With Mister Miracle #1, dated early 1971, Jack Kirby opens at DC Comics the fourth and last series launch of the Fourth World, written and drawn by Kirby alone. It features Scott Free, the son of the leader of New Genesis raised on Apokolips, who has become an escape artist on Earth. It is the character's first appearance, the third launch of the Fourth World, and an issue sought after for that triple reason, even before the question of condition.
Some first issues sell on the promise of an adaptation. This one sells on a different currency: the signature of a creator at the peak of ambition, and a character that four decades of readers have kept rereading. For anyone building a Bronze Age DC library, Mister Miracle #1 holds a place apart, somewhere between historical curiosity and showpiece.
As always in this guide, only verified information (creators, issue numbers, dates) is stated as fact; the analysis is our own, with no reproduction of protected pages or dialogue.
Mister Miracle #1: date, creators and contents of the issue
The issue appears with a cover date of early 1971. The exact month is worth reading off the copy you are holding, because references do not all give the same form of the date, and the price box and the indicia change from one distribution edition to another. One thing does not change from one reference to the next: the script and pencils are by Kirby, who steers all four Fourth World series alone.
The hero is Scott Free, a young man whose childhood remains, in this first issue, more suggested than explained. Kirby chooses to launch the series with action and spectacle: an escape artist able to free himself from traps that spectators judge deadly, accompanied by a sharp-tongued manager, Oberon, and a Mother Box, the living object that ties the series to the mythology of the new gods. The character's Apokolips origin, his link with Highfather and the exchange of children that seals the truce between New Genesis and Apokolips unfold over the following issues rather than all at once.
For a collector, keep three landmarks in mind: it is issue 1 of the first series, it carries the first appearance of Scott Free, and it belongs to the batch of three launches that Kirby strings together within a few weeks. The first appearance of Big Barda, for its part, is further along in the series, in issue 4, and must not be confused with this one.
The editorial context: Kirby leaves Marvel and founds the Fourth World
When Mister Miracle #1 comes out, Kirby has just left Marvel, where Kirby drew most of the great creations of the Silver Age. At DC, Kirby takes over Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen with issue 133, dated October 1970, then launches Forever People and New Gods, both dated early 1971. Mister Miracle completes the quartet. The starting idea is a single story carried across four series, whose plots answer one another from one title to the next.
This plan explains the form of the series. Where New Gods tells the cosmic war and Forever People the youth on the run, Mister Miracle brings the Fourth World into the register of the illusionist's act and the escape film. The character serves as a gateway: he is on Earth, he is human in silhouette, and he lets the reader discover Apokolips through its pursuers rather than through an exposition.
The editorial history then blurred the reading. New Gods and Forever People stop at their eleventh issue, Jimmy Olsen is taken over by others, and Mister Miracle is the longest-lasting Kirby series, up to issue 18 by Kirby. The title then continues with other creators through issue 25. This longevity is no detail: it gives the intermediate issues a presence in collections that the other series lack.
Why this issue 1 became a key
The first reason is mechanical: the market rewards single issues that combine the number 1 and the birth of the character. Mister Miracle #1 ticks both boxes, with no ambiguity about the nature of the appearance.
The second reason has to do with the creator. Kirby, in the early 1970s, is already a legendary figure, and each Fourth World issue carries the prestige of the period when everything could be invented without an imposed character. Mister Miracle is the most original of the four titles in its register, and the one whose central idea, the escapee who eludes his tormentors, transposes most easily outside the DC universe.
The third reason is posterity. The character returns regularly in DC series, and the 2017 miniseries written by Tom King and drawn by Mitch Gerads, in twelve issues, put Scott Free and Barda back at the center of attention for an audience that had never read Kirby. This critical rereading, honored with an Eisner, did not create the value of the original, but it reminded people that it existed. Collectors who wanted to read where the couple came from looked for issue 1, then issue 4.
What moves the market value from one copy to another
A 1971 issue is judged first on the flaws specific to its paper and manufacture. The staple binding on an issue of that era works loose, the spine may show reading creases, the cover attracts dust and the yellowing of the pages is the rule rather than the exception. A white, flat copy is therefore rare, and it is this rarity of condition that separates prices, far more than the difference between two printings that the market does not distinguish.
In practice, the gap between two neighboring grades can be significant, because serious buyers concentrate on the top of the range. A copy in good reading condition can cost a fraction of what a near-mint copy asks, and the progression is not linear: it accelerates as you move up, as candidates become scarcer. Keep this principle in mind before setting your budget rather than clinging to a figure read somewhere.
To estimate your own copy, start from completed sales for an equivalent grade, not from listings. Listings display the seller's ambition, completed sales display what the market accepted, and the gap between the two on an issue of this age often runs to large proportions.
Telling the original edition from reprints
The Fourth World has been reissued many times, which means you must know how to distinguish the original. The 1971 single issue is an old-style comic book, printed on newsprint, with the DC mention and the series numbering at the top of the cover. In a recent collected edition, the paper is white and thick, and the indicia carries a printing year that 1971 cannot carry.
