Mysterius the Unfathomable

Mysterius the Unfathomable #1-6

by Jeff Parker, Tom Fowler (Illustrator)

When Ella attends a séance for a report in her local paper, she gets sucked into the world of Mysterius (the Unfathomable), a magician who's more than just a performer of flashy tricks. Sensing Ella is the perfect person to play the role of his assistant, Delfi (the latest in a long line), Mysterius hires her. Their cases drag them deep into the modern world of magic, at least one pocket dimension, and the wicker effigy about to be set alight at a Burning-Man-esque festival. Acclaimed creators Jeff Parker ( The First Class, Agents of Atlas) and Tom Fowler (GREEN ARROW, CAPER) make their WildStorm debut with this exciting, offbeat new miniseries!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Graphic Novels Comics, Comix

144 pages, Paperback

First published March 23, 2010

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Alasondro Alegré · Rating 3 out of 5]

★★★½

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

During the past decade, mainstream comics have taken themselves way too seriously. Thankfully, Parker and Fowler put the fun back in funny book. The ageless Mysterius, stage magician/conjurer/sorcerer, recruits a young alt-week newspaper reporter as his new sidekick after things run a muck at séance. The duo journey throughout the planes of existence and the equally strange worlds of modern day New York and Boston. Fowler's Jack Davis-inspired art perfectly complements Parker's goofy, societal-mocking tale. Complete with the extant portion of the "lost" 1930s text adventure from Diabolical Tales.

[C E · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderfully original story full of magic and chaos. The art is beautiful. I definitely recommend.

[Lucas Sierra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me he divertido como un chiquillo en el último par de horas. No soy un gran lector de historietas, y desde hace mucho tengo pendiente cambiar eso. En cierto modo, es refrescante leer imágenes cuando estamos tan acostumbrados a leer texto. Limpia los ojos. Hoy, después de un día de trabajo y de leer a Faulkner, estaba buscando en qué entretener la noche y recordé que hace días había comprado este. La casualidad sabe como traza sus garabatos. Fue justo lo que necesitaba leer.

La historia de Mysterius el Increíble plantea un aparente antihéroe en la estela en que Sherlock pueda serlo. Quiero decir: es simple, de contrastes entre bien y mal, entre blanco y negro. Mi jovencito interior gozó cada página, y Delfi es un Watson encantador. Insisto, no soy un lector de historietas, y al momento de comentar no se me ocurren muchas cosas. Baste entonces insistir:

Disfruté la lectura. Es una historia de aventura y fantasía y no creo que deba pedírsele más. Cumple lo que promete: magos, demonios, un investigador antipático y una acompañante encantadora (chiquita y negra). Me gustó, lo leí de golpe, y me alegró el alma.

(Debo conseguir más historietas, tenerlas por ahí, por si acaso)

[Ανδρέας Μιχαηλίδης · Rating 2 out of 5]

With a comic book like this, it's kinda hard to pinpoint why, in the end, I did not particularly like it, seeing as I kept skimming the second half back and forth, never actually finishing it. There is a lot to recommend it, Tom Fowler's art, for one, which is a gorgeous modern retro rendition (if such a thing exists), with luscious colors, expressive faces and odd body types.

On the other hand, it's a kind of unlikable magician's and very likable sidekick's weird adventures, combining 60s cinema, Lovecraft and Dr. Seuss with pulp eroticism...

...and YET, it did not manage to keep me interested past one point, or maybe it became too loud, messy and nonsensical. I am really not sure.

It's somehow characteristic of a mystery cake having all the right ingredients, looking gorgeous and yet, underneath all the sugary and savory goodness, there is a hint of fish oil and maybe old socks.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a really fun romp, a nice, self-contained, very tightly plotted, good humored adventure that builds to a nicely played climax. It's pretty much exactly what I want from my escapist fiction. Fowler's art is suitably exaggerated and plays with the silly in the script, and Parker throws in plenty of good jokes without undermining the building tension. Very well done.

