MPH #5

by Mark Millar, Duncan Fegredo, Peter Doherty and Mike Spicer

It’s been a long time coming (since November, in fact) but here we are. We’re finally getting the ending to another Millarworld puzzle piece and, frankly, another stellar edition to Millar’s already impressive legacy. Bit by bit, Millar is pulling his world together and as of right now the full picture might be unclear, but rest assured there is a grand plan–a method to his madness–and that’s something you just can’t help but be excited for.

Any delays aside, MPH has been an over the top look at everyday people getting superpowers that pretty much allow them to do whatever they want. Millar has a knack for writing very down to earth, relatable characters and the ones inside MPH are no different. Maybe it was the time in between issues four and five, but Millar also managed to write a nice little twist into the book that came as a bit of a shock, but really ended up wrapping this series up nicely. Exciting, fast and maybe even a little emotional, MPH ended beautifully and really cemented it as another Millar must-read book.

Duncan Fegredo is, and aways will be, worth the wait. Art is usually the cause of delays but when you look at his work inside this book, you’re going to forget all about it. Fegredo really threw himself into it and put everything he had into every little panel and every little detail. No space is wasted and everything comes together as good as you’ll see in comics today. In fact, Fegredo’s speed work really tops anything you think you’ve seen from other speed-powered heroes and really sets itself up to be the benchmark for depicting how it should look.

The color duties, split between Peter Doherty and Mike Spicer, take Fegredo’s already excellent line work to the level you’ve come to expect in a Millarworld book. Doherty starts things off and by the time Spicer takes over, somewhere towards the end of the book, you can’t tell where one began and the other ended. That’s the mark of good colorists, frankly. They adapt and adjust to any situation and any artist and it all ends up looking spectacular, especially in the digital version on an iPad Air 2 screen.

MPH, if it wasn’t already clear, is another gem from Mark Millar and it was great to see Fegredo again as well, after the stellar work he did on Hellboy a few years back. Hopefully this isn’t the end of Fegerdo’s work with Millar or this corner of the Millarworld because it really was a great series. If you missed it, or got lost in the delays, pick up the trade and check out this super fast paced book from two industry giants. At the end of the day, all jokes and puns aside, MPH flew by too quickly and it’ll be sorely missed.