REVIEW: Doctor Mirage #1

Spinning out of the excellent Second Life of Dr. Mirage book, we“re given the gift ofÂ Dr. Mirage #1.Â The Second Life of Dr. Mirage was an 18-issue series about Hwen and Carmen Mirage who were televised parapsychologists who investigated paranormal activity and supernatural mysteries, co-created by Bob Layton and illustrator Bernard Chang

Doctor Shan Fong Mirage, was born with the ability to communicate with the dead, but now it“s gone, and she has to find out why before it“s too late, and the road to the answers point through the land of the dead.Â The supernatural superhero mystery will start here and span five issues.

There“s no point in beating around the bush. Dr. Mirage #1 is one of the most visually stunningÂ books I“ve ever read this year. Nick Robles channels all the artists you would expect for a book this crazy, Kirby and Allred most obviously. Even with that in mind, this work is distinctly Robles. At one point,Â the crisp pencils and the colors becomes replaced with psychedelic imagery.

Nick Robles’ depiction ofÂ Dr. Mirage is haunting. Those pages are so expressive that the removal of the many caption boxes wouldn“t hurt the story at all. In fact, Magdalene Visaggio“s storytelling is so strong, that in some parts you can easily follow the story without any of the captions.Â Which is not to say the captions are poorly written, but not every one of them is entirely necessary.

To start Magdalene Visaggio doesn“t focus on many characters other than Dr. Mirage herself, so most of the issue takes place in her thoughts. Sometimes introspective books that lean heavily on exposition like this one to become a chore to read due to all the caption boxes. Luckily, that“s not an issue, as the inner voiceÂ is on point is appropriately guilt-ridden and self-deprecating.

The story, in some ways, only just begins at the end of the issue. Because of this, it“s tough to say that the story is on the same level as the art. Based on the quality of this issue it should certainly end up that way. Admittedly though, the cliffhanger is the one bit of this book that has me less than enthused and, as a result, has me questioning the future of this story. However, the rest of the issue has such remarkably high craftsmanship that I“m in for the ride even if it never hits this high again. At the end of the day, this is a book about a man looking for atonement. As long as it sticks to that idea, nothing else matters.

Dr. Mirage #1 is the best first issue I“ve read in quite some time.Â This is an example of a writer and artist that are perfectly in sync enough to put on a creation clinic.Â If you“re interested in the witchcraft and the craft of comics, there“s not many better places to look. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for issue #2.

What’s Next? In November 2016, The CW has ordered a pilot by Gary Dauberman based on the Valiant title. There has been no further developments.

”¢ Keep an eye for.. Doctor Mirage #1 will come in Five covers; Cover A Regular Philip Tan Cover; Cover B Variant Roberta Ingranata Cover; Cover C Variant Nick Robles Cover; Cover D Variant; Blank Cover; Cover E Variant Jeff Dekal Cover;
”¢ Before Speculating on the newer stuff You might want to pick up the Doctor Mirage #1 (1993) with the Gold logo background. The center-spread is a slick, color pull-out poster. TThis has one of the lowest printings of any Valiant first issues.

”¢ Also Her 1s appearance was actually in Shadowman #16.

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Writer: Magdalene Visaggio
Artist: Nick Robles
Cover Artist: Philip Tan, Roberta Ingranata, Nick Robles, MJ Kim, Jeff Dekal
Published: By Valiant Entertainment