Miracleman (Michael ("Micky" / "Mike") Moran), originally known as Marvelman, is a fictional superhero appearing in comic books first published by L. Miller & Son, Ltd. Created in 1954 by writer-artist Mick Anglo for publisher L. Miller & Son as a

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

home-grown substitute for the American character Captain Marvel, the original series ran until 1963. It was revived in 1982 in a dark, post-modern

reboot In computing, rebooting is the process by which a running computer system is restarted, either intentionally or unintentionally. Reboots can be either a cold reboot (alternatively known as a hard reboot) in which the power to the system is physi ...

by writer

Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including '' Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', '' The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and '' From He ...

, with later contributions by Neil Gaiman.

Publication history

The Mick Anglo years

In 1953, the American company

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. Its most popular character was Captain Marvel (DC Comics), Captain Marvel, the alter ego of ...

, which was the US publisher of '' Captain Marvel'', discontinued the title because of a lawsuit from DC Comics. Len Miller and his company L. Miller & Son, Ltd. had been publishing black-and-white reprints of the series, along with other Fawcett titles, in the UK. Rather than stopping, he turned to comic packager Mick Anglo for help continuing or replacing the comic. They transformed Captain Marvel into 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 similar to Captain Marvel: a young reporter named Micky Moran encounters an astrophysicist, instead of a wizard, who gives him superpowers based on atomic energy instead of magic. To transform into Marvelman, he speaks the word "Kimota", which is 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; both of their magic words were "Marvelman". ''Captain Marvel'' #19 and ''Captain Marvel, Jr.'' #19 announced the forthcoming replacement of these heroes, and with issue number 25 of each title (both cover-dated 3 February 1954), they were retitled as ''Marvelman'' and ''Young Marvelman''. ''Marvelman Family'' was added to the lineup two years later. Among the studio artists Anglo assembled to produce the comics were

Denis Gifford Denis Gifford (26 December 1927 – 18 May 2000)Holland, Steve, Obituaries: Denis Gifford', ''The Guardian'', 26 May 2000. was a British writer, broadcaster, journalist, comic artist and historian of film, comics, television and radio. In h ...

and

Don Lawrence Donald Southam Lawrence (17 November 1928 – 29 December 2003) was a British comic book artist and author. Lawrence is best known for his comic strips '' The Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire'' in the British weeklies '' Ranger'' and '' Loo ...

. ''Marvelman'' and ''Young Marvelman'' each had 346 issues (#25–370), published weekly, except for the final 36 issues, which were monthly, reprinting old stories. ''Marvelman Family'' was a monthly that 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's association with Len Miller ended in 1960. A disgruntled Anglo then recycled some of his Marvelman stories as ''Captain Miracle'', published 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 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. 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. Though the Marvelman titles were successful for a considerable time, this changed abruptly in 1959 when changes in British law allowed comics to be imported from the US.Chibnall, Steve. "The Sign of the Tee Pee: The Story of Thorpe & Porter," ''Paperback, Pulp and Comic Collector'' Vol. 1: "SF Crime Horror Westerns & Comics" (Wilts, UK: Zeon Publishing / Zardoz Books, 1993), pp. 16–29
Archived
at

Box.com } Box, Inc. (formerly Box.net) is a public company based in Redwood City, California. It develops and markets cloud-based content management, collaboration, and file sharing tools for businesses. Box was founded in 2005 by Aaron Levie and Dylan Sm ...

. Retrieved 28 December 2020. The black-and-white Marvelman books were unable to compete with the full color imports, forcing Miller to cancel ''Marvelman Family'', downgrade the other two titles to monthly status, and use reprinted adventures for their content. The two series survived until 1963, when Miller filed for bankruptcy. The company ceased publishing altogether in 1966.

The Alan Moore years

Marvelman (in ''Warrior'')

A new British monthly black-and-white anthology comic, ''

Warrior A warrior is a person specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracies, class, or caste. History Warriors seem to have be ...

'', was launched in March 1982. Editor/publisher

Dez Skinn Derek "Dez" Skinn (born 4 February 1951) Miller, John Jackson"Comics Industry Birthdays" ''Comics Buyer's Guide'', 10 June 2005. Accessed 14 August 2010WebCitation archive is a British comic and magazine editor, and author of a number of books o ...

had decided from the beginning to revive Marvelman as one of its features, explaining: Skinn's first two choices to write Marvelman were

Steve Parkhouse Steve Parkhouse is a writer, artist and letterer who has worked for many British comics, especially '' 2000 AD'' and ''Doctor Who Magazine''. Biography Parkhouse has worked in comics since 1967, when he drew the occasional "Power House Pin-Up" ...

and Steve Moore. Both expressed a lack of interest, and when Moore told Skinn that his friend

(no relation to Steve) would "give his eye teeth" to write Marvelman, Skinn agreed to let him submit a pitch for the series. Skinn's first picks for artist were

Dave Gibbons David Chester Gibbons (born 14 April 1949) is an English comics artist, writer and sometimes letterer. He is best known for his collaborations with writer Alan Moore, which include the miniseries ''Watchmen'' and the Superman story "For the Man ...

and Brian Bolland, but again both declined, leaving Skinn to reluctantly give the assignment to

Garry Leach Garry Leach (19 September 1954 – 26 March 2022) was a British comics artist and publisher. Biography Garry Leach's early work for ''2000 AD'' included mainly one-off stories featuring ''Dan Dare'' and ''M.A.C.H. 1''. Leach used actor Paul Newman as the model for his rendition of Marvelman. ''Warrior'' featured a new, darker version of Marvelman, written by Alan Moore, illustrated by Garry Leach (soon replaced by Alan Davis when Leach's laborious and perfectionist approach threatened deadlines), and

lettered Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

by Annie Parkhouse. In the first issue of ''Warrior'', Michael Moran is presented as married, plagued by migraines, having dreams of flying, and unable to remember a word 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. ''Warrior'' published a ''Marvelman Special'' collecting Mick Anglo stories within a frame story by Moore. The former Atlas Comics, renamed

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

shortly before the original ''Marvelman'' was cancelled, objected to the use of the word Marvel in the series title. This was used as the publisher's official explanation for why Marvelman ended on a cliffhanger with ''Warrior'' #21 (August 1984) while the anthology itself went on for another five issues, but the actual reason was a series of bitter financial arguments between Skinn and Moore. With the series discontinued, Skinn licensed the material to American publishers, first to

Pacific Comics Pacific Comics (PC) was an American comic book publisher that was active from 1981 to 1984. It was also a chain of comics shops and a distributor. It began at a San Diego, California, comic book shop owned by brothers Bill and Steve Schanes. Alo ...

, and after Pacific's collapse, to

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. It was ...

Name change to Miracleman

In August 1985, Eclipse began reprinting the Marvelman stories from ''Warrior'', coloured and re-sized. They were renamed and re-lettered throughout as ''Miracleman'' to avoid further problems with Marvel Comics. Issues 1–6 reprinted all the ''Warrior'' content, after which Eclipse began publishing new Miracleman stories from Moore and new artist Chuck Beckum (now known as

Chuck Austen Chuck Austen (born Chuck Beckum)
Kees Kousