The Virgin Read: She's Not Supposed To Start Blogfights, But I Guess Since It's Mysterius That's Okay

Mysterius: The Unfathomable # 3
Written by Jeff Parker
Art by Tom Fowler & Dave McCaig
Published by Wildstorm/DC Comics

If you try to skim through this comic book for the sake of imbibing it quickly you might find it, like I did, very hard to do. There’s a unique style here that I had not yet encountered with a comic book. It's something about the way the characters are drawn when speaking that struck me as being probably truer to real life than most comic books. When people are having conversations in Mysterius, they're often looking off in the opposite direction of the person they are speaking to, or simply addressing themselves, their surroundings. You know something? I do that all the time. You probably do too, if you really think about your average day and all the conversations you have. How often to you look directly into the face of the person who’s talking to you? Look around tomorrow and check out how other people listen and speak to each other. (I mean, if you still don't believe I'm right and if you're willing to spend a portion of your day trying to prove me wrong. Take notes, please.) We’re always looking through our bag or eating or observing something else – it's just generally what we do, something else while we have conversations. But this is the first time I’ve seen it drawn so consistently.

And yeah, that also made it a little confusing at first. Hence the difficulty in “skimming through” this one. But if I had skimmed, I would have missed all of these delightful caricatures. I don’t use that word in a negative way. But these characters, the way they are drawn, and who they are, are hilarious caricatures as well as characters. In a weird way I felt I was reading a Mad Magazine version of Scooby Doo – staring Shaggy and Velma…with no Scooby. (I didn't miss him, to be honest. I like cats!)

It took me a while to pick up on the specific story, although I immediately picked up on the fact that we were dealing with witches and spells and such. So, that’s good. But there’s no recap. No “Previously in Mysterius…,” so I was left to just get on board and ride this train. This choo-choo. Ride it, ride it.

And were I may have normally lost interest – as I have in other comics – something happens to hold me there, and hang in. I don’t know if this is some sort of secret tool of artists, but having the “centerfold” of this comic book be a picture of a true-to-size opened book completely intrigued me. Before I read any more of the comic’s dialogue, I read the picture book. I was fascinated by it. I’m glad they did it that way. Because suddenly, I could follow what was going on, and for the last half of the comic I completely knew what was happening and why. From utter confusion to crystal clear understanding? That’s pretty good, and it's even more impressive that they did it with such a unique and surprising delivery.

(And then, of course, I’m me. I love children’s books. So the whole idea about the Dr.Suess-ish book containing, well, the incantations that basically open a gateway to hell I found to be HILARIOUS! I read these kinds of books to kids all the time! I can't wait to see what happens to them!)

Oh, I know this is short, so can I comment one more time on this art? It’s so enjoyable. Everything is so bulbous – be it a nose, or women’s hips, or a man’s gut. Totally hilarious., and the antithesis of every super-hero comic I've read.

It’s a quirky comic, this Mysterius. That’s for sure. And way more enjoyable than anything Green Lantern-y Corps superhero that I’ve read. The perfect way to describe this comic book is: delightful. Don’t you think?

Oh.

Oh, you don't think so at all!

Well, aren't you the saddest little badger.

-Nina Stone, 2009