Marvelman
Encyclopedia
- Marvel Man and Marvel Man (comics) both direct here, for the Marvel Comics super hero formerly known as Marvel Man, see Quasar (Wendell Vaughn).
Marvelman, also known as Miracleman for trademark reasons in his American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
reprints and story continuation, is a fictional
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
created in 1954 by writer-artist Mick Anglo
Mick Anglo
Michael "Mick" Anglo was a British comic book writer, editor and artist, as well as an author. He is best known for creating the superhero Marvelman, later known as Miracleman.-Biography:...
for publisher L. Miller & Son
L. Miller & Son, Ltd.
L. Miller & Son, Ltd. was a British publisher of magazines, comic books, and pulp fiction intended primarily to take advantage of the British ban on importing printed matter. Between 1943 and 1966, the firm published British editions of many American comic books, primarily those of Fawcett Comics...
. Originally intended as a United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
home-grown substitute for the American character Captain Marvel
Captain Marvel (DC Comics)
Captain Marvel is a fictional comic book superhero, originally published by Fawcett Comics and later by DC Comics. Created in 1939 by artist C. C. Beck and writer Bill Parker, the character first appeared in Whiz Comics #2...
, the series ran until 1963. He was revived in 1982 in a dark, post-modern deconstruction
Deconstruction
Deconstruction is a term introduced by French philosopher Jacques Derrida in his 1967 book Of Grammatology. Although he carefully avoided defining the term directly, he sought to apply Martin Heidegger's concept of Destruktion or Abbau, to textual reading...
ist series by writer Alan Moore
Alan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
, with later contributions by Neil Gaiman
Neil 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...
.
The character's copyright status is notorious for the long, complex and expensive legal battle over various creative rights attached to it. Unresolved for many years, the litigation had directly involved Gaiman, Todd McFarlane
Todd McFarlane
Todd McFarlane is a Canadian cartoonist, writer, toy designer and entrepreneur, best known for his work in comic books, such as the fantasy series Spawn....
and several other people who also claimed at least partial ownership of the character and the works containing him. This legal-rights conflict had prevented the reprint and distribution of any of the Miracleman stories, making the critically acclaimed work extremely difficult to find. However, at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con, Joe Quesada
Joe Quesada
Joseph "Joe" Quesada is an American comic book editor, writer and artist. He became known in the 1990s for his work on various Valiant Comics books, such as Ninjak and Solar, Man of the Atom...
announced Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
had purchased the rights to the Marvelman character.
Marvelman: The Mick Anglo years
In 19531953 in comics
*Battle Brady #10 renamed from Men in Action - Marvel Comics*Bible Tales for Young Folk #1 - Marvel Comics*Bible Tales for Young People #3 renamed from Bible Tales for Young Folk - Marvel Comics*Buck Duck #1 - Marvel Comics...
, the American company Fawcett Comics
Fawcett Comics
Fawcett Comics, a division of Fawcett Publications, was one of several successful comic book publishers during the Golden Age of Comic Books in the 1940s...
, which was the U.S. publisher of Captain Marvel, discontinued the title due to the court action of lawsuit from DC Comics
National Comics Publications v. Fawcett Publications
National Comics Publications v. Fawcett Publications, 191 F.2d 594 , was a decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in a twelve-year legal battle between National Comics and the Fawcett Comics division of Fawcett Publications, concerning Fawcett's Captain Marvel...
. Len Miller had been publishing black & white reprints of the series, along with other Fawcett titles, in the UK, and rather than stopping he turned to comic writer Mick Anglo
Mick Anglo
Michael "Mick" Anglo was a British comic book writer, editor and artist, as well as an author. He is best known for creating the superhero Marvelman, later known as Miracleman.-Biography:...
for help continuing (or replacing) the comic. They transformed Captain Marvel to Marvelman while Miller continued his other Fawcett reprint titles and used logos and trademarks that looked significantly like Fawcett's. This added to the appearance that the Fawcett line was continuing, and that Marvelman was still Captain Marvel, in order to retain the audience.
Marvelman was very similar to Captain Marvel: a young reporter named Micky Moran encounters an astrophysicist (instead of a wizard) who gives him his superpowers based on atomic energy. To transform into Marvelman, he has to speak the word "Kimota" (phonetically, "atomic" backwards; rather than "Shazam"). Instead of Captain Marvel Jr. and Mary Marvel, Marvelman was joined by Dicky Dauntless, a teenage messenger boy who became Young Marvelman, and young Johnny Bates, who became Kid Marvelman
Kid Marvelman
Kid Marvelman, later known as Kid Miracleman, is a fictional comic book character appearing in Marvelman. In 2009, Kid Miracleman was ranked as IGN's 26th Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time.-History:...
; both of their magic words were "Marvelman". They had fairly typical, unsophisticated superhero adventures.
The changes took place with issue number 25 in each title, both cover-dated 3 February 1954, although they had been announced about five issues earlier. The new titles published were Marvelman, Young Marvelman, and Marvelman Family . Marvelman and Young Marvelman each had 346 issues (#25-370), being published weekly except for the last 36 issues, which were monthly, reprinting old stories. Marvelman Family was a monthly which usually featured Marvelman, Young Marvelman and Kid Marvelman together, from October 1956 to November 1959. A variety of Marvelman and Young Marvelman albums were printed annually from 1954 to 1963. Mick Anglo
Mick Anglo
Michael "Mick" Anglo was a British comic book writer, editor and artist, as well as an author. He is best known for creating the superhero Marvelman, later known as Miracleman.-Biography:...
's association with Len Miller ended in 1960, and the comics ran until February 1963.
At the height of their success, the British "Marvels" saw a series of Italian reprints. Gordon and Gotch, one of Australia's largest comics publishers, also published reprint editions. In Brazil, British Marvelman stories were reprinted in the same titles as Fawcett's original Captain Marvel. However, in Brazil, Marvelman became Jack Marvel.
Marvelman (in Warrior)
In March 19821982 in comics
-Year overall:* San Diego-based independent publisher Pacific Comics makes a strong push in the marketplace, following Jack Kirby's Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers with four new ongoing titles, Starslayer, Ms...
, a new British monthly black-and-white anthology comic was launched called Warrior. Until issue #21 (August 1984), it featured a new, darker version of Marvelman, written by Alan Moore
Alan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
, illustrated by Garry Leach
Garry Leach
-Biography:Garry Leach studied Graphic Design at St. Martin's School of Art. He was first noted for his early work for 2000 AD, which was mainly on one-off stories featuring Dan Dare and M.A.C.H. 1. He then became a fan-favourite for his work on the series The VCs.In 1981 he joined Dez Skinn's...
and Alan Davis
Alan Davis
Alan Davis is an English writer and artist of comic books, known for his work on titles such as Captain Britain, The Uncanny X-Men, ClanDestine, Excalibur, JLA: The Nail and JLA: Another Nail.-UK work:...
, and lettered
Letterer
A letterer is a member of a team of comic book creators responsible for drawing the comic book's text. The letterer's use of typefaces, calligraphy, letter size, and layout all contribute to the impact of the comic. The letterer crafts the comic's "display lettering": the story title lettering and...
by Annie Parkhouse
Annie Parkhouse
Annie Parkhouse has been one of the leading letterers in British comics for over 30 years.-Biography:Beginning her career working on Lion for IPC magazines, she has since provided dialogue for many DC Comics titles and 2000AD, working on scripts by writers and artists such as Alan Moore and Garry...
. Warrior also published a Marvelman Special collecting Mick Anglo stories within a frame story by Moore. The "Marvel" trademark was now owned by Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
, who objected to its use in the series title. Warriors legal troubles led to the character being licensed to an American publisher, first to Pacific Comics
Pacific Comics
Pacific Comics was an independent comic book publisher that flourished from 1981-1984. It was also a chain of comics shops and a distributor. It began out of a San Diego, California, comic book shop owned by brothers Bill and Steve Schanes...
, and after Pacific's collapse, to Eclipse Comics
Eclipse Comics
Eclipse Comics was an American comic book publisher, one of several independent publishers during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1978, it published the first graphic novel intended for the newly created comic book specialty store market...
. They would reprint the series as Miracleman and then continue it.
Moore had been fascinated by the notion of a grown-up Michael Moran, and this was the Moran presented in the first issue: married, plagued by migraine
Migraine
Migraine is a chronic neurological disorder characterized by moderate to severe headaches, and nausea...
s, having dreams of flying, and unable to remember a word (noted below) that had such significance in his dreams. In his initial run of Marvelman stories, Moore touches on many themes of his later work, including the superhero as a source of terror, the sympathetic villain, and exploring the mythology of an established fictional character.
Moran is working as a freelance reporter when he gets caught up in a terrorist raid on a newly built atomic power plant. Fortuitously seeing the word "atomic" backwards ("cimota") when being carried past a door with the word written on glass, he remembers the word "Kimota"; Marvelman is reborn and saves the day. As Marvelman, Moran remembers his early life as a superhero, but comic books are the only evidence, and his wife Liz finds his recollections of the adventures ridiculous. Moran later discovers that Johnny Bates (Kid Marvelman
Kid Marvelman
Kid Marvelman, later known as Kid Miracleman, is a fictional comic book character appearing in Marvelman. In 2009, Kid Miracleman was ranked as IGN's 26th Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time.-History:...
), not only also survived, but lived on with his superpowers intact. Bates, however, was corrupted by his power and is now a sociopath
Psychopathy
Psychopathy is a mental disorder characterized primarily by a lack of empathy and remorse, shallow emotions, egocentricity, and deceptiveness. Psychopaths are highly prone to antisocial behavior and abusive treatment of others, and are very disproportionately responsible for violent crime...
. After a brutal confrontation, Kid Marvelman says his magic word ("Marvelman") by mistake and reverts to his alter-ego, the 13-year-old Johnny Bates. The boy, innocent but aware of the evil he committed as Kid Marvelman, mentally recoils in shock and reverts into a catatonic state.
