Command Performance. Mister Miracle performs a special magic show, with the fate of Big Barda hanging in the balance.

This collection reprints Kirby's classic Fourth World tales, stories about the New Gods pantheon of Highfather, Mister Miracle, and more and their ongoing war with Apokalips and the forces of the evil Darkseid.

Jack Kirby reinvented the superhero genre with his sprawling saga of the Fourth World Ña bold storytelling vision that was decades ahead of its time. In honor of this extraordinary talentÕs centennial, DC Comics is proud to re-present the groundbreaking work of the King of Comics in a brand-new edition collecting his classic DC titles in all their four-color glory: MISTER MIRACLE BY JACK KIRBY! With MISTER MIRACLE, Kirby unleashes the breakout star of the Fourth World. Scott Free, a child of New Genesis, was destined to one day reign alongside the Highfather in the golden city of the New Gods. But heavenly New Genesis was at war with hellish Apokolips, and the two immortal worlds were trapped in a neverending cycle of violence. To break the stalemate, the Highfather struck a deal with Darkseid, the ruler of Apokolips. The two adversaries sealed their pact with a sacrifice: each would exchange his infant son to be raised on his enemyÕs world. Now Scott Free has grown up, and not even the blackest dungeons of Darkseid or the parademon hordes of Apokolips can hold him. Breaking out of his captorsÕ clutches and heading for the world called Earth, he reinvents himself as the unstoppable escape artist, Mister Miracle! But his flight from Apokolips threatens the fragile peace with New Genesis, and DarkseidÕs sinister agents will not rest until their former prisoner is back in chains. Will Mister Miracle be able to avoid their ever-deadlier death traps? No matter the cost, he will remain Scott Free! Discover one of comicsÕ most beloved charactersÑand thrill to the art and imagination of one of comicsÕ greatest masters at the height of his inventive powersÑin MISTER MIRACLE BY JACK KIRBY collecting issues #1-18 of the legendary series.

"Murder Machine." Virman Vundabar captures Big Barda, who proves to be the perfect bait for Mister Miracle.

From Hugo Award-winning writer Tom King and artist Mitch Gerads, the team behind THE SHERIFF OF BABYLON, comes an ambitious new take on one of Jack Kirby's most beloved New Gods in MISTER MIRACLE! One of the best-reviewed series of the year and already a classic in the making, this Mister Miracle is magical, dark, intimate and unlike anything you've read before. Scott Free is the greatest escape artist who ever lived. So great, he escaped Granny Goodness' gruesome orphanage and the dangers of Apokolips to travel across galaxies and set up a new life on Earth with his wife, Big Barda. Using the stage alter ego of Mister Miracle, he has made quite a career for himself showing off his acrobatic escape techniques. He even caught the attention of the Justice League, who has counted him among its ranks. You might say Scott Free has everything--so why isn't it enough? Mister Miracle has mastered every illusion, achieved every stunt, pulled off every trick--except one. He has never escaped death. Is it even possible? Our hero is going to have to kill himself if he wants to find out. Collects MISTER MIRACLE #1-12.

Superheroes are enjoying a cultural resurgence, dominating the box office and breaking out of specialty comics stores onto the shelves of mainstream retailers. A leading figure behind the superhero Renaissance is Grant Morrison, long-time architect of the DC Comics' universe and author of many of the most successful comic books in recent years. Renowned for his anarchic original creations--Zenith, The Invisibles, The Filth, We3--as well as for his acclaimed serialized comics--JLA, Superman, Batman, New X-Men--Grant Morrison has radically redefined the superhero archetype. Known for his eccentric lifestyle and as a practitioner of "pop magic," Morrison sees the superhero as not merely fantasy but a medium for imagining a better humanity. Drawing on a variety of analytical approaches, this first-ever collection of critical essays on his work explores his rejuvenation of the figure of the superhero as a means to address the challenges of modern life.

The future of healthcare may be very simple. You will sit in your living room chair and drink your tea, coffee, and beer. As you sip, the chair will absorb an encyclopedia of knowledge about your physical state of affairs. A life-management computer in your kitchen will integrate the data and then display it for you on your watch face. A daily physical work-up precisely tailored to your body will pop up on the display, showing you what you have to do over the next 24 hours to avoid all the major disease processes currently plaguing the world. This comprehensive data bank will draw on all the world's medical databases, which have been integrated to help you prevent disease. You will rise from your chair and undertake an exact modicum of exercise tailored to your requirements, performing proscribed activities that will build your stamina precisely based on your "chair data. " The health status-monitoring sweatshirt that you wear during exercise will continue its analysis throughout the day. Your diet will be calibrated from your medical database, which vii viii 21st-CENTURY MIRACLE MEDICINE will be stored in a now-common bathroom appliance, the special preventive care server. In fact, clothed in your own domestic decor, the home will become the most sophisticated medical center in the world. All you have to do is keep going, as medicine becomes an invisible service, and your life will be effortlessly extended ten to twenty years.