Mister Miracle #4

Mister Miracle #4 (On Sale: July 13, 1971), has a cover by Jack Kirby and Vince Colletta. 

This issue begins with "The Closing Jaws of Death" written and penciled by Jack Kirby and inked by Vince Colletta. This story introduces Big Barda, Mr. Miracle's lover and friend from Apokolips, who arrives on Earth to help him escape from Dr. Bedlam's trap. Reprinted in Jack Kirby's Mister Miracle TPB (1998), Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 2 HC (2007), Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 2 TPB (2012), and Mister Miracle by Jack Kirby TPB (2017).

Next up is "Pirate or Patriot?" by Jack Kirby and reprinted from Real Fact Comics #1 (1946). Facts about Jean Lafitte,  who warned the Americans that the British planned on invading New Orleans.

We end with the Boy Commandos in "The Romance of Rip Carter" written and penciled by Joe Simon and inked by Jack Kirby and reprinted from Detective Comics #82 (1943). Rip Carter and the Boy Commandos are sent on a mission to destroy a Nazi supply tunnel in Italy. Their plane is shot down and the Commandos are forced to bail out. They are found by Italian resistance fighters and returned to the allied forces. Rip reports that his mission to destroy the tunnel has failed, but his commanding officer explains that his wrecked plane the Rosalind K crashed into the tunnel, completing the mission.

Edited by Jack Kirby.

Mister Miracle #3

Mister Miracle #3 (On Sale: May 18, 1971), has a beautiful cover by Jack Kirby and Vince Colletta.

This issue features "The Paranoid Pill" written and drawn by Jack Kirby and inked by Vince Colletta. Mr. Miracle is baited into a trap by Dr. Bedlam, one of Darkseid's agents. The trap is in the form of the Chandler Towers, a 50-story building full of people whom Bedlam has driven insane with a "Paranoid Pill". Mr. Miracle is on the top floor, and the only exit is through the front door--and past 5,000 maniacs--at the bottom. Reprinted in Jack Kirby's Mister Miracle TPB (1998), Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 1 HC (2007), Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 1 TPB (2012), and Mister Miracle by Jack Kirby TPB (2017).

Edited by Jack Kirby.

Mister Miracle #2

Mister Miracle #2 (On Sale: March 16, 1971), has a cover by Jack Kirby and Vince Colletta.

This issue features "X-Pit" written and penciled by Jack Kirby and inked by Vince Colletta. This is the first appearance of Granny Goodness, the cruel mistress of the Apokolips institution from which Scott Free once escaped. She returns to try to destroy Mr. Miracle with the help of her soldiers and a mysterious, powerful being called Overlord. This story has been reprinted in  Jack Kirby's Mister Miracle TPB (1998), Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 1 HC (2007), Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 1 TPB (2012), Mister Miracle by Jack Kirby TPB (2017), and The Fourth World Omnibus by Jack Kirby (2018).

Edited by Jack Kirby.

Mister Miracle #1

Mister Miracle #1 (On Sale: January 14, 1971), has a cover by Jack Kirby and Vince Colletta. This is the final piece to Kirby's Fourth World puzzle. To me, this book always felt more like a Marvel book than any of the work Kirby did at DC in the 1970s.

Mister Miracle is introduced in "Murder Missile Trap" written and drawn by Jack Kirby and inked by Vinnie Colletta. A young man named Scott Free comes upon Thaddeus Brown, an escape artist who bills himself as Mr. Miracle, and Brown's assistant Oberon, in the process of rehearsing an escape stunt. When the two are abruptly attacked by Inter-Gang thugs, Scott Free pitches in and helps defeat the gangsters. 

Later, Scott learns that Brown has been challenged to perform the ultimate escape by Steel Hand, an Inter-Gang chief with a hand of metal. He also demonstrates one of his own escapes to Brown and Oberon, using a gadget from New Genesis. 

Later, Brown is shot by a sniper employed by Steel Hand, and Scott Free takes over the identity of Mr. Miracle to bring Steel Hand to justice. After Steel Hand's capture, Oberon becomes the new Mr. Miracle's assistant, and the new Miracle promises to continue Thaddeus Brown's escape-artist career. This story has been reprinted in Jack Kirby's Mister Miracle TPB (1998), Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 1 HC (2007), Countdown Special: New Gods #1 (2008), Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 1 TPB (2012), DC Comics Presents: Darkseid War 100-Page Super Spectacular #1 (2016), and Mister Miracle by Jack Kirby TPB (2017).

Edited by Jack Kirby.