With the aid of renegade British Secret Service agent Evelyn Cream, and after a short fight with a new British superhero called Big Ben, Marvelman makes his way to a top secret military bunker. There he discovers remains of an alien spacecraft, and two non-human skeletons fused together. Marvelman views a file that reveals his entire experience as a superhero was a simulation as part of a military research project, codename "Project Zarathustra
Thus Spoke Zarathustra
Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for All and None is a philosophical novel by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, composed in four parts between 1883 and 1885...
", attempting to enhance the human body using the alien technology. Moran and the other subjects had been kept unconscious, their minds fed with stories and villains plucked from comic books by the researchers, for fear of what they could do if they awoke. As their enhanced minds fought the enforced dreaming, those administrating the project grew fearful of what would happen if they awoke. As a result, it was decided that the project was to be terminated, and so were Marvelman and his two companions: in a final, real adventure they were sent into a trap where a nuclear device was meant to annihilate them. Moran survived, his memory erased, and Young Miracleman
Young Miracleman
Young Marvelman is a fictional comic book character appearing in Marvelman. The character was created by Mick Anglo and first appeared in Marvelman #101 published in July 1955. He is the alter-ego of Dickie Dauntless. and transformed into superhuman form by saying the word "Marvelman"...
died. In the meantime, it is revealed that Liz has conceived a child with Marvelman, which has the potential of being the first naturally-born superhuman on Earth.
The series stopped (incomplete) in issue #21 of Warrior, just after Moran meets his dream-world arch-nemesis Dr. Gargunza (loosely based on Dr. Sivana). In "reality" Gargunza was the scientific genius behind the experiment that created Marvelman. Gargunza, after working as a geneticist
Geneticist
A geneticist is a biologist who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a researcher or lecturer. Some geneticists perform experiments and analyze data to interpret the inheritance of skills. A geneticist is also a Consultant or...
for the Nazis, had been recruited by the British after World War II. Unable to keep pace with the U.S. and Soviet nuclear arms race
Nuclear arms race
The nuclear arms race was a competition for supremacy in nuclear warfare between the United States, the Soviet Union, and their respective allies during the Cold War...
, the British had backed Gargunza to use genetics to develop a new superweapon. By coincidence, an alien spacecraft crashed in the UK in 1947 and Gargunza was able to reverse-engineer enough technology to create the first Marvelmen. The alien technology, and thus the Marvelman project, consisted of giving someone a second body, which was stored in an extradimensional pocket of space when not in use; when a special word was spoken the two bodies switched place in space, and the mind was transferred as well. After the cancellation of the project, Gargunza escaped to South America where he developed bio-technology weapons such as "Marveldog". It is revealed that Gargunza has a deeper purpose: after the death of his mother, he has a mortality complex, and intends that the child of Marvelman will act as the host of his own consciousness.
Name change to Miracleman
In August 1985, Eclipse began reprinting the Marvelman stories from Warrior, coloured, and re-sized. However, they were renamed and re-lettered throughout as Miracleman, due to pressure from Marvel Comics. Issues 1-6 reprinted all the Warrior content, after which Eclipse began publishing all-new Miracleman stories from Moore and new artist Chuck BeckumChuck Austen
Chuck Austen is an American comic book writer/artist, TV writer and animator. In the comics industry, he is known for his work on War Machine, Elektra, Action Comics, and the X-Men franchise, and in television, he is known for co-creating the aniamted TV series Tripping the Rift.-Early life:Austen...
(aka Chuck Austen), soon replaced by Rick Veitch
Rick Veitch
Richard "Rick" Veitch is an American comic book artist and writer who has worked in mainstream, underground, and alternative comics.-Early career:...
and then John Totleben
John Totleben
John Totleben is an American illustrator working mostly in comics.-Biography:After studying art at a vocational high school in Erie, Totleben attended The Kubert School for one year...
.
The new Miracleman material widened the story's scope and continued to build in intensity. Moran's daughter was born in issue 9 (which became somewhat controversial due to a highly graphic birth
Childbirth
Childbirth is the culmination of a human pregnancy or gestation period with the birth of one or more newborn infants from a woman's uterus...
scene, based on medical illustrations of the process); two races of aliens, one called Warpsmith
Warpsmith
The Warpsmiths are fictional aliens in several science fiction comics by Alan Moore and Garry Leach.-Publication history:Created by Alan Moore when he was a teenager for a small publication by an arts lab in his native Northampton, England...
s, the other called Qys (who were behind the original body-swapping technology) came to Earth; Miraclewoman
Miraclewoman
Miraclewoman is a fictional superheroine appearing in the Eclipse Comics comic book Miracleman.In the Miracleman comic, Miraclewoman is the analog of other feminine super heroines such as Wonder Woman and Mary Marvel. Her given name is Avril Lear, but she also uses the alias of Dr. McCarthy.-...
emerged; and certain native super-humans were revealed to already be living on Earth, such as Firedrake.
It was with the return of Kid Miracleman in issue 15 ("Nemesis") that Moore wrote at his darkest. Now out of his catatonia, the small, spindly boy has been repeatedly beaten by several older bullies at his group home. When one of them goes so far as to rape him, Johnny's desperation leads him to transform into Kid Miracleman. Slaughtering his attackers, Bates unleashes a murderous vengeful holocaust on London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in an attempt to attract Miracleman's attention to take his revenge on him, not knowing he, Miraclewoman, and their allies are in outer space.
