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Death Defying Doctor Mirage, The #1
Released by: Valiant Entertainment
Released on: September 3rd, 2014.
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No word of a lie, but this reviewer didn't want anything to do with the revamped Valiant Comics (now called Valiant Universe). Sure, some of the original run was fun - remember Ninjak? Yeah! And Barry Windsor Smith did some great work there too - but for this reader/writer/reviewer a lot of superhero stuff has just become dull and, dare I say it, uninspired. Somehow, possibly from attending and covering a comic con with a press pass, Valiant got a hold of us. Emails with promotional information started arriving in my inbox and while there was initial trepidation on my part, eventually I started paying attention. Some of what these creators are doing with these characters… some of it is kinda awesome. There's definitely a reason to pay attention to this imprint and hey, what better reason than the release of The Death Defying Doctor Mirage #1?
Written by Jen Van Meter with art by Roberto de la Torre and colors from David Baron, this one starts off with a text conversation between a woman named Shan and a guy named Leo. It's tense, he's encouraging her to 'do this' because the money is good but she's not so sure. She sits at a table with some others and they address her as Doctor Mirage. Soon enough, a connection of a spiritual sort is made. Mirage knows about the pasts of those in attendance, all widows it seems, and even knows a special song for one woman (a little John Cougar Mellencamp never hurt anyone). Everyone at the table experiences similar revelations of intimate detail. Shan's skills are legit but as good as Shan is at finding the dead husbands of these women, she can't find her own husband on the spiritual plane and this upsets her.
Shortly after, Leo shows up at Shan's place with a job offer - a big one. She isn't interested, really, but she needs the cash and so she obliges. A reclusive billionaire wants to hire a paranormal investigator - turns out this guy is named Linton March and after their initial introduction he asks her if she's familiar with an 'Operation Sockeye.' She is, it ties into her past actually, and as he sips a drink she listens to him talk about how it ties into the Nazi's experiments with the occult during the Second World War. There's more to this than that though, because March has got relics and a vast knowledge of this. It would seem he knows more than he's letting on at first. Shan sees this and calls him on it and so he explains why he needs her help. Shan isn't having it, she's got a bad feeling and she wants to walk but then she hears from something March keeps hidden behind a curtain in a room… a creature that seems to be bound with March. She leaves, heads home, and talks to Leo. Shan knows that March is more than he seems but she's going take the job and the money because, well, money is helpful and because March just might somehow hold a key she needs to communicate with her deceased husband Hwan…
Okay, so I went into this one completely blind based solely on the enticing email that I got from Valiant's PR guy but let it suffice to say that they're on to something with this series. This ties into the nineties era The Second Life Of Doctor Mirage series in nifty ways but definitely sets out on create its own vibe and tell its own story. Full credit goes to Jen Van Meter for making Shan an interesting protagonist but also for making March and interesting… something. We don't know yet if he's a good guy or a bad buy or where all of this is going to go. Suspense. It's a good thing - admit it, you love it. This issue has got a lot of it, and on top of that it's got Nazi's and demons and suits of armor and a house that may or may not be communicating with its owner. There's all sorts of weird stuff going on here, but so too is there some legitimately intriguing character development, the kind that makes you want to know more about both Shan and March and hey, even Leo and that dog too.
Roberto de la Torre and David Baron compliment what would appear to be a multi-layered story with some atmospheric artwork. De le Torre's pencils are sketchy to be sure but this look works for the story. If we don't know exactly what's going on it is somehow appropriate if the visuals have a certain sense of (controlled?) chaos to them. Baron's colors keep things on the less boisterous side of the spectrum, working alongside the penciled artwork in nice ways to help create mood and atmosphere.
So yeah, the new Valiant? They're off to a good start with this one. This book could go places - interesting places, scary places, weird places. The kinds of places that other comics don't tend to go to. There's a bit of a Doctor Strange vibe here and a bit of a Deadman vibe here too but those are good things. At the same time, Van Meter isn't ripping anyone off and is treading her own ground here. Good stuff.
Oh and if that weren't enough? This first issue holds a full color preview of the upcoming release of The Eternal Warrior: Days Of Steel from Peter Milligan and Cary Nord - it's definitely got a bad ass Dark Horse Conan style thing going on and that can only be a good thing. Nord's art looks great here too. Definitely looking forward to checking this one out once it's ready.