Thursday, January 22, 2009

 

You Need This: Mysterius

I have raved again and again and again about Jeff Parker's Agents of Atlas, and his current miniseries with Marvel Age of the Sentry (cowritten with Paul Tobin) is one of my favorite books going. I really enjoyed his creator-owned OGN Interman, am loving his contributions to Marvel Adventures and X-Men: First Class. In short, I will follow Parker wherever he goes. When I heard that Parker had a new creator-owned comic coming out from Wildstorm, even knowing nothing about the concept, my interest was piqued to say the least.

When I read a discussion between Parker and co-creator Tom Fowler about the book, and discovered that it was a book about a supernaturnal investigator, a combination of Dirk Gently and Doctor Who as played by Geoffrey Rush, I was more than a little intrigued.

The book is out in stores this week, and I've just now had a chance to read it. The verdict?

Simple.

You. Need. This.



Here's the solicitation for this first issue, from the Wildstorm site:
"Will all patrons please be seated? Tonight you will witness supernatural feats that no mortal mind can comprehend! Your very senses will reel as Mysterius the Great takes the stage after years in absentia! And now please welcome his newest stalwart, the brave and beautiful assistant who will accompany our host on a journey beyond the boundaries of science and reason...the Lovely Delfi! Now, all join hands..."

Acclaimed creators Jeff Parker (X-Men: The First Class, Agents of Atlas) and Tom Fowler (GREEN ARROW, CAPER) make their WildStorm debut with this exciting, offbeat new miniseries!

Our introduction to Mysterius comes through the eyes of his new assistant, Delfi, who we quickly discover is only the most recent of the "Delfis" to have worked with Mysterius over the course of a century or more. He has his own private railway car, an old Pullman that tags along behind the mundane trains everyone else takes but that no one but him--and Delfi--can see. But his base of operations is the Mysterium, a home with doors that connect everywhere.

Here's the sequence where Mysterius first takes his new companion to see the Mysterium (and where we learn that he's older than he looks, and that he's had previous companions, etc--one of the things I love about Parker's work is how seemingly effortlessly he packs his stories with such a density of information).




Newsarama has a preview of the first issue up, if that's not enough of an appetizer. And there's more bits and bobs on the book site, the Mysterium, too.

Mysterius is something of a cad and a bounder, but an endearing one. And I love that he's not sexy, fit, or particularly attractive. The little hints that we've had so far about his past are intriguing, and I'm definitely going to be along for the ride on this one.

Highly recommended.

Comments:
Thanks for the recommendation, Chris. With the sheer number of graphic novels available on any given week, it becomes damn near impossible to make up my mind on what I should focus on. Your comments, and the comments, are the only ones keeping me from going completely batshit any time I walk into Austin Books.
 
Only too happy to help, Derek!
 
Just read the first issue. Outrageous central character. Funky art style. No spandex. You're right; I did need this. How perceptive of you.
A bit more seriously, I love the mixture of influences on this book. Besides the other Doctor Who references, Mysterius looks like the modern Tom Baker to me. I started hear his voice with Mysterius' dialogue. It may not be intentional, but it fits.
 
Oh, I am so down for the first trade collection.
 
I grabbed this at the LCS on Friday, Chris. Haven't plunged in yet, as I am still reading Jeffrey Marks's "Anthony Boucher: A Biobibliography" (McFarland). Looks great tho.
 
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