Makeshift Miracle
Encyclopedia
Makeshift Miracle is a surreal fantasy coming-of-age story created by Jim Zubkavich suitable for young teen readers.
The story was originally serialized online 3 pages per week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday updates) as a web comic from September 2001 through to March 2003.
In February 2002 Makeshift Miracle became one of the launch titles part of the web comics umbrella known as Modern Tales
and stayed as part of the MT archive structure until it finished its run in March 2003. In July 2003 Makeshift Miracle was offered for 99 cents as a complete digital graphic novel through Bitpass
. It was the second comic content offered for sale through Bitpass, the first being Scott McCloud
's story 'The Right Number'.
In November 2006, The Makeshift Miracle was released in print as a 200 page graphic novel published by UDON
Entertainment, making it the first wholly creator-owned content published by the Toronto
based comic company. The published version of Makeshift Miracle has been remastered for print, with crisper line art and higher quality lettering than its original 72 dpi web comic version.
Colby Reynolds is a disillusioned youth who’s got a lot on his mind. His views on the world are changing and the negative aspects of his awkward teenage years are staring him full in the face.
His parents go away on a vacation, leaving him with more time alone than he’s ever had before. Feeling a bit adventurous, he wanders around the city, seeing it for the first time really by himself. Feeling compelled on some strange level, he ventures to the outskirts of the city and relaxes under the stars, absorbing the stillness of the moment. That is, until something crashes from the night sky, nearly killing him.
The source of the crash is a girl named Iris, who seems to have no memory of her past or recollection of how she got there. Stranger still, she seems to have brought quite a bit of trouble to Colby’s life, as he finds himself drifting aimlessly through strange daydreams and discovering a tree growing in his living room. After a harsh argument with Iris over her inability to explain any of the weird events, Colby finds a passageway to “somewhere else” and decides to confront whatever comes next head on by climbing in.
Colby’s nosey friend Blake comes by the house to say hello and finds a lot more than he bargained for. An oddly clad man named Esurio is at the house, looking for Colby, with Iris nowhere to be found. Esurio seems to have found something interesting while investigating the field where Iris crashed, and he's looking for answers from our protagonist.
Once Esurio realizes that Colby's out of sight, he focuses his efforts on Blake and offers to help Blake’s childhood dreams be fulfilled. Dreams that he's buried out of fear, regret and bitterness. Scared or desperate, Blake decides to play Esurio’s bluff on the small chance that he may be telling the truth. After all, being a powerful King is better than being a scared teenager in a big world.
Colby found a new landscape that isn’t in any atlas. According to an old man he's met there named Veridicus, this land is a "snare for the dreams that people have in their youth". Dreamworld or not, Colby has crossed over in body and soul, making it just as dangerous as anywhere "real".
is an influence and many of the elements -- such as the mask and dream themes can be seen in Gaiman's Sandman Series.
The story was originally serialized online 3 pages per week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday updates) as a web comic from September 2001 through to March 2003.
In February 2002 Makeshift Miracle became one of the launch titles part of the web comics umbrella known as Modern Tales
Modern Tales
Modern Tales is a webcomics site launched on March 2, 2002 by Joey Manley, the Modern Tales publisher, and approximately 30 professional cartoonists, such as Dorothy Gambrell, author of the popular webcomic Cat and Girl and James Kochalka, the award-winning creator of Fancy Froglin...
and stayed as part of the MT archive structure until it finished its run in March 2003. In July 2003 Makeshift Miracle was offered for 99 cents as a complete digital graphic novel through Bitpass
BitPass
Bitpass was an online payment system for digital content and services. Kurt Huang was a co-founder; Doug Knopper was hired as CEO in November, 2005. Bitpass was a California corporation with headquarters in Silicon Valley...
. It was the second comic content offered for sale through Bitpass, the first being Scott McCloud
Scott McCloud
Scott McCloud is an American cartoonist and theorist on comics as a distinct literary and artistic medium...
's story 'The Right Number'.
In November 2006, The Makeshift Miracle was released in print as a 200 page graphic novel published by UDON
UDON
UDON Entertainment Corporation is a studio of Asian-influenced comic book creators that provides creative services to the entertainment industry. The company is a publisher of comic books, graphic novels, and art books, as well as English editions of Japanese manga and Korean manhwa titles. Erik...
Entertainment, making it the first wholly creator-owned content published by the Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
based comic company. The published version of Makeshift Miracle has been remastered for print, with crisper line art and higher quality lettering than its original 72 dpi web comic version.
Setting and storyline
(taken from the plot recap on the Makeshift Miracle site)Colby Reynolds is a disillusioned youth who’s got a lot on his mind. His views on the world are changing and the negative aspects of his awkward teenage years are staring him full in the face.
His parents go away on a vacation, leaving him with more time alone than he’s ever had before. Feeling a bit adventurous, he wanders around the city, seeing it for the first time really by himself. Feeling compelled on some strange level, he ventures to the outskirts of the city and relaxes under the stars, absorbing the stillness of the moment. That is, until something crashes from the night sky, nearly killing him.
The source of the crash is a girl named Iris, who seems to have no memory of her past or recollection of how she got there. Stranger still, she seems to have brought quite a bit of trouble to Colby’s life, as he finds himself drifting aimlessly through strange daydreams and discovering a tree growing in his living room. After a harsh argument with Iris over her inability to explain any of the weird events, Colby finds a passageway to “somewhere else” and decides to confront whatever comes next head on by climbing in.
Colby’s nosey friend Blake comes by the house to say hello and finds a lot more than he bargained for. An oddly clad man named Esurio is at the house, looking for Colby, with Iris nowhere to be found. Esurio seems to have found something interesting while investigating the field where Iris crashed, and he's looking for answers from our protagonist.
Once Esurio realizes that Colby's out of sight, he focuses his efforts on Blake and offers to help Blake’s childhood dreams be fulfilled. Dreams that he's buried out of fear, regret and bitterness. Scared or desperate, Blake decides to play Esurio’s bluff on the small chance that he may be telling the truth. After all, being a powerful King is better than being a scared teenager in a big world.
Colby found a new landscape that isn’t in any atlas. According to an old man he's met there named Veridicus, this land is a "snare for the dreams that people have in their youth". Dreamworld or not, Colby has crossed over in body and soul, making it just as dangerous as anywhere "real".
Similarity to Other Works
Zubkavich openly admits that Neil GaimanNeil Gaiman
Neil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
is an influence and many of the elements -- such as the mask and dream themes can be seen in Gaiman's Sandman Series.