The Many Adventures of Miranda Mercury #295 (Archaia – Thomas / Ferguson)
She’s the greatest adventurer in this, or any other galaxy, the kind of old-fashioned, classic science-fiction heroine that can successfully defeat The Time Raiders of Xaxium, brave the wonders of The Glass Planet, survive The Perils of Yor, and battle The Infinity Class to a veritable standstill! All while facing the one enemy that perhaps even she cannot defeat, a microscopic poison rushing through her veins, courtesy of her greatest adversary, Cyrus Vega. With only one year left to live, Miranda Mercury will have her morality tested and values shaken to see her life’s mission completed.
The first time I read through Miranda, I didn’t quite get it because it wasn’t what I had expected. I had thought it would be a one dimensional action-fest funneled towards a tween crowd. Wrong, Wrong, Wrong! While Miranda Mercury definitely is family-friendly, this modern look at the classic pulp hero might be a bit too dialogue-driven for the elementary school reader. Miranda is a strong female character, she uses a balanced approach of brains and brawns to fight the good fight. And in alignment to the pulp heroes she was crafted after, she has unflappable morals. In this first issue (even though the numbering starts at 295), Miranda outplays a whole mass of bad guy lackeys, outwits a mad scientist, uncovers and solves an ancient puzzle guarded by a genie and is granted a wish for solving it… even though she has a deadly disease, she wishes for the puzzle to become impossible so an evil-hearted bad guy can never get at it. I liken Miranda to a future-tech female version of Indiana Jones.
The art is great and the story is a blast, if not wordy. It would seem that Tweens, teens and adults everywhere might have a new role-model hero… and her name is Miranda Mercury.
Issue Grade: A
