Over the past few years, writer Tom King has made quite a name for himself in the comics world, producing critically acclaimed titles like The Sheriff of Babylon, The Omega Men, and The Vision for Marvel Comics. After a stint writing the adventures of Dick Grayson as a secret agent in the pages of the appropriately titled Grayson, he took on the task of following up Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s five year run on Batman, as part of DC Rebirth. And though those were some pretty big shoes to fill, a year later, Batman is one of DC’s most acclaimed books under King’s watch.

Now, King is tackling a different DC Comics icon, although one far less known to more mainstream audiences. Arriving on August 9 is the first issue of Mister Miracle, King and artist Mitch Gerad’s take on Jack Kirby’s creation from the early ’70s.

For those unfamiliar with the character, Mister Miracle, whose real name is Scott Free, is the son of Highfather, the ruler of the peaceful world New Genesis. As part of a peace treaty with the dark planet Apokolips, Highfather agreed to an exchange of heirs with its ruler, Darkseid, the God of Evil. Scott traded places with Darkseid’s second-born son Orion.

Scott grew up in a virtual hell on Apokolips, and As he grew older, he rebelled against the rule of Darkseid. He eventually fled to Earth, along with Apokoliptian wife Big Barda, and the two eventually became members of the Justice League International. Mister Miracle became known not only as a hero, but as the world’s greatest escape artist. He’s popped in the DC Universe here and there ever since, most recently in Geoff Johns‘ “Darkseid War” story in Justice League. But now King and Gerads are set up to tell the definitive Mister Miracle story with this new, 12 issue mini-series.

Although many other writers and artists have attempted to tell their own stories using Jack Kirby’s New Gods characters, few have been terribly memorable (there are some exceptions of course). King and Gerads are looking to change all that with this new series focusing on Mister Miracle, presenting the character in a way we’ve never seen before. But did King feel pressure following up Jack Kirby on one of his most famous creations?

“I never don’t feel pressure” said King, of following up not only Kirby on Mister Miracle, but taking over for Scott Snyder on his tremendously popular run on Batman. “If you’re ever writing and you say to yourself ‘man, I frickin’ nailed it!’, and it’s perfect, then just stop. The reason you write is to walk out on a high wire.”

“Mitch Gerads and I wanted to try to make a book that was as good as a Watchmen or a New Frontier, with something that reflected current times. I’m not saying that we did that, but I can try to do it. Because when I think of our current times I feel a little bit like I’m trapped…like when I wake up in the morning, I feel like I’m in a world that I don’t understand.”

But why use Mister Miracle of all character in the DC pantheon, to tell an epic tale that reflects our modern world? Why not a Superman or a Batman? King explains why it had to be Scott Free, saying “right now, it feels like there’s nowhere to run. And the rules that I once thought made sense don’t make sense anymore, and it just feels like we’re all in this together and there’s no way out, and we can’t escape. And what better way to write about that feeling than with the God of Escape? It seemed like a good fit.”

King elaborated: “I served my country, I did that. I was in the CIA, and I served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and I love this country with every part of my body, and I was willing to risk my body and my family for it. But I wake up in a country I don’t understand anymore. But it’s not my job to just write “Trump Sucks!” – that’s bullshit to me. Read someone’s Twitter feed for that.  Yet I feel as an artist, it’s my job to talk about the paranoia of this time, it’s my job to do what the (filmmakers) from the ’70s did, with movies like The Parallax View, to describe that feeling that we all have to live with something that’s absurd, and yet we have to go on with our lives. That’s what we’re doing with Mister Miracle.”

Although Mister Miracle is a self contained story, something DC hopes will be a perennial, King promises it will have greater implications for the DC Universe as a whole, telling us “yes, it’s in continuity, but it’s a self contained story… but one that will impact the DCU for years to come.”

You can check out a preview of the first seven pages of Mister Miracle #1 down below. The first issue hits comic shops on Wednesday, August 9.

Are you excited for this new take on Jack Kirby’s classic comic book mythology? Be sure to chime in and let us know down below in the comments.

Images: DC Comics