The gory excess of Kid Miracleman's rampage and that of the battle which followed when Miracleman and his allies return to discover the carnage is highly disturbing, featuring a degree of violence not previously seen in superhero battles. John Totleben's detailed apocalyptic renderings are still acclaimed today. Depicted are people running from a rain of severed hands and feet, skins hung up on clothes lines, corpses impaled on the hands of Big Ben, the Tower Bridge in ruin, mounds of severed heads, heads on pikes, cars full of people plummeting to earth, mutilated children wandering screaming through the streets, and countless dead bodies.
When the Miracles discover what is happening, they and their alien allies collectively challenge Bates. Bates, however, has had many years more experience using his powers than any except Miraclewoman, and is unrestrained by reason or compassion in his use of them. The battle goes poorly, with none of them able to stop Bates. It is only when one of the Warpsmiths, Aza Chorn, realises that they cannot go through Bates' personal force field, and instead teleports some wreckage inside the force field -- *into* the body of Kid Miracleman, that he is forced by pain to transform back to his mortal form. His rampage is stopped, but Bates kills Aza Chorn as his last act. Unwilling to risk another chance for repeating this horror, Miracleman quietly kills Johnny Bates, knowing that it is the only way to be certain it will never happen again. The heart of London, however, has been destroyed, 40,000 people are dead, the Warpsmith Aza Chorn lies dead, and the world now knows that gods walk among them.
Moore's last issue, number 16 ("Olympus") ends with an unsettling depiction of Miracleman's apotheosis
Apotheosis
Apotheosis is the glorification of a subject to divine level. The term has meanings in theology, where it refers to a belief, and in art, where it refers to a genre.In theology, the term apotheosis refers to the idea that an individual has been raised to godlike stature...
, as he and his superhuman allies bring the entire planet under their totalitarian control. Miracleman and his companions, explicitly compared to gods, now rule the planet as they see fit, though they are ineffectively opposed by groups such as an alliance of Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
and Islamic fundamentalists. The "age of miracles" is ostensibly benevolent, but in scenes such as the final conversation between Miracleman and Liz, Moore suggests that Miracleman has lost his humanity and that his utopia is ultimately harmful to humankind. This ending contrasts with that of the simultaneously conceived serial V for Vendetta
V for Vendetta
V for Vendetta is a ten-issue comic book series written by Alan Moore and illustrated mostly by David Lloyd, set in a dystopian future United Kingdom imagined from the 1980s to about the 1990s. A mysterious masked revolutionary who calls himself "V" works to destroy the totalitarian government,...
, in which the "hero" destroys a dystopian society. Lance Parkin
Lance Parkin
Lance Parkin is a British author, best known for writing fiction and reference books for television series, in particular Doctor Who and Emmerdale...
's book on Moore argues that the two endings, read together, demonstrate the writer's refusal of "easy" Utopian/dystopian answers (the ending also contrasts with the conclusion of Moore's Promethea
Promethea
Promethea is a comic book series created by Alan Moore, J. H. Williams III and Mick Gray, published by America's Best Comics/WildStorm....
, in which an "apocalypse" of expanded human consciousness heals rather than destroys the world).
The notion of bringing superhero fiction into the real world—having immensely powerful characters use their power to make drastic changes to global politics—has become an extremely popular theme in recent mature superhero fiction, such as Rising Stars
Rising Stars
Rising Stars is a 24-issue comic book limited series by J. Michael Straczynski about 113 people born with special abilities following the appearance of a mysterious light in the sky above Pederson, Illinois. The series explores how society may react to the advent of superpowers, and how those who...
, Squadron Supreme
Squadron Supreme (Supreme Power)
The Squadron Supreme is a fictional superhero team that appears in publications under the mature-audience MAX imprint by Marvel Comics. The team first appears in Supreme Power #1 and was created by writer J...
, The Authority, Kingdom Come
Kingdom Come (comic book)
Kingdom Come is a four-issue comic book mini-series published in 1996 by DC Comics. It was written by Alex Ross and Mark Waid and painted in gouache by Ross, who also developed the concept from an original idea...
and Moore's own Watchmen
Watchmen
Watchmen is a twelve-issue comic book limited series created by writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colourist John Higgins. The series was published by DC Comics during 1986 and 1987, and has been subsequently reprinted in collected form...
.
A glimpse of how Moore originally meant the story to continue is presented in Warrior issue 4 (also called the Warrior Summer Special), which features Marvelman and Aza Chorn gathering energy for the final battle with Kid Marvelman. This story has never been reprinted in any shape or form since then, so it remains an obscure yet highly discussed piece of comic history.
Miracleman: The Neil Gaiman years
Neil 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...
picked up the series at #17, and developed it further in the 1990s, working with artist Mark Buckingham
Mark Buckingham
Mark Buckingham is a British comic book artist. He is better known for his work on Marvelman and Fables.-Biography:Born as Mark John Buckingham May 23, 1966 in Clevedon, United Kingdom...
