My interpretation of the various superhero t-shirts and merchandise was that it was some form of meta-acknowledgment that Scott, Barda and the rest of the cast are ‘b-tier’ characters. Despite their status as gods, they lack the perceived importance of characters like Batman and Green Lantern. This could be interpreted as Scott’s inferiority complex, or as an admission for how cosmically insignificant the war between New Genesis and Apokolips may actually be. At least in relation to Earth.

I took the ending more that you're internal problems can feel very real, more real than the world around you even, but when you have a choice you should choose the people you care about.

I read this when was going through serious drug and depression issues and becoming a father and it really resonated with me. Things got better.

Honestly the ambiguous ending is probably the best thing about this maxi series. After everything that came, it's what gets everyone to remember what brought them there.

I love Mister Miracle!!!! definitely one of the most underrated DC superheroes of all time

I love this storyline, but there are 2 aspects that have always troubled me: 1. The ending - for the same reasons as you. 2. Orion’s portrayal. I’ll give King credit for having an in-story explanation for his behavior, that being the possibility he has been infected by the Anti-Life Equation, but in a story that deals so heavily with the issue of mental health, specifically trauma and depression, it’s glaring how Orion is completely defined by his genetic predisposition. It’s something writers have done for years, and I don’t think they understand how troubling that concept is. For quality Orion, I HIGHLY recommend Walt Simonson’s run. It’s bombastic and epic in every way possible.

Tom King is always a bit of a tricky writer for me. I think he's above average, but it also feels like he's trying to take refuge in mixed messages by straddling the line constantly. I think Mr. Miracle and Vision are by some distance the best things he ever wrote, but that trait remains there and keeps me from fully embracing them, which lines up a bit with your opinion on the ending (i.e. that it's muddled). Still, we can both agree the art is flawless. Keep up the good work! PS: You don't mention it in the video (not a lot of people do actually) but King being a former CIA agent is also something that makes him a little hard to embrace for me, coming from a region where the CIA wrought untold havoc.

I'm not a big Tom King fan in general, but this book is a masterful allegory of the aftermath of childhood trauma, and the lingering mental and emotional challenges that overcoming it represents. 5/5 stars, IMO. One of the deepest takes on a character out there. Even Scott Free can't escape himself or his past.

I'm so glad you decided to complete your thoughts on the series! Mister Miracle is one of my favorite miniseries of all time. I'm a sucker for religious allegory and existential pondering so it scratches me right where I itch 😂 you mentioned several things I missed tho, I'll have to go back and re-read it with the added context. Thanks!

Hi! Another way to look at the decision to give the name Rosalind (Roz) to Barda and Scott's future daughter. If Jack Kirby is the meta father or god of Barda and Scott, they are giving the children the "grandparents" names. Greetings from Uruguay!

Loved your video! The analysis was fantastic, well reasoned and beautifully presented. I’ve read the King/Gerads Mister Miracle at least four times and always come out of it with something new each time. The first time I read it, it was an excellent accompaniment to new fatherhood, and now that I find myself a father again (a daughter this time around, same as Scott) I’m looking at a fifth go round on this psychic roller coaster. I can’t condone the irresolution of trauma and attendant mental illness, but “I can always escape” has gotten me past some very dark, seemingly inescapable traps in my own life.

Another story i can think of where Orion ends up like his father was a brief scene in Kingdom Come, where he became ruler of Apokolips because the people were used to being ruled over and so they wanted Orion as ruler

yesss , i watched this channel so much that went from not liking comics at all to slowly getting into it ,tom king mr miracle is one of the runs i have in the list and i owe it to you for getting me interested in comics.

I didnt have the same issues with the stories conclusion. It seemed to me that Mister Miracles problems were still all there, he was just in a better place to deal with them. Its like how barda says "Darkseid is" to which scott replies "yeah, i know, but we are too." His problems are still there (Darkseid is) but thanks to his family and having confronted his trauma through the book, he has a renewed sense of purpose. But, thats just my reading, and is very influenced by my own relationship with my mental health, so others may come away with different, equally valid opinions.

Several months into comics and this is still the best thing I've read so far.

To me, I viewed the scene where Funky talks about the story Jacob made as a sort of reconciliation between the two, with Funky even saying a line that is very similar to what Kirby said to Lee before Kirby died. It comes off as more of a sweet thing then a re telling of history too me

I think what's so complex about Mister Miracle is really explained in the prologue by Tom King, whatever type of anxiety attack he suffered really got him in a severe bout of not just depression but probably depersonalization. A lot of the final issues is Scott dealing with what's real and what isn't, and in the end that's still up for debate. It's a tough experience to explain because for most it will sound like gibberish. I think that Scott Free is just coping and learning to deal with the struggle of his condition, he did attempt suicide but instead of ignoring the hard parts (Apokolips) he makes them part of his life alongside the good parts (everything else). It's all real, and by killing Darkside he's more or less coming to grips that killing his devil will bring him no closer to understanding his place in the world (fitting considering the origin Tom King gave him) but he avoids becoming like his father, so it has a bit of that "small victories" mentality which I think works perfectly, Scott just wants to live in peace with Barda and his childre whilst still under the knowledge that after his suicide attempt his world will never be the same as he's both trapped and freed by his dissonance in knowing life is just a surreal experience no wonder how you spin it.

I think this is a tough topic, but not irresponsible (for my money). Scott is faced with the anti-life equation and thus must face the options. He is Sisyphus and Tom King aproaches the story the same way Camus did: he must become/embrace the impossible to escape and suicide is never the answer.

I see the end as him coming to terms with everything. His power, strength, responsibility, past, present and future. And he chooses the one He loves the most. For the first time in his life it's him living for himself (and his closest ones). He has the power to do it, so if anything it's not a cop out, it's a pure flex, tbh. Also, Gerards bases the look of the main characters on celebrities. Adam Strange was Armie Hammer. Couldn't figure out who Scott was until today - it's Matt Bomer, y'all! So happy I can scratch this itch I've had for years. 😂

I watched that original video that oozed at issue 1 and hoped it would be a reoccurring feature. I'm glad and grateful that you covered the whole series here. You always see things that are deeper in meaning and go totally over my head. I thank you for pointing them out.

I feel like "irresponsible" really applies to a lot of what King has written. In this case, there's a near glorification of mental illness and trauma that I think is shared with other stories (Rorschach and Heroes in Crisis in particular). And the implication that suicide is valid approach to one's problems, even if unintentional, is disturbing. Rorschach is also filled with similar implications I'm sure he either didn't think all the way through, or did think through and didn't consider worth re-configuring his story for. I will never quite get over that he presented a narrative where President Robert Redford, who is already a cipher for hollywood liberalism, is complicit with an assassination attempt of traditional values republican candidate in a large deep-state like conspiracy. And yet that story is supposedly about the power and danger of narratives and their effect on people. And much like with Rorschach, its use of real life people within the comics world is questionable at best. For as much of a send-up to Kirby he's trying to make here, I am very unsure as to whether Kirby would approve. There's also an interesting theme of King subsuming the role of God from Kirby that; while I think is intentionally designed to not be flattering to King; no matter what doesn't flatter King. There's a nagging feeling of tactlessness that I only think King survives because the story is so genuinely well constructed and he has the privilege to work with such spectacular talent. If his work was any lesser in quality, his more suspect story elements and themes would consume him. Instead, every story of his I read of his leaves me gobsmacked. As a finale note, I do think Tom King's best works are all some level of character assassination. This is who Mister Miracle and Big Barda are now. This is who Adam Strange is now. This is who Supergirl is now. This is who the Justice League International are now. Regardless of his intent, he redefines these characters and it will be these takes on the characters that may yet endure. There's something offputting to me about that, and something irresponsible to me about what exactly these redefinitions end up being: Selfish, myopic, hurt, traumatized, and broken. I'd like to see him just once redefine a character in the modern age to be stronger than they were. But I suppose I haven't read Danger Street yet, so perhaps there?

Ooo boy haven't seen you make long videos like this in a while. This is one of my favorite comics and I'm glad to hear your take on the series and ending.

first long form SBP vid in a while AND it's on one of my top books of all time?? folks, now that's what we call appointment viewing

I’m not entirely with you on the ending. I do agree that it is irresponsible but I believe King is trying to say that you make the best of what you’re given. I also see this as a study of mental illness in general and PTSD in particular. King has stated the idea came to him after going to the emergency room for a panic attack. When he came out of it the world seemed slightly different and many things didn’t seem to make sense. This is also what happens to those suffering from PTSD and King has worked with servicemen coming back from Afghanistan with it.

