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DRMIRAGE_002_COVER_FOREMAN
Kareem Ali 4.5

The Death-Defying Doctor Mirage #2

 

  • The good

    The intentions of the organization using the Scry. Spirit realm has some intriguing rules and customs.

  • The bad

    Flurry of activity made Mirage's story about meeting her husband an afterthought and not as compelling at the end.

  • The ugly

    • The Death-Defying Doctor Mirage #2 continues with Doctor Mirage entering the astral plane in search of her husband’s spirit and answers about the mysterious being bound to Linton March. It opens up with 2 men question Linton and the creature, known as a  Scry, about Mirage’s location since they suspect treachery on his part. Linton tells them that he only contacted Mirage to communicate with his dead wife since the creature wouldn’t help him with that. Despite Linton’s reassurances that he wasn’t trying to leave their secret group and renege on an agreement, one of the men use a Scrying tool to force the creature to do their bidding. They want it to locate Doctor Mirage, and not just her physical body but where she’s projecting her spirit so they could observe. Things aren’t easier for Doctor Mirage as she’s immediately questioned when entering the spirit realm if she’s there to deliver something, ask for something or possibly even steal something. She states that she’s looking for the Pale Mistress, who has something that belongs to her. They explain to Mirage that they defend the wall that separates their world from the physical world and her presence alone weakens that wall. They can’t give her directions so she pretty much makes the trek on her own but she soon runs into a familiar face, which happens to be one she communicated with during the widows support group. Meredith decides to help her and along the way starts to inform her about the customs in the spirit world so she can be better prepared for what’s ahead. One of those customs is the option to tell a story as payment so Doctor Mirage decides to tell her the story of when she first met her husband, the one whose soul she’s searching for now.

    The Death-Defying Doctor Mirage #2
    The first issue was very enjoyable and it was also my introduction to the character and this world. And the artwork infused every panel with a mystical aura making the story that much more engrossing. This issue started off by revealing a little bit more of the organization Linton March belonged to and his place in it, which answered one of the questions from the first issue about how much he could be trusted. At least for now. And I became more intrigued about the goals of this group considering their capabilities in using the Scry to penetrate Mirage’s protections, and it segwayed wonderfully into Mirage’s spirit journey. But once this occurred things became slightly muddled and I assume this was to attempt to put the reader into Mirage’s shoes with the overwhelming amount of information she would have to absorb in order to traverse this realm and not get lost or offend the spirits already there. This might be intimidating at first for some new readers but it starts to come together as Meredith starts explaining the rules and currencies of the realm with the latter being more important in this issue. And even though I enjoyed Mirage’s story about how she started out and met her husband there was a lot going on in the spirit realm that made it almost an afterthought and not the most urgent reason she was there. The details in the artwork worked in the majority of the panels, and I enjoyed it, but the dark shading in others seemed less mystical and more about concealing the lack of details in others. This issue did effectively show how dangerous the realm could be and gave “life” to the spirits there but it felt slightly confusing when I read it the first time. The second reading was much better and I could appreciate all the details more and I am looking forward to what comes next because I think all of these elements introduced in this issue will play a role down the line. I just hope it flows better the first time I read it.

     

    SUMMARY

    The Death-Defying Doctor Mirage #2 is an overall enjoyable issue that puts the readers in the shoes of Mirage during her first trip to this spirit realm and shows how complex and dangerous it could be. The mystery behind Linton March and his goals deepened but the organization he’s a part of became more intriguing as they all don’t want to achieve the same thing. Mirage first meeting her husband was a fascinating story but with the flurry of activity became almost an afterthought. However, I’m still enjoying this series and I’m looking forward to the answers that will be revealed.

     

    Release Date: 10/8/14

    Writer: Jen Van Meter

    Artist: Roberto de la Torre

     

  • Rating ( 8.5 )
  • Total score 8.5

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