. He planned three books, consisting of six issues each; they would be titled "The Golden Age", "The Silver Age" and "The Dark Age".
The first part, "The Golden Age", showed the world some years later: a utopia
Utopia
Utopia is an ideal community or society possessing a perfect socio-politico-legal system. The word was imported from Greek by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia, describing a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. The term has been used to describe both intentional communities that attempt...
gradually being transformed by alien technologies, and benignly ruled by Miracleman and other parahumans, though he has nagging doubts about whether he has done the right thing by taking power. Gaiman's focus in "The Golden Age" is less the heroes themselves than the people who live in this new world, including a lonely man who becomes one of Miraclewoman's lovers; a former spy (whose tale recalls J.G. Ballard's short story War Fever); and a robot duplicate of Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
.
Eclipse followed up "The Golden Age" by publishing the standalone, three-issue mini-series Miracleman: Apocrypha, written and illustrated by a variety of other creators, with framing pages by Gaiman and Buckingham. These stories did not form part of the main narrative, but instead further fleshed out the world of "The Golden Age".
Two issues of "The Silver Age" appeared, but issue #24 was the last to see print. Issue 25 was completed (apart from colouring) but due to the collapse of Eclipse it has never seen light. #23 and #24 saw the resurrection of Young Miracleman and would describe the beginnings of trouble in Miracleman's idyllic world, and #25 would have reintroduced Kid Miracleman. A few pages of issue #25 can be read at various sites online, and in George Khoury's book Kimota! The Miracleman Companion. "The Dark Age" would have seen the full return of the character of Kid Miracleman and completed the story once and for all.
During this period, Miracleman was a featured character in the mini-series Total Eclipse
Total Eclipse (comic)
Total Eclipse was a comic book mini-series in five parts published by Eclipse Comics in 1988. The title was a cross-company crossover in the style of Crisis on Infinite Earths, and intended to bring all of Eclipse's characters together, no matter how obscure or bizarre.The title consisted of a main...
, written by Marv Wolfman
Marv Wolfman
Marvin A. "Marv" Wolfman is an award-winning American comic book writer. He is best known for lengthy runs on The Tomb of Dracula, creating Blade for Marvel Comics, and The New Teen Titans for DC Comics.-1960s:...
and penciled by Bo Hampton, with pencil assists by James Ritchey III and Mark Pacella (among others), and inks by Rick Bryant.
A short story by Gaiman and Mark Buckingham
Mark Buckingham
Mark Buckingham is a British comic book artist. He is better known for his work on Marvelman and Fables.-Biography:Born as Mark John Buckingham May 23, 1966 in Clevedon, United Kingdom...
(entitled "Screaming") appeared in Total Eclipse
Total Eclipse (comic)
Total Eclipse was a comic book mini-series in five parts published by Eclipse Comics in 1988. The title was a cross-company crossover in the style of Crisis on Infinite Earths, and intended to bring all of Eclipse's characters together, no matter how obscure or bizarre.The title consisted of a main...
#4, where it technically comprised Gaiman's first published Miracleman story. This story was reprinted in issue #21 and in "The Golden Age" trade paperback.
Alternative versions
An alternative version of Marvelman is seen in the British comic The DaredevilsThe Daredevils
The Daredevils was a comics magazine and anthology published by Marvel UK in 1983.Aimed for a more sophisticated audience than typical light superhero adventures, The Daredevils featured Captain Britain stories by Alan Moore and Alan Davis, as well as new Night Raven text stories, and reprints of...
#7 (1983), owned by Marvel UK
Marvel UK
Marvel UK was an imprint of Marvel Comics formed in 1972 to reprint US produced stories for the British weekly comic market, though it later did produce original material by British creators such as Alan Moore, John Wagner, Dave Gibbons, Steve Dillon and Grant Morrison.Panini Comics obtained the...
. Actually called Miracleman (the first time the name was attached to the character) is shown on Earth-238 being killed by the Fury
Fury (Marvel Comics)
The Fury is a fictional character created by writer Alan Moore and illustrator Alan Davis as an antagonist for the Marvel Comics hero Captain Britain...
.
In late 2004 the A1 Sketchbook was released by Atomeka Press
Atomeka Press
Atomeka Press was a British publisher of comic books set up in 1988 by Dave Elliott and Garry Leach. Atomeka ceased publishing in 1997 and was then revived in 2004, but its future seems uncertain, as it has not published any new material since 2005.-History:...
, in part including art from original Miracleman artist Garry Leach
Garry Leach
-Biography:Garry Leach studied Graphic Design at St. Martin's School of Art. He was first noted for his early work for 2000 AD, which was mainly on one-off stories featuring Dan Dare and M.A.C.H. 1. He then became a fan-favourite for his work on the series The VCs.In 1981 he joined Dez Skinn's...
. It contained four Miracleman-related pin-ups (although the pin-ups were not labelled as Miracleman, likely to avoid further legal entanglements). A variant of the sketchbook was also produced, with a "Miracleman" front cover and "Kid Miracleman" back cover by Leach.
The ownership of Marvelman and the character's future
The legal ownership of Miracleman is a complicated story, which stems from the character's beginnings.L. Miller & Son, Ltd.
