummy. In many ways, the comic evokes the old school pulpy horror of the Boris Karloff vehicle with its adventure tone, exotic location, and emphasis on ancient and esoteric Egyptian magic and mysticism.
However, while “Doctor Mirage” #2 certainly evokes the old school horror film, it also does its very best to set itself apart from its inspiration and make its own mark, and I’m pleased to say that it works brilliantly.
Written by Magdalene VissaggioCover by Phillip Tan
Illustrated by Nick Robles
Colored by Jordie Bellaire
Lettered by David Sharpe
Death was no obstacle for Doctor Shan Fong Mirage, born with the ability to see and communicate with the dead, but what happens if she’s dead?
Shan’s newest ally, a teenager named Grace, is sure that they’re both dead, but can her perceptions be trusted?
The mysterious absence of Hwen Mirage is explained here!
For anyone who might not know who Doctor Mirage is, she’s kind of like Valiant’s version of Dr. Strange: a seemingly normal human with impressive magical abilities and charged with protecting the planet from occult and mystical threats. The difference is that Dr. Mirage isn’t an actual medical doctor, she’s a former television personality and is often accompanied by the ghost of her dead husband, another magician named Hwen.
“Doctor Mirage” #2 opens with the titular heroine living in a dilapidated and run down house in an attempt to hide from some mysterious magical force. Unfortunately, she is confronted with a drug addled self-described shaman named Grace who insists that Mirage is actually trapped in hell, and that the only way for them to escape is to join minds and find Mirage’s husband Hwen. The mind trip leads to a flashback which reveals how Dr. Mirage got into this situation in the first place, namely by trying to commit the one act that every story about magic agrees is a bad idea: trying to bring a dead person back to life.
The comic delivers fantastic characters and an engaging story courtesy of writer Magdalene Visaggio. The plot is simple: the main character attempted the impossible. Visaggio writes Dr. Mirage as an incredibly capable and knowledgeable magician but her tragic love for her ghost of a husband makes her flawed enough to do something stupid like steal sacred texts from a cult of the Egyptian goddess Isis and attempt to raise the dead. Visaggio also has the talent and foresight to make each of the characters believable and relatable. Nobody in the comic wants to get violent. In fact, the head priestess of the cult is initially very welcoming and open about the power and knowledge of her patron goddess, but since Dr. Mirage is attempting to misuse powers far above her understanding, violence becomes a tragic necessity in order protect the cults secrets.
While “Doctor Mirage” #2 is a great comic, there are a few tiny problems that deserve to be mentioned. There’s a slightly confusing creative choice in the beginning and end of the book where the captions are written like camera directions for a television show that might be a bit jarring for new readers, but will make sense to long time readers who know about Mirage’s background as a television personality and entertainer. Also, the first four pages of the comic hint at the presence of a massive and terrifying monster that is set up as the big threat that Mirage and Grace have to face in the next issue, but there is no hint of it at the end of the comic other than a small amount of text at the end.
Meanwhile, the artwork of “Doctor Mirage”#2 imitates the writing by being a wonderful blend of old school pulp with a healthy injection of modern sensibilities. Penciller Nick Robles creates a comic that combines the best elements of a sort of alternative style like Ed Piskor with a bit of hyper detail that can be found in a lot of DC books at the moment. The characters and drawn realistically and have tons of fantastic little emotions that let the reader relate to the characters with very few words. As for the set pieces, there’s a moment where the characters descend into a temple dedicated to Isis and Osiris that looks like it was ripped straight out of an old school Hollywood set. But the artistic highlight of the entire issue comes at the beginning and end of the comic, where Mirage and Grace and trying to join minds, which allows Robles to cut loose and deliver some of the coolest looking psychedelic artwork anyone has ever seen.
Continued belowBut the real star of “Doctor Mirage” #2 is Jordie Bellaire’s coloring work. The comic is dominated by an orange, blue, and green color palate that contrast well with each other and is coupled with a sort of haze effect that makes the artwork bright enough to appear incredibly vibrant, but faded enough to appear ancient and mysterious. Like the line art, the best display of Bellaire’s coloring work is at the beginning and end of the story where Dr. Mirage and Grace are trying to break out of Hell and Mirage uses her magic to join with Grace’s mind. It’s trippy, engaging, and would definitely look great as a poster on someone’s bedroom wall.
“Doctor Mirage” #2 is a fantastic second issue of a series that is helmed by a creative team producing some of their best work. The comic gives us a relatable and sympathetic main character with clearly defined motivations, but who is deeply flawed and forced into a horrific situation of her own creation. All of this is tied together with mind bending artwork that sucks the reader into the story and turns a good comic into a great one.
Final Verdict: 8.9-A well written modern pulp comic that delivers a solid plot, great characters, and is complimented by some of the most gorgeous artwork you will see all year.
