Comics are the first collectibles most players stumble across in Mouse: P.I. For Hire, and they work differently from the rest. Instead of being standalone trinkets, all 29 comics form a single connected story, making them the most narratively rewarding collectibles in the game. They're also the most aggravating to find, since they're tucked into vents, hidden under barrels, and stashed in rooms you'd only enter if you were actively looking for trouble.
What do comics unlock in Mouse P.I. For Hire?
Collecting all 29 comics completes the full story and unlocks the 'The Prequel' achievement. Miss any along the way (except those on the final mission) and you can buy them from the shop near your office after returning from that mission. That said, the shop costs real in-game money you'll want for other things, so treat it as a backup rather than a plan.
Comics have the lowest total count of any collectible type in the game, which means you're usually only hunting one or two per mission. Slow down and check every corner before moving on.
Comics collectible pickup screen
All comics locations by mission
Big Mouse, Little Hope
The first mission hides two comics, and both reward players who resist the urge to follow the critical path immediately.
- Comic 1: After the cutscene in the room full of goons, head to the bar area. Look for a grate beside some cash. Go through the door on the right, find the vent in that room, crawl through it, and the comic sits behind the grate.
- Comic 2: When you spot the unnamed villain descending in the elevator, don't follow the stairs down right away. Head upward instead, and you'll find cash plus this comic waiting at the top.
The Vanishing Act
- Comic 1: Leave the greenroom and walk to the end of the hall to find a vent. Crawl through it, pull the lever to open the curtain, and access the audience seating. The comic is sitting on one of the theater seats.
- Comic 2: Before heading down to the subway after clearing the goons, walk all the way to the far right (south) edge of the map. A comic sits on a bench out there.
Gumshoe In The Opera
- Comic 1: After using the shotgun to blow through the wall and defeating the goons outside, destroy the barrel near the base of the wall you came through. A comic is hidden behind it under a wooden plank.
- Comic 2: After saving in the main stage area and grabbing the picture for Tammy, exit the balcony through a door. Stairs will be directly ahead, but don't go down. Hop onto the small table to the right (directly behind the door you just came through), open the door ahead, and follow the short hall to a table with the comic on it.
The second opera comic is easy to blow past because the stairs are the obvious path forward. The table and door are directly behind the open door, so you need to turn around immediately after stepping through.
Bandel's Laboratory
- Comic 1: After pulling the final switch to power up all the lights for the projector, unlock the door next to that last switch. Inside you'll find a log entry called "Building Betty - Day 47" and the comic sitting in the corner.
- Comic 2: Defeat Betty a second time and push into the underground lab. Pull two switches (one near a floating box in the water, one in the room overlooking the area). That overlooking room also has a typewriter and a locked door. Open the locked door to find the comic on a desk next to a skeleton.
Hidden desk comic in the lab
A Bit Of A Scene
- Comic 1: At the police station area, go all the way west to the far end of the street and enter the Bunz Bros shop on the left. Pass through another door inside to reach the area behind the shop. Shoot the platform hanging from a crane to drop it, creating a trampoline. Jump on it to land in a small alley where the comic sits in a broken armchair.
- Comic 2: Shortly after the cell area, you'll enter a maze-like section packed with desks. When you enter, look left for a stack of file boxes in the hall. Jump over them and go into the space on the left, where a desk holds the comic.
Cheeseball Sub
After defeating the Vic-gator boss, the comic is on top of one of the train cars in the boss fight arena. The intended method is probably the tail-a-chopper ability, but you can also reach it by jumping from the nearby stairs to the roof of a train car, then using the open cage door as a stepping stone to reach the stacked car on top.
Don't leave the Cheeseball Sub arena immediately after the Vic-gator fight. The comic is easy to miss if you're eager to move on.
"Once Upon A Time..." By Tinsel Bros.
After grappling across the large open gap, you'll fight a wave of enemies in a room that has a hot pepper available at the start. Once they're all down, go left of your entry point and look for a small wooden shack. The comic is pinned to the back wall of that shack.
Saltwater Cambozo
After clearing the courtyard enemies and passing through the rising door, go straight toward a truck surrounded by crates. Jump onto the truck to find a hidden area behind it containing a breakable crate and a breakable barrel. Destroy the barrel and you'll see ammo for the James Gun on the ground. The comic is underneath that ammo. If you grab the ammo without noticing, you can easily miss it entirely, so crouch down to interact with the comic directly.
The James Gun ammo in Saltwater Cambozo sits directly on top of the comic. If you need the ammo, pick it up carefully and check underneath before moving on.
A Bit Of Curd And Pepper
This is a compact level with full access throughout, so nothing is permanently missable here. Use the grappling hooks in the main room to climb the wooden platforms in the southwest corner all the way to the top. Near the highest platform, there's a hole in the wall you can jump toward. The comic is in the room on the other side.
Damp Evidence
The final mission's comic is the most straightforward of the bunch. When you turn in the Thingies to the Old Cheeselegger at the end of the level (just before heading to the pier for the final boss), the comic sits on a wooden crate directly across from him. Hard to miss if you take two seconds to look around before running to the boss.
Comics collectibles quick reference
How do you recover missed comics?
Any comic from a completed mission (except the final one) can be purchased from the shop near your office. The catch is that money is shared across everything you might want to buy, so relying on the shop to fill gaps gets expensive fast. Use this guide to find them in the field first, and treat the shop as a genuine last resort rather than a planned fallback.
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