Good Things Come in Small Packages: CB Zane's The Mighty Mite

Hurtling out of its successful Kickstarter campaign comes this tiny titan, this petite powerhouse of pulchritude -- The Mighty Mite!

Mite is the creation of C.B. Zane, and published through Outpost 426 Studios, and her debut issue packs three complete stories into 40 pages -- no small accomplishment in an era where any single story spans issues of double-digits.

The anchor story, "Take the Leap," is written and drawn by Zane with colors by Andrea Celestini, and lays out the origin of Mite in classic comic book tradition. Young-and-tiny Pressley Pagette is a senior at New Quarry High School, and prom season is upon her. Her boyfriend, Rhett Robinson (who towers over her at 6'8"), challenges her to go cliff-diving, a rite of prom-acceptance for the seniors. She makes the leap, and in the water discovers some glowing crystals that shoot her back out into the air. Pressley wakes up in a hospital two days later, physically changed with a built-out body and a cotton-candy coif. And thus was born The Mighty Mite!

There's no secret identity for the Mite, but there is a government agency that gets involved, largely to test her abilities and help her acclimate. The substance she touched is called 'quantium' and it usually kills whomever comes into contact with it. Those who survive are changed, but not to the degree Pressley has. They even provide her with an action suit before releasing her back into her normal life--

--which isn't so normal anymore. Because others are surviving their encounters with the strange mineral, and they become super-powered threats that only Mite can stand against. It's not long before Pressley and Rhett find themselves attacked by the (literal) man-mountain called Wilderness, which is probably the most terrifyingly beautiful earth-monster this side of Swamp Thing in design.

The middle story, "A Mitey Great Prom," is written by Wendy Steen Shaner and drawn by Zane. This is a slice of normality, kind of, for Mite as she and Rhett finally get to that prom we've been reading about. But mishaps plague them along the way, and Mite's abilities sometimes (but not always) make things better. We get to see her strength in action, and also get to see the "forgiveable physics" that have plagued comics since the very beginning -- the kind where a person can pick up a car by the front end and gently "drop" it without either warping the frame in the lifting or ruining the suspension on the release. 

"Mitey Tough Decisions" wraps the book up, as Zane takes over the writing chores once more but hands over the art duties to Joel Souza, who renders this chapter of The Mighty Mite in a spot-on Bruce Timm style. This one is all homage, from beginning to end, as Mite meets with the Quest costume designer -- an obvious parody of The Incredibles' Edna Mode -- and goes through a number of familiar costume designs before settling on the one we've seen her wear. There's only one teeny editor-miss in this one that would have gone completely unnoticed had it not been so specifically called out, and it's in regards to how long it is until a certain time -- and what time it actually later. It's a nit, but a shiny one.

If you want your own copy of The Mighty Mite #1, you'll have to hope there's a catch-op option on the next Kickstarter, or check eBay.to see if anyone is actually parting with this fun little gem.