L. Miller & Son, Ltd.
L. Miller & Son, Ltd. was a British publisher of magazines, comic books, and pulp fiction intended primarily to take advantage of the British ban on importing printed matter. Between 1943 and 1966, the firm published British editions of many American comic books, primarily those of Fawcett Comics...
was a UK comic publisher with two popular series reprinting stories featuring Captain Marvel
Captain Marvel (DC Comics)
Captain Marvel is a fictional comic book superhero, originally published by Fawcett Comics and later by DC Comics. Created in 1939 by artist C. C. Beck and writer Bill Parker, the character first appeared in Whiz Comics #2...
and the Marvel Family, originally created by Fawcett Publications in America. In 1953, at the end of a long legal battle between Fawcett and National Periodicals (the forerunner to DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
), Fawcett agreed to stop publishing the Captain Marvel titles (see National Comics Publications v. Fawcett Publications
National Comics Publications v. Fawcett Publications
National Comics Publications v. Fawcett Publications, 191 F.2d 594 , was a decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in a twelve-year legal battle between National Comics and the Fawcett Comics division of Fawcett Publications, concerning Fawcett's Captain Marvel...
for further details).
Faced with the sudden loss of their star feature, Miller turned to Mick Anglo
Mick Anglo
Michael "Mick" Anglo was a British comic book writer, editor and artist, as well as an author. He is best known for creating the superhero Marvelman, later known as Miracleman.-Biography:...
to come up with a replacement character that, while ostensibly a new creation, mimicked enough core elements of Captain Marvel to retain the interest of readers who had enjoyed the reprints. Anglo created Marvelman, which proved successful enough to keep the Marvelman/Young Marvelman titles going. In 1959
1959 in comics
- October :* October 29: first issue of Pilote, featuring debuts of the series Astérix by René Goscinny, and Albert Uderzo, and Michel Tanguy by Uderzo and Jean-Michel Charlier.-U.S...
, with demand for British produced black and white reprints shrinking, Miller cancelled Marvelman Family and turned both Marvelman and Young Marvelman into reprint books. The titles struggled on, but were finally cancelled in 1963.
L. Miller & Son Ltd. ceased comic book publication in 1966. The physical asbestos printing plates from which Miller had produced their comics, and presumably the rights to the comics as well, were sold to Alan Class, Ltd.. Class, for his part, was interested primarily in horror and science fiction stories and reprinted few of the original Miller creations. (Class was still using some of the Miller printing plates as recently as the late 1990s.)
In 1960, a disgruntled Mick Anglo
Mick Anglo
Michael "Mick" Anglo was a British comic book writer, editor and artist, as well as an author. He is best known for creating the superhero Marvelman, later known as Miracleman.-Biography:...
recycled some of his Marvelman stories as Captain Miracle which appeared briefly under his Anglo Comics imprint which folded in 1961. Anglo always claimed ownership of Marvelman and although creator's rights were almost unheard of in the work-for-hire British comics industry of the 1950s and 1960s, at least some of Anglo's Marvelman stories do have a tiny "© Mick Anglo" in the margins lending a measure of credibility to Anglo's claim.
Warrior
1982 in comics
-Year overall:* San Diego-based independent publisher Pacific Comics makes a strong push in the marketplace, following Jack Kirby's Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers with four new ongoing titles, Starslayer, Ms...
when Warrior reintroduced Marvelman as its flagship feature, the rights to the character were allegedly held in a four-way split between Warrior editor Dez Skinn
Dez Skinn
Derek "Dez" Skinn is a British comic and magazine editor, and author of a number of books on comics. As head of Marvel Comics' operations in England in the late 1970s, Skinn reformatted existing titles, launched new ones, and acquired the BBC license for Doctor Who Weekly...
, writer Alan Moore
Alan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
and artist Garry Leach
Garry Leach
-Biography:Garry Leach studied Graphic Design at St. Martin's School of Art. He was first noted for his early work for 2000 AD, which was mainly on one-off stories featuring Dan Dare and M.A.C.H. 1. He then became a fan-favourite for his work on the series The VCs.In 1981 he joined Dez Skinn's...
, who owned 30% each, and the originating publisher, Quality Communications, which owned 10%. As far as is known, Moore and Leach thought that Skinn had purchased the rights to the character from creator Mick Anglo
Mick Anglo
Michael "Mick" Anglo was a British comic book writer, editor and artist, as well as an author. He is best known for creating the superhero Marvelman, later known as Miracleman.-Biography:...
and believed their ownership to be legitimate (it is unlikely that the 1960s deal between Miller and Class was known in the 1980s). However, in subsequent years Skinn admitted, in the fan book Kimota!, that he had never obtained the rights to the character, assuming there would be no interest in an obscure property owned by a dead company. Skinn says he agreed to pay Anglo only if his old work was reprinted, which he was for the Marvelman Special published in 1983.
When Leach left the strip and was replaced by Alan Davis
Alan Davis
Alan Davis is an English writer and artist of comic books, known for his work on titles such as Captain Britain, The Uncanny X-Men, ClanDestine, Excalibur, JLA: The Nail and JLA: Another Nail.-UK work:...
