When Shan Fong's husband is killed, she doesn't think she'll ever get over it. Instead, she throws herself into her work as the Death-Defying Doctor Mirage, a medium who uses her ability to speak to ghosts to help others move on. But when a tantalizing glimpse into the world of the dead illuminates the chance of seeing Hwen again, she'll plunge into a plot that spans decades and multiple dimensions on her quest to reunite with him.This one was really, really good. There's a lot of world-building...

This was pretty good although I'm always kind of wondering if I'm missing things with Valiant titles since they all seem very interconnected and I don't read a lot of them. Still I think this a very interesting as a superhero story and as a kind of self-contained Orpheus retelling. Probably won't be continuing with the series because even though I liked it I'm not really interested in what happens next and I feel like this works really well as a standalone volume anyway.

I wasn't a huge fan of this book. The art is awful. It is all scratchy and ill-defined. Some panels were difficult to even decipher what was happening in them. The story felt like an attempt to establish a John Constantine for the Valiant universe. I did enjoy the relationship between Shan and Hwen. The ridiculous number of magical Macguffins in the book really irked me though.

The Death-Defying Doctor Mirage is one of the most creative character re-imaginings in the reborn Valiant comics line.The Death-Defying Doctor Mirage stars Shan Fong Mirage, a paranormal investigator who has the ability to talk to ghosts. The only spirit she can’t contact is that of her late husband, Hwen. Four years after Hwen’s death, Shan is still struggling to come to grips with the loss.Shan reluctantly agrees to meet with eccentric billionaire Linton March. She discovers March is bound to

I really didn’t enjoy this. I’m not sure whether it was the art or the writing, but my eyes glazed over and it was a struggle to finish this. I feel like a lot of what I read didn’t make it into my cranium.At first, when I finished, I thought maybe I was just in the wrong headspace; distracted or something. But... at the end there was a small excerpt from Justin Jordan’s Shadowman run, and it reminded me of better comics, so I know it wasn’t me.The art here is so scratchy and impersonal. No page...

I basically loved everything about this! The heroine was an amazing lady of color for whom the romance is already happened before the book starts. There's a fantastic Hero's Journey through the underworld. I think the only thing that could have made this more enjoyable for me is if Shan were lesbian (lesbians make everything better).

Jan Van Meter delivers what is possibly her best work on The Death-Defying Doctor Mirage. This is by far, the most risky re-imagining of a Valiant property yet, and I could not be more impressed with the execution. Borrowing from the afterlife heavy Valiant lore, and elements of Gaiman's Sandman, this title weaves a complicated, yet sound yarn, through a breathtakingly well realized character's life. So much happens in this book, bringing us new elements for the arcane side of the Valiant U (oft...

I'm perhaps a little too generous with this book, but felt it deserved 5 stars for surpassing my expectations :)Dr. Mirage can see and talk to ghosts. A useless superpower, when the only ghost she can't find is her dead husband... A story of loss and redemption, of sacrifice and victory, mixing demons, ghosts, parallel universes, afterlife and forgotten gods. Loved the art style, loved the writing style, and can't wait for new adventures in the same universe.Merged review:I'm perhaps a little to...

I'm typically not all that into the Necromancy, you know, so this one surprised me by keeping my interest, more due to the characters and their relationships than the premise of astral projection to the Great Beyond.Shan and her search for her beloved Hwen was a wholesome through-line in a pretty dark story dealing with literal deals with demons and unholy cabals going all the way back to the war in Vietnam, and I would like to revisit these characters again someday to see where they go from her...

A choppy disorienting mess. World: The art is a blurry mess. I don't mind scratchy art, it sometimes works beautiful for horror (Albuquerque comes to mind) but here it's not the case, here it's just a messy blurry dark mess. The art is confusing and when the action and characters come crashing together it's a mess. I've used mess a lot but yes it's a mess. The world building is solid, the world is established well and so far seems consistent internally with the rules somewhat explained. The worl...

I don't know how they'll keep this delicate balance up but this is just a perfect volume. The characters feel genuine, the story great, the pacing is quick but not rushed, the otherworld stuff is both cool and genuinely creepy, and the human baddies dislikeable.The artwork and colouring is also top notch. The shot of "frozen" Hwen enslaved and sitting at a skeletal grand piano is a wonderful example.Hope the next volume is as great.

Really, this is more like a 3.5. I received this courtesy of BEA at the recommendation of a fine gentleman working his booth. I'm new to graphic novels and love to read about strong female heroines. He generously offered a free copy of Doctor Mirage, and I'm finally getting around to reading it.Let me preface my quick review by saying I think this will be a strong, interesting series overall, but the introduction and writing style threw me off. I felt like the beginning jumped around too much an...

It was a very good tale and a new kind of twist on this particular genre. It was little slow to start and took a while to get into. Once into it I was fascinated. The art is good, the story is good and many of the small details are wonderful. Worth giving a read.

Dr. Mirage can see and talk to spirits, and gets caught up in some rich dude's Nazi-adjacent otherworldly greed. She ventures into death, searching for her late husband and some way to figure out the big clusterfuck the rich dude got himself into. It's got bits of DC Vertigo vibes throughout, from Sandman to Hellblazer, as Dr. Mirage pulls out some ancient artifacts and some ghostly knowledge. My favourite parts of this series were the ties between life and death - how close they become through

It's enjoyable, interesting, and it held my interest as I read it. 3.5 stars, with great art, an interesting protagonist and a cool take on a sort of Ghost Whisperer mythos, even if it trots out a lot of the usual clichés involved with this genre.

The story, in which Doctor Mirage - Shan Fong - looks for her husband's spirit and is unable to find it. However, an opportunity to search again comes up when an ex-military occultist hires her for a special, dangerous job. Can Shan find Hwen, her beloved, once more? Can she get out of danger?This was a little confusing and the art is a little wonky, personally. There are a ton of details to be had here, and it takes place during her semi-retirement, so some background on Shan Fong may be needed...

What are their doctorates in, anyway?

Jan Van Meter's The Death-Defying Dr. Mirage intrigued me with its premise: griefing medium, Shan Fong , searching for her husband, Hwen, but unable to find him in the spirit world, who then works to aid others. While it is very different from the original Valliant reluanch: most of these new Valiant titles have been significant departures. The gender inversion here works a little more smoothly than other Valiant-line relaunched titles have changed the gender of key characters. While not an enti...

Eh.It just didn't do it for me.Interesting premise and since I tend to love all the mystic/magic stuff I thought this would be a winner. It's not 'bad' per se, but it just meandered around in an uninteresting way. At least, for me.Visually, I just wasn't interested, either. The cover art looks amazing, but the stuff on the inside is not my taste - too scratchy and busy looking.A woman who can talk to spirits and has lost her husband (but can't find him in the spirit world) goes on a journey to D...

It's a solid mystical/spiritual centric story with very pretty art and interesting concepts. I started out wanting a bit more background info on Shan, but the plot slowly reveals most of the information I was interested in and it makes for an emotional read.