Review: MADAME MIRAGE #1

I had quite a few good things to say about Paul Dini’s work on Detective Comics recently. So I thought I’d grab a copy of the debut issue of his new Madame Mirage book for Top Cow. Of course, the first thing that drew my attention was Kenneth Rocafort’s visual take on Madame Mirage herself. Rocafort has made her the most gorgeous comic book dame to grace news racks since Power Girl. But Mirage exists in a unique class all her own. As far as we know from this first issue, she has no super powers, although she very effectively wages a guerrilla war on a corporate cabal of Armani-suited “super villains.” Her “costume,” when she’s not in disguise, is a very noirish black hat, white dress, and gloves. And, unlike most comic book heroes, she’s got no code against offing the badguys in terribly brutal ways with everything from semi-automatic handguns to detonation devices.

While reading Madame Mirage, I thought, “Hey, this character’s kinda like a female version of The Shadow!” And sure enough, I find out from a little research that The Shadow was in fact one of Paul Dini’s inspirations — as was Dini’s own wife Misty, who happens to be a magician and also possesses Madame Mirage’s snappy fashion sense.

As premiere issues go, Madame Mirage #1 is a keeper. It does a good job of introducing the Mirage Universe and the continuing cast of characters. And at the same time, it manages to present a satisfying standalone story. I’ll definitely give this comic another look.