Wow. I liked Tom King's retro, Golden-age type stories on the Knight Watchman for Big Bang Comics. But this miniseries proves he can mature, adult material as well. It has so many layers. Ultimately, it seems to be dark, depressing comics that I don't really like in modern comics. But not entirely. The nods to the original series and to Jack Kirby, and the alternate reality of the regular DC universe, and even the ambiguously "happy" ending all seem to indicate that Tom isn't trying to bring people down, but trying to help people find their own way out from depressing, handicapping cynicism. We all live in a fictional reality of our own making, the narrative we create for ourselves, which relies heavily on how we interpret reality. I wouldn't have thought comics could present such a complicated and nuanced view of this, but Tom seems to have done it.

The mundane dimension of the comics has no suggestion that heroes are an established part of society but heroes being brand icons on Earth One/Prime has been true as long as I have lived. Morrison´s JLA had a JL propaganda poster that even shows Batman despite him being a myth in the Gtagam books, David´s Supergirl had a skateboard with hero stickers on it, King´s Batburger, etc. Also Booster Gold.

I agree with you about the ending. It feels like failure, and a weird message. It’s shocking that the man who always escapes doesn’t, but I guess that also was kinda King’s point. Also please make more videos like this

Mitch is perfection. Agreed. My feelings on this series were it was interesting but not satisfying to me. Because it played with “what is reality” in an art form that is not reality and it gave no clear answers to Scott (the protagonist) and left it up to us, the reader, to decide, I came away frustrated. It was an interesting journey but if it was just Scott going crazy and escaping from reality then it didn’t need to be so long and end so ambiguously.

Gerads’s artwork in this series literally got me back into comics.

I've struggled with Mister Miracle for a long time. I read issue 1 when I first got into comics (around 8th grade), which was probably too young, but I was fascinated by it. When I finally read all of it, I was floored, but a 2nd real read through had me emotionally exhausted by King's dialogue and Miller-esque repitition, and most importantly, that ending. So thank you Strange Brain Parts for making me feel seen about that. Its a series I've tried to re-read every once in a while, thinking "maybe I'll get it now", that time and age might bring clarity, but this video has finally brought a fresh perspective to this series that genuinely makes me want to give it another go. Hell, maybe I'll get it now.

Congratulations. As always, you've made something terrific. This time it somehow even exceeds your normal work, which is no easy feat. You'll get no push back from me on your analysis. Our main character took the easy way out, and that is ok. I honestly like that message even more because Free doesn't do the right and heroic thing of confronting reality and tearing down his somewhat safe and often serene construct. His trauma, the scars from battle on the field of combat and with his complex family dynamics, are a great deal to bear. Sometimes diving into fantasy is the only safe and healthy option when reality might be too painful to take in all at once. Free confronted his demons (his para-demons, I couldn't help it) and chose, for a brief while or perhaps much longer, that he had confronted all he could. He pushed as far as he was ready to push and likely as far as he could without breaking completely in two. Sometimes confronting the big truths and taking those monumental steps is temporarily impossible. I see this book giving a permission to that with the ending. Free tried his best and maybe that was good enough because next time his best will be better, stronger, and wiser. It reminds me of walking the road to recovery, which I think this story understands in a fairly deep and genuine way. Everyone's road is different. Every step is uneven. Many paths lead right back to the beginning and sometimes you have to stop walking all together to just rest before trying again. This Mister Miracle run really is beautiful thanks to the marriage of both great writing and amazing art. It is one of the best comics I've read in the last, I don't know, 20 years maybe? Possibly the best. It probably hits me a little different than others because I'm in my mid 40's and have somehow endured through what seems like more than my fair share of trauma. I think the ending is perfect because, just like the character of Scott Free and real lives, it is so imperfect. It challenges those tropes of the good guy always winning and overcoming his fear, doubt, or enemy du jour. The ending says to me that sometimes just making it through is good enough, if only for a time. There is always the chance to escape as long as you are still breathing.

Amazing video. Thank you so much for taking the time to do this.

God now I wanna reread mister miracle

Alright, you convinced me to pick this series up

Yes!!! I been waiting for your input on the whole series. Love this book.

Been greatly looking forward to watching this. Fantastic job!

