100 Recommended Back Issues #100: Second Life of Doctor Mirage #8

I've already posted about The Meandering Thoughts of a Malaysian Comic Fan blogs  list of  "100 Recommended Back Issues" when I spotlighted their post about X-O Manowar #0. Now, I've got an excerpt of another Valiant book they chose for their 100 - The Second Life of Doctor Mirage #8 which came in at number 69 on their list. Check out what the blog had to say in the below excerpt: 

The Second Life of Doctor Mirage is an odd title, even amongst Valiant Comics' lineup of original ideas. The protagonist of the series is Hwen Mirage, a investigator who travels around the world with his ridiculously hot wife Carmen in search of the paranormal. And as with anything related to the paranormal in the Valiant Universe, it did not take Hwen and Carmen long to bump into Master Darque who promptly kills Hwen. And that was only the beginning of the first issue. Hwen comes back to life as a ghost, and he and Carmen try to continue life as best they can on both the personal and professional fronts while evading Master Darque's attempts on their lives.

As Hwen still lives a relatively human life, this issue deals with one extremely important aspect of being human - food. How does a ghost eat? Does Hwen hunger as a result of lack of sustenance or is it something vestigial similar to the way an amputee feels their missing limbs? Writer Bob Layton addresses these issues in a tasteful and humorous manner as we see Hwen struggle with the notion of sustaining his ghostly form. And help comes from a very surprising and unexpected source.

This is a great issue that shows how a couple can continue to work when one has been transformed into a superhuman being. It is certainly handled with greater sensitivity and realism than Lois & Clark or Peter Parker & Mary Jane. This was one of my favorites amongst the original Valiant Comics stable of titles, and this is my favorite issue from this series.

If that excerpt put you in a Doctor Mirage mood then check out this entry on the unpublished Second Life of Doctor Mirage #19.