Several formats coexist: collected editions reprinting Kirby's issues in order, including omnibuses devoted to the Fourth World, volumes of the series dedicated to the character, and facsimile editions that reproduce the cover and contents of a period issue. The latter exist for certain issues of the saga; check the detail of the reprint notice for yours, often discreet, rather than assuming that a beautiful cover signals an original.
A simple check for a period single issue: the smell and texture of the paper, the grain of the printing of the color screens, the absence of a modern barcode. The period cover price and the publisher's notices in the indicia will confirm the diagnosis. If the listing photograph does not show the indicia, ask for it before buying.
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Buying pitfalls
First pitfall: confusion between issue 1 and the issues that follow it. Mister Miracle #4, with Big Barda, is often mentioned in the same sentences, and a vague listing can suggest one while selling the other. Demand the issue number in the listing title and in the photos.
Second pitfall: undeclared restorations. On an issue of this era, a recolored cover, a reglued spine or reglued pages can give the whole a flattering look. Serious grading spots these touch-ups. On a raw Mister Miracle #1 sold without a restoration notice, examine the spine under raking light, with a magnifier.
Third pitfall: series lots. Sellers offer issue 1 at the head of a lot of several Mister Miracle issues, at a price that seems advantageous. The catch is that the other issues are almost always in lower condition than the first, which skews the comparison with a single purchase. Calculate the price of the first issue alone, deduct the reasonable value of the others, and check that the rest is not overpriced.
Fourth pitfall: reprints presented as originals. A collected edition or a facsimile photographed from a flattering angle is not always distinguishable from a period single issue in a poor-quality shot.
The neighboring issues that also matter
Within the series itself, issue 4 is the second pillar: it brings Big Barda, who becomes in DC mythology one of the most enduring female figures of the Fourth World. Issue 6 introduces Funky Flashman, a character read by many readers as a caricature of a rival publisher, which makes it an issue of curiosity more than a major first appearance.
Around the series, New Gods #1 gives the first appearance of Orion, and Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #134 contains the first appearance of Darkseid: two issues we detail in dedicated entries. Reading them in publication order rather than by descending value lets you grasp how Kirby spreads the characters across the titles.
The last issue by Kirby, number 18, closes a period. For anyone who wants a coherent collection rather than an isolated piece, aiming for the sequence 1 to 18 in period single issues in honest reading condition is more realistic and more pleasant than hunting for the best copy of issue 1 alone.
What grading changes for this issue
Professional grading brings three things here. First, a description of condition and a grade, which reassure the buyer who cannot judge in person. Second, the detection of restorations, which is more reliable than an amateur examination. Finally, the protection of the copy in a sealed case, which avoids new handling damage.
It also has a cost and a delay: having a copy of this value graded is not always profitable if the condition is average. The relationship between the cost of grading and the price gap between a raw copy and a graded copy at the same level must be calculated before shipping. For a modest reading grade, the ungraded copy honestly described by a trusted seller remains a reasonable purchase.
For a Mister Miracle #1 sold in a sealed case, compare the corners, the spine and the right edge of the cover with the seller's photos, and look up the certification number in the public registry of the company that graded it.
How to track this issue in a collection
In a structured collection, Mister Miracle #1 is filed in two places: in the series, at the head of its own series, and in the Fourth World thread, with New Gods, Forever People and Jimmy Olsen. Note for each issue the condition, the type of edition (original or reprint), the price paid and the date of purchase. This discipline makes it possible, years later, to know without hesitation what you own and at what value.
Also separate, in your record, the shelved single issue from the collected edition you read. A single issue of this age is handled little; to read the series, a collected edition avoids wearing out the original, and the collected edition is noted in a separate section.
If you are unsure about the current value of your copy, the free estimate gives you a starting point to compare with recent sales, without committing you to sell.
Conclusion
Mister Miracle #1 is not the most expensive key of the Fourth World, but it may be the easiest to defend: first issue, first appearance, a complete creator at the peak of freedom, a character that has never stopped coming back. The real trade-offs lie in condition, the distinction between original and reprint, and the choice between an isolated piece and a followed series. Once these three points are clarified, the purchase becomes a collector's decision, not a bet on a rumor.
Frequently asked questions
No. Issue 1 marks the debut of Scott Free, alias Mister Miracle. Big Barda arrives later in the series, in issue 4. The two issues are sought after for different reasons, and you must check the exact issue number in any listing before buying.
It is not required. Mister Miracle #1 reads on its own, with its escape-act conventions. The links with New Genesis and Apokolips make more sense after New Gods #1, but the series was designed to welcome a reader who does not know the mythology.
No, it is a rereading, in twelve issues, that assumes some familiarity with the characters. It does not make the original obsolete and does not replace it in a collection. Many readers read it before Kirby, then go back to the source.
Kirby handles the first eighteen issues of Mister Miracle. The original series then continues under other creators through issue 25. For a collector, the sequence from 1 to 18 forms a coherent set, distinct from what follows.
Yes for reading: the Fourth World omnibuses reprint the contents of Kirby's issues on more stable paper. They do not replace the period single issue in a collection, but they let you read without damaging a copy you want to keep in condition.
Do you own a Mister Miracle #1 or another Fourth World issue? Have its condition and standing estimated before any decision.
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