Always lovely to have these on in the background while working! Also big fan of your editing and presentation, hope to incorporate elements inspired by it in future videos I edit! ^-^

Oh been waiting on this one, love these in depth looks into series.

I don't think it's a critique of Jack Kirby's run. It's a homage to it.

What about the part where its hinted that the trap he's in is an illusion created by The Lump? Its also hinted that that The Lump is posing as Scott's son, which, to me, at least, heavily implies that the entire series very similar to that one episode of 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' where Cmdr. Riker becomes part of a grand illusion where a psychic alien orphan child is posing as Riker's son. In other words; the Lump is keeping Scott trapped in the illusion so that it has a father figure that will love it like a son

26:16 for some reason, I thought that Heroes in Crisis (also written by Tom King) would reveal Scott eventually "chose to face reality" but against his will, and he is now going to Sanctaury to deal with the whole trauma of "how he lived an entire life in the illusion until dying from old age there, and how that life no longer exist" (like how Superman did in the story "for the man who has everything" due to the black mercy) ALTERNATIVELY you could argue Scott staying in the illusion is more a nod to the reader and the meme of "maybe its a lie, or a happy ending" by implying the readers can choose to ignore the canon and preted this "illusion" is Scott Free's final story, free from the perpetual cycle of heroism 29:50 "an illusion is preferable to reality. which is an irresonsible suggestion to anyone who suffers mental distress, or worse someone who is considering an alternative to life" for some reason i want to see someone use this line (an illusion is preferrable to reality) but by inverting the usual connotations of and context of that statement by saying "if death is the only "true reality", then living is choosing the illusion", but it would require A LOT of skills to pull that off

this is one of my favorite, if not my favorite altogether, comic series ever. i read it as i became with a new father myself, and it really stuck with me as someone who's struggled with my mental health for years. if only everything king writes could be this good SPOILERS: also, something that's always stuck with me is that king has said that a lot of this was inspired by his ptsd as a government agent. it recontextualized the scene where lightray kills the baby parademon in a really uncomfortable and very real way.

Just to say, I thoroughly enjoyed this, and I thoroughly enjoy your channel. Whilst I might not always agree with your conclusions, they’re always very intelligently laid out, and I for one always appreciate the effort, whether I agree with you or not. I’m not a Tom King fan per se, but I’m a huge fan of Kirby so begrudgingly bought and read this series, and found that I enjoyed it. And hey, this time I largely agree with you but that itself isn’t the point. The point is, I suppose: you’re obviously intelligent, you make simple but terrific videos, and I like that. Keep going. Not much of a point, but hey, hope it’s fun to hear it. Edited to add: I’m genuinely pleased to see others saying similar things. What you should construe from this is obvious. You also deserve it. All useless, I appreciate, because financially this probably isn’t worth it to you. Regardless if this is true or not, I’m certain all of “us” (a nebulous concept at best) will agree. We like it. Do more.

As always, great work. You point out the work that I missed and shouldn't have. Need to acknowledge at this point, the hard work of the Amazon delivery person. For which all your work would have to go inexperienced.

I finally got around to reading it. So far, just once. It’s something I’ll need to go back to several times to get it all. Really solid and an epic run.

This was awesome! A lot of it went over my head. It was the first Tom King 12 issue I had read and was blown away by it. I've since fallen hard off the King train and wondered if this would hold up. I think it would. I think Strange Adventures & Hard Target are more obvious. Again, great video!

You know since the mister miracle was the thing that made me find this channel i wanted to be sure to be able to concentrate on it so i waited this long to see this video in peace

I spotted a Adam Strange's shirt which unfortunately makes sense...but Scott's shirt during his talk with Highfather...I hope to God that never becomes reality for Starman fans...

Fantastic coverage and explanation of a truly great story. Have you ever thought about doing an Anatomy of a Series for Strange Adventures?

I really liked the book, it will definitely grow on me on further rereads. While reading this I couldn't help but mourn the loss of Tom King and Ava Duvernay's New Gods film, I'm sure ot would've been a blast. I like picturing comic books as films as I read them, and Mister Miracle definitely has the traits of a drama that is just superhero themed by proxy, would ve fantastic in the right hands.

This is an excellent breakdown. There were a few things I noticed as I was watching -- 18:33 Scott's wearing a t-shirt with the electric Superman's symbol, in blue. Two panels later in the same scene, the symbol is red. During that run of Superman, he was split into two beings with different personalities. 22:00 Both brothers striking down Darkseid, because the knife is made of Orion's remains -- Because of the religious overtones in the story, I immediately thought "Cain & Abel", but the analogy I was trying to ponder through became thin pretty quickly. 22:43 - 22:58 In the three tryptichs of panels, Darkseid is shown continuously as part of each, rather than the panels showing different characters or a single character proceeding through the environment. Darkseid IS the environment. This seemed even more striking because of Darkseid not speaking. Anyways, thanks again. I always look forward to your episodes.

Yet another series have to add to my pile of series I have been too busy to catch up on! At this rate, I'll have to wait till I'm stuck in my own afterlife to get caught up! LOL Great video though! I like these long for essays and look forward to more... Until next time... :-)

Thanks!

1:45 Tom King's formula for Maxiseries of 12 issues 9:53 So Funky Flashman was always a Stan Lee insult? 11:07 what does "the face of god" means here? 12:41 why Scott's trial is a logical trap and example of 3 logical fallacies? 17:50 could this be a reference to jack kirby? 20:34 attempted reconciliation of jack kirby & stan lee? 26:16 for some reason, I thought that Heroes in Crisis (also written by Tom King) would reveal Scott eventually "chose to face reality" but against his will, and he is now going to Sanctaury to deal with the whole trauma of "how he lived an entire life in the illusion until dying from old age there, and how that life no longer exist" (like how Superman did in the story "for the man who has everything" due to the black mercy) ALTERNATIVELY you could argue Scott staying in the illusion is more a nod to the reader and the meme of "maybe its a lie, or a happy ending" by implying the readers can choose to ignore the canon and preted this "illusion" is Scott Free's final story, free from the perpetual cycle of heroism 29:50 "an illusion is preferable to reality. which is an irresonsible suggestion to anyone who suffers mental distress, or worse someone who is considering an alternative to life" for some reason i want to see someone use this line (an illusion is preferrable to reality) but by inverting the usual connotations of and context of that statement by saying "if death is the only "true reality", then living is choosing the illusion", but it would require A LOT of skills to pull that off

Great video, as always! I do applaud the balls to have THAT ending for the series but, as you said, I believe its a very irresponsable message, specially using Mr. Miracle (a very cheerful character) as the guy who makes THAT decision. It is better than Heroes in Crisis, I give you that…

Scott is trapped in Anti-Life Equation

Great analysis! I really thought that having a child, was the cure for the antilife equation.

This seems like a good series.

Having just read this series, I agree with alot of your analysis. The art does alot of the heavy lifting and is fantastic. The first six issues or so are really well done. However, it doesn't quite LAND anywhere. It raises allusions and asks some interesting questions initially, drawing the reader in. But it doesn't provide any catharsis for the reader. It doesn't OFFER anything with the end. A few red herrings too. Why did Barda's eyes change color? Was Granny full of shite? I also felt like some of the old ultraviolence began to feel...meaningless? They kill several new gods to get to Orion, have a halt and die on their heads, and BAM! Instead, DARKSEID IS THERE and killed Orion...only to then...apparently just leave? I had assumed it would be revealed Scott actually did the deed, as he sat on the throne as Darkseid. The Anti Life Equation is in Scott and that is why folks seems so different, characterizations are off, he cannot trust his senses, etc. Instead, its played straight. Darkseid waltzes into New Genesis, KILLS Orion, and then is simply sitting on Apokolips. Because...reasons? And then Scott becomes the New Highfather and Lightray works with them. Despite the death. The violence. Moving brusquely right along. Same with the Funky fellow. He watches them KILL two New Gods guards, burn their remains, as he is tied up in their home. Annnnndddd then he watches their kid. Is TRUSTED to watch their kid. Not Booster. None of the JLA. THIS GUY. Now, with all this surrealism, I expected a reveal of some kind. But that never came. Instead they did just STAB Darkseid, Metatron does a whole glowy reveal, and then things seemed to continue as if that never happened and the terrible terrible war, the one that Scott considered handing over his child over because New Genesis was SURE TO LOSE...continues. At least I think that is what the panels indicated with Barda punching the dude in the hat in a duel and the armies all lined up. In short: very intriguing beginning, enjoyed it right up until the end. Afterwards, knowing more about the writer did curdle it a bit and it soured my readings knowing a CIA scumbag with CIA scumbag world views wrote it.

Obviously, this is not a series for me. You say it's not overly-pretentious, but from your analysis, it sure sounded that way to me. Different strokes, I guess. Anyway, I thank you for your insights.

I would love to see what you have to say about Walt Simonson's Orion.

So after watching your interpretation of the ending I feel i disagree with the intent that King left in it. I think scott staying in purgatory is obviously a bittersweet intent that king is stating that suppressing the issues you have is a really bad for your mental health but making moves to improve is really difficult when its easy to not talk about it with people close to you without judging you as a person or feeling like a burden. The problem with mental health issues is it's culturally a taboo in certain parts of the world and cultures and people are told to just chin up, stop whining, you can have have it worst and etc. This type of attitude kinda carries to Barda trying to not engage with the problem with her husband that caused him to commit the act he did in issue 1. Issue 10 is my favorite part of the series because of the park scene. It perfectly encapsulates what happens when you actively avoid the major problems between those you love and the longer it takes to talk about the issues, the more it will hurt both in relationships like families, friends and your significant other. Which in my opinion the really saddest moment in the book for me and it felt real. There's an anime called Neon Genesis Evangelion that plays with this idea of isolation and lack of compassion for those struggling with mental health. Shinji, the main protagonist of the series is the worst possible thing scott could be with no one to care and understand him. Shinji is tasked to save humanity while he has been told that his mental health isn't important by people who are as damaged as him and find means to suppressing their issues as and using shinji as an outlet to dump their issues to him like Asuka and Misato. Both these series showed the dangers of suppressing your emotions and trauma is has negative impacts to yourself in the long run. The ending I think is a perfect example of how difficult it is to move forward and just being content with it and it's a real problem that we wish we could fix but life is different for many of us. Speaking as someone with personal mental struggles the ending is a sweet gut punch and I always remind myself that yes its hard but I must live on and face my issues with the support with those I love and support me. And just like scott, I can always escape. Still a brilliant video from you my good sir. It's one of your best works and I'm glad you covered it. 10/10

I have so many mixed feelings about the ending. It works incredibly well as a pure metaphor. There is no "escaping" mental illness (speaking from experience). The best we can do is learn to accept it and find purpose and happiness within those confines. Scott has a son named after his real world creator. We must make our own gods, ie: a "meaning of life" and reason to live. But framing all of that as an illusion is just... muddy. Scott choosing to live in the false reality means abandoning Barda and everyone in the "real" world. Did Scott just algorithm himself and leave Barda alone and grieving the loss of her partner? That's... not great, gotta say. That being said, I'm not really sure how to "fix" that, and it seems clear that the open-endedness is completely intentional. While I do like the ending, it feels like it only really works within the context of the text itself, and we're not supposed to think too much about the greater implications it has for the rest of the "universe" it takes place in.

Hi! Excellent video! The scene where Funky "Stan Lee" Flashman recognizing that Jacob "THE KING" was the creative force of the story they made, I think can be interpreted as another clue that they are not in the DC continuity, nor in our own reality. . Leaving from Uruguay!

Such a fascinating storyline. This honestly deserves a short animated series.

First, teehee. I liked your review of issue 1, really excited for this.

I always wanted to dive into the new gods stuff by Kirby. I think I will buy the Omnibus

"Earth is a place of domestic peace" ha >snort

23:18 if you were to observer the structure of the DC Multiverse, 'God' lives in the Silver City/Heaven, so it does muddle it a bit, as New Genesis AND Apokalips both reside within the Sphere Of The Gods, where Heaven, Hell, The Dreaming, The Phantom Zone, Skytown, etc all exist.

I would love to hear your thoughts on John ostrander’s Firestorm ( specially) and suicide squad. Greetings from Buenos Aires! Argentina

I enjoy the series as an elseworlds book. But as a Jack Kirby’s Fourth World fan, this book doesn’t work for me as most characterisations are/feel wrong. Also, changing Funky Flashman from a parody of Stan Lee into an homage feels so wrong

I dont realy agreed with the ideia that the ending was suposed to be happy, every time i read this series i think is clear that the endinh is a bity bitter sweet, most of the caracters in the ending are saying tha scott made the wrong choice, so i dont think i agreed with the ideia that it was suposed to be a happy ending, Great video overal tho

Aw fuck it I'll watch this video. To be honest I wanted to wait to read it but also wanted to read Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus and I've got so much back material I'm gonna have on my table soon that it can wait honestly.