[Otto · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's Doctor Who with magic. a
A little too crammed with ideas without good justification to get from one plot point to another.

[Kitap · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first I didn't know what to make of the comic or its namesake, but as the story developed I came to really dig both. What's not to love about the surreal (yet not entirely implausible!) revelation of a psychedelicized Lovecraftian horror in the guise of Suessian anapestic tetrameter and gobbledygook? Why hasn't somebody else lampooned (if not implicated) Anton LaVey, Jim Jones, and David Blaine in the same conspiracy theory? Is this the first time anyone else has tied together California's biggest cash crop, Robin Hardy's 1973 masterpiece The Wicker Man, and the Black Rock Desert's annual Burning Man festival, in the singular event of Blazing Man, and, if so, why? Finally, and perhaps most importantly, why did I have to look up the two artists referenced in Howard Chaykin's back-cover blurb (Jack Davis and Wally Wood) to understand what it was about the artwork that seemed so familiar? And to think I call myself a comics fan.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite a 4 start read, but it was very nice to see Jeff Parker expand past his usual super hero work for Marvel comics, some nice humor touches, a good try at old-fashioned pulp feel in some spots, and the art is very unusual and good by today's standards. We get to enjoy a magic user who hides his skills in plain sight, depends on his brain not magic, and is a bit of a coward. All the time stopping someone's plan to become a god.

[Deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this for Graphic Novel Reading Club and was not enthusiastic at first: the art was exaggerated, the protagonist unattractive, even despicable. But I read on to discover a witty, clever mystery. Very funny and enjoyable, the art matching perfectly with the story. A great romp! Then we were honored with the presence of the author for the discussion, who is a treat. He kept us enthralled with stories about the book and industry. A very positive experience overall!

[Kaleigh Norkum-Mathieu · Rating 2 out of 5]

I will give this story credit for being different. It is unique, however I did not feel like the story was very compelling in general. A lot of the book had me wondering if they just wanted to draw naked people, I understand in the context of the story why they were naked but I felt it took away from the whole thing.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This started out really well, but then got way too silly (too much time taken up with a Dr. Seuss-like character whose silly rhymes were really magic spells). Like the artwork and the vibe, but the story kind of lost my interest after a while.

[Christian Lipski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Irascible, immortal, unfathomable. Magician for hire. Jackass extraordinaire.

Mysterius and his assistant Delfi investigate strange goings-on involving a dark magus and a dead childrens' book writer.

More to be discussed at Bridge City Comics' Graphic Novel Reading Club on March 10 2011!

[zxvasdf · Rating 5 out of 5]

More Mysterius, Jeff Parker! The Dr Seuss inspired pages were wonderful, and the concept of a decadent, slothful magician doing what he does just to stay afloat is awesome because stories about people who have the power and abuse the great responsibility that comes with is awesome.

[Lee Battersby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable romp that doesn't take itself too seriously but sacrifices character growth for the sake of holding together an increasingly silly and irrelevant plot. A pleasant diversion, and some of the story threads could be teased out into future volumes, which would not be unwelcome.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very surprised by how much I enjoyed the book. I'll definitely be picking up the next volume if they do another one.

[Darryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quirky and fun; very original storyline. Unfortunately, it wasn't as engaging as I would have hoped.

[Sonic · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun and funny self-mocking magic tale with (dis)likable caricature characters.

[Don Bernal · Rating 4 out of 5]

A more light-hearted "Promethea" by Alan Moore - stories about magic and the unknown. Good storytelling and imagination. Definitely interested in more follow-ups.

[Ctgt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the story but I loved the art.

[Karl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of fun, especially the part where "Dr. Geist" books are mass incantations designed to bring weird colorful demons into the world. The interstitial prose story is uninspiring, though.

[El Neo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charming enough. I like Jeff Parker as a writer.

[Curtis Chen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jeff Parker is unstoppable.