Mirror’s Edge #1 Review

DC’s Wildstorm inprint know their way around a good game licence, especially with Gears of War and World of Warcraft under their belt. Comics based on games usually fare a lot better than films based on games, so it’s a good thing we’re seeing a lot of adaptations lately. Mirror’s Edge is developed from the November 13 released game based on a sci-fi version of parkour. If you’ve seen the opening of Casino Royale or the excellent French film, District B-13, you’ll know what that is – a unique style of constant motion and acrobatic movement. Basing a game on the concept seems crazy enough that it just might work, especially considering the popularity of every Spider-Man game. Hopefully the game will be about more than just running and diving and rolling though, as that novelty would soon wear out its welcome. Hopefully there’s some FPS stuff in there too.

Back to the comic – it’s not bad. There’s no set-up or introduction of the main characters, but there’s only a few so that’s not a problem. Artist Matthew Dow Smith will be unfamiliar to most, but his body of work is quite impressive, outside of the superhero realm for the most part. I was expecting something with more flowing, organic lines to compliment the story, such as Bart Sears’ or Kyle Hotz’ style, but Smith’s hard edges, and Jim Charalampidis’ colour palette works well in the dystopian city context. Rhianna Pratchett’s script is bare but gives us the necessary details – runner/messenger Faith is learning the ropes from the older Merc in an underground resistance movement when she soon realises that her father is somehow involved. Pratchett wrote the script for the game (and is the daughter of Discworld writer, Terry Pratchett) and lays an intriguing foundation for this world, with further details to come in future issues of this mini-series I’d gather.

The game looks great and has many fans already. The comic so far appears to be a nice intro with a similar visual style and simplicity. Plus, who could resist that cover?