Mister Miracle #12
DC Comics
Written by: Tom King
Art by: Mitch Gerads
Letters by: Clayton Cowles
The end has come for Mister Miracle, the weird, slice-of-life dark comedy from award-winning creators Tom King and Mitch Gerads. Some readers will be frustrated to know that the ending does not come with a whole lot of answers. Is Scott Free dead? Is he in heaven? Is he in hell? Are any of the events from the previous eleven issues “real”? These questions, and others like them, all remain unanswered.
In place of answers, the final issue doubles down on what the series does best: tackling Scott’s trauma and his struggle to make a life worth living. This means the issue is packed full of touching moments between Scott and his family. In the end, Scott has a beautiful wife, son, and a future daughter on the way. Real or not, this is the life Scott wants and chooses.
Gerads’ ability to juxtapose the mundanity of everyday life alongside the extraordinary happenings on New Genesis give weight to the life that Scott and Barda are making for themselves. Readers will be debating and discussing the unanswered questions of this issue for years to come. This ambiguity works in that it allows for different readers to interpret the story differently.
No matter how you answer those questions for yourself, one thing remains true: Mister Miracle is a remarkable series that is poignant, funny, and delightful to read. This final issue is no exception.