'Not overly pretentious' i would politely disagree

❤‍🔥❤‍🔥❤‍🔥👍👍👍

Honestly, I never saw the happy ending on this. It all feels so... bleak. To be fair, that might be my problem as the reader. I had the same problem after reading Watchmen, and it wasn't until much later that I noticed the most positive and hopeful bits of the story. But in this case, I just have a hard time getting it. I get why Scott took this choice. But at the same time, it feels like incredibly selfish. It doesn't feel like he never stops to ponder about the people he knows and loves on the real reality, and how they might feel about it.

Always thought this series looked very good but was afraid to read the take TK would give these characters. It is not terrible I guess, but I see your point on the resolution to the dualistic premise is unsatisfying. A lot of flash and spectacle with no strong point to make.

This series was a huge disappointment reading it as it came out. The first 6 issues are excellent, really sets up a lot of interesting things, works on a lot of different levels. Then the story starts to dragggggg, ( this series should've been 8 issues instead of 12) and then the ending is just terrible, doesn't work at all. Ruins everything that came before it. I'm even more critical about the ending then you are. The final 2 issues legit pissed me off when I first read them, I felt they missed the mark so badly. I was so put off by the ending of this series I've avoided everything Tom King has written since but as I understand it he basically writes the same story over and over again. it's all a thinly veiled metaphor for his PTSD and his relationship with his wife, it's always 12 issues even though he really only has 6 issues worth of material and he always manages to take the worst lessons away from the ending every single time. it's just very tiresome.

This isn't an homage to Kirby. It's a defacing of his hopeful and endlessly positive message and sense of wonder. It uses his characters in a post-modern slog through the mud and revels in their depression and destruction. King bastardizes everything Kirby created and stood for to the applause of an emotionally stunted, self-hating and eternally bored modern comics readership. Once again proving his only value as a writer is in his ability to flashily ride the coattails of actually talented creators as he shows off his one note singular trick of breaking long established characters and narratives. This book says a lot more about the writer and his audience than it does about Kirby's characters and story. A story for a simple minded mob who believes this to be thoughful deep commentary and not the shallow tik-tok therapy channel spew that it is. Hey, you into depression porn? Has Tom King got a comic for you!

It looks like I'm in the minority in that I didn't care for this series at all. I dig Gerad's art but something about the story was entirely off-putting for me. I have yet to read anything by King that hasn't hit some point where the writer's hand becomes too visible and derails the vibe of the piece.

I've been waiting for this. It's truly easy to become sick of king's writing. I needed a reminder of the potential he once had, and I was tired of reading Elmer Fudd and Batman.

I read this after watching your video. Honestly, I hated it.

Scott is a coward tbh ,ppl need him in the real world and he just runs away from his problems I lost my respect slightly for him

I don't like this series. I feel like it didn't need to be 12 issues. I feel like the same story could have been told in much less. I also don't like it from the perspective of continuity. It doesn't make sense that Scott did that. It also never explores the actual reality of the situation. I also liked Scott as a character before this and this is a pretty lame end to his story.

Israel WAS Jacob (grandson of Abraham). Isaiah the Prophet ... Izaya Highfather. Shiloh (Messiah) Norman comes after Scott Free. Enoch became METATRON (Metron, God of Knowledge). New GENESIS (4D Heaven). Apokalypse (4D Hell). Biblical stuff !

Enjoyed your analysis but the actual series is awful. Theres no hero in the series at all. And it ends with the title character killing himself despite winning the war and having a loving family. This depression TK likes to write is very unwelcome. The characters are OOC and dont lend themselves to likeability at all. It doesnt matter how much intellectual mumbo-jumbo is tossed in the story, if the characters suck and there isn’t a hero to root for then its pointless.

This series is Tom King working out his personal demons by devaluing what should be a uplifting, positive character. King is a wannabe Alan Moore without the talent or imagination.

I enjoy your videos, and analyses, but boy I hate how Tom King writes.

the art though .... uggghhh

Tom king is just an absolute awful writer. Kirby is the King of the Fourth World. Walt Simonson did well by it, but the king stuff is shite.