, Moore, Skinn and Leach transferred part of their ostensible ownership of the character to Davis — with Skinn claiming 10% and Moore, Davis and Leach, 30% each. Moore and Leach continued to own the aspects of work they created.
To further complicate things, Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
, who objected to a competitor producing anything with "Marvel" in the title, threatened legal action in 1983. Even the rights to the alternate name for the character were murky, as Moore and Davis had already used the Miracleman name for a single-panel cameo appearance of a Marvelman duplicate in their run on Marvel UK
Marvel UK
Marvel UK was an imprint of Marvel Comics formed in 1972 to reprint US produced stories for the British weekly comic market, though it later did produce original material by British creators such as Alan Moore, John Wagner, Dave Gibbons, Steve Dillon and Grant Morrison.Panini Comics obtained the...
's Captain Britain
Captain Britain
Captain Britain , briefly known as Britannic, is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Chris Claremont and Herb Trimpe, he first appeared in Captain Britain Weekly, #1...
. With the creative team unable to produce a united front due to a series of differences between Moore and Davis, the strip saw its last appearance in Warrior issue #21, though Skinn did print letters he received from Marvel lawyers in Warriors final two issues.
Eclipse Comics and bankruptcy
In 19851985 in comics
-Year overall:* More independent publishers enter the marketplace: Aircel Comics, Arrow Comics, Blackthorne Publishing, Dragon Lady Press, NOW Comics, Sirius Comics, Strawberry Jam Comics, and Wonder Comics all publish their first titles...
Eclipse Comics
Eclipse Comics
Eclipse Comics was an American comic book publisher, one of several independent publishers during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1978, it published the first graphic novel intended for the newly created comic book specialty store market...
bought the putative rights from Skinn and started reprinting Marvelman, retitling it Miracleman to placate Marvel Comics. Davis, stating that he wanted no more to do with Moore or the situation, gave his rights to Leach.
When Moore completed his story with issue 16 and Eclipse announced they wished to continue publishing, Moore gave his 30% share to writer Neil Gaiman
Neil 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...
, who would be taking over the title, and Gaiman divided them between himself and artist Mark Buckingham
Mark Buckingham
Mark Buckingham is a British comic book artist. He is better known for his work on Marvelman and Fables.-Biography:Born as Mark John Buckingham May 23, 1966 in Clevedon, United Kingdom...
.
Eclipse went bankrupt in 1994, ceasing publication of Miracleman with issue #24. Issue #25 was completed, but has never been printed. Gaiman had also approved a spin off series called Miracleman: Triumphant which was written by Fred Burke and penciled by Mike Deodato Jr
Mike Deodato
Mike Deodato , sometimes credited as Mike Deodato Jr., is the professional pseudonym of Brazilian comic book artist Deodato Taumaturgo Borges Filho.-Biography:...
and inked by Jason Temujin Minor. Most of the first issue of Miracleman: Triumphant was complete and ready for printing, and the second was scripted, but like Miracleman #25 the two issues would remain in publishing limbo after the collapse of Eclipse.
Todd McFarlane
In 1996, Todd McFarlaneTodd McFarlane
Todd McFarlane is a Canadian cartoonist, writer, toy designer and entrepreneur, best known for his work in comic books, such as the fantasy series Spawn....
purchased Eclipse's creative assets, including the purported Miracleman rights, for a total of $40,000. In 1997, McFarlane and Neil Gaiman allegedly reached an agreement in which Gaiman would cede his ownership stake in characters he created for the Spawn
Spawn (comics)
Spawn is a fictional comic book superhero who appears in a monthly comic book of the same name published by Image Comics. Created by writer/artist Todd McFarlane, Spawn first appeared in Spawn #1...
comic book, in exchange for the rights to Miracleman. McFarlane later backed out of this deal.
In 2001, McFarlane had introduced Mike Moran (Miracleman's alter ego) in Hellspawn #6, with the alleged intention of returning Miracleman himself in Hellspawn #13. This never came to pass as the lawsuit was filed before the book was ready for print. McFarlane also had included Miracleman in his section of what was then the long-delayed Image 10th Anniversary Book, known today as the Image Hardcover. He also released a Miracleman cold-cast statue as well as a 4 inches (10.2 cm) scale action figure that was partnered with Spawn in a San Diego Comicon exclusive two-pack. It had been McFarlane's intention to use the character in his core title. Since the Hardcover story became a direct tie-in to the events of Spawn #150 and beyond, Miracleman was changed into a mysterious new character known as the Man of Miracles
Man of Miracles (comics)
The Mother Of Existence is a fictional, ageless, mysterious, female super-being, featured in the Spawn comic book series.-Fictional character biography:...
. His appearance as Miracleman is explained by Man of Miracles' ability to shape-shift and the fact that people see him as they wish during the time.
Marvels and Miracles LLC
In 2001, Gaiman formed Marvels and Miracles LLC, a company whose goal was to clear up the ownership of Miracleman long-term.In 2002 Gaiman sued McFarlane over his unauthorised use of Miracleman and the characters he had created for Spawn. According to Gaiman, the evidence presented in the course of the lawsuit revealed that the rights for Miracleman were not included in McFarlane's purchase of the Eclipse Comics assets. However, the court ultimately made no ruling on the Miracleman rights. McFarlane still claims to own the Miracleman trademark.
In 2002, Gaiman wrote the 1602
Marvel 1602
Marvel 1602 is an eight-issue comic book limited series published in 2003 by Marvel Comics. The limited series was written by Neil Gaiman, penciled by Andy Kubert, and digitally painted by Richard Isanove; Scott McKowen illustrated the distinctive scratchboard covers...
series for Marvel. Gaiman's profits from this series went to Marvels and Miracles LLC to aid his legal fight over Miracleman. Gaiman's dedication in the collected editions of 1602 reads, in part, "To Todd, for making it necessary," presumably referring to McFarlane.
Marvel Comics acquires the rights
At the San Diego Comic Con in 2009, Marvel ComicsMarvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
announced they had purchased the rights to Marvelman, "one of the most important comic book characters in decades" from original creator Mick Anglo. In June 2010, a "Marvelman Classic Primer" one-shot was published, featuring new art and interviews with Mick Anglo and others involved in Marvelman's history. In July 2010, a new ongoing series called "Marvelman Family’s Finest" launched reprinting "Marvelman’s greatest adventures." A hardcover reprint edition, "Marvelman Classic Vol.1", released August 2010. These reprints contain only early material. As of 2011 Marvel Comics has not announced any plans for the '80s material, their ownership of such remaining in doubt.
As of 2010, the disposition of the various portions of the Marvelman rights purportedly held by Alan Class, Todd McFarlane, or the creators associated with the character via Warrior and Eclipse Comics is not publicly known. Alan Moore has stated that he would donate at least some of his royalties from any Marvel reprints of his Marvelman stories to Mick Anglo.
Collected editions
- Marvelman Classic Hardcover Vol.1, by Mick Anglo. Collects Marvelman (Vol.1, 1954) issues 25-34.
- Hardcover: Marvel Comics, 2010. ISBN10: 0785143769.
The Miracleman comics published by Eclipse were collected into a number of individual volumes
Trade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
in the 1990s. All of these books are currently out of print
Out of print
Out of print refers to an item, typically a book , but can include any print or visual media or sound recording, that is in the state of no longer being published....
.
- Miracleman Book One: A Dream of Flying, by Alan Moore, Garry Leach, Alan Davis. Collects Miracleman issues 1-3, which in turn reprinted stories from Warrior issues 1-11.
- Paperback: Eclipse Books, 1990. ISBN 0-913035-61-0.
- Hardcover: Eclipse Books, 1990. ISBN 0-913035-62-9.
- Miracleman Book Two: The Red King Syndrome, by Alan Moore, Alan Davis, Chuck Beckum, Rick Veitch. Collects Miracleman issues 4-7 and 9-10. (Issues 4-6 reprinted stories from Warrior issues 12-21; issue 8 reprinted Mick Anglo material; the rest, and everything below, were original to the Miracleman series.)
- Paperback: Eclipse Books, 1990. ISBN 1-56060-036-5.
- Hardcover: Eclipse Books, 1991. ISBN 1-56060-035-7.
- Miracleman Book Three: Olympus, by Alan Moore, John Totleben, Rick Veitch. Collects issues 11-16.
- Paperback: Eclipse Books, 1991. ISBN 1-56060-080-2.
- Hardcover: Eclipse Books, 1991. ISBN 1-56060-079-9.
- Miracleman Book Four: The Golden Age, by Neil Gaiman and Mark Buckingham. Collects issues 17-22, but does not contain the "Retrieval" storyline published in those issues.
- Paperback: Eclipse Books, 1992. ISBN 1-56060-168-X.
- Paperback: HarperCollins, 1993. ISBN 0-06-105005-9.
- Miracleman: Apocrypha, by various.
- Paperback: Eclipse Books, 1992. ISBN 1-56060-189-2.
External links
- The Origin of Marvelman
- Neil Gaiman's journal entry on The Silver Age
- Guide to Miracleman at Sequart.com
- Introduction to The Golden Age by Samuel R. DelanySamuel R. DelanySamuel Ray Delany, Jr., also known as "Chip" is an American author, professor and literary critic. His work includes a number of novels, many in the science fiction genre, as well as memoir, criticism, and essays on sexuality and society.His science fiction novels include Babel-17, The Einstein...
- Moore's Marvel: The Miracleman Story, by Frank Smith at NinthArt.com
- Neil Gaiman's latest comment (2005-03-21) on the legal dispute
- Captain Marvel Culture A history of the many Captain Marvels and their social and historical significance
- Interview with Todd McFarlane about the character rights issue, Now Playing magazine
- Interview with Neil Gaiman about the character rights issue, Sequart
- Miracleman History and Reviews
- Whatever Happened to Miracleman? — History and overview of the character's legal situation, for Wizard magazine
- Marvels, Miracles & a Mighty Copyright Mess. - a 2010 article with some previously unreleased information on Marvelman's copyright status
- The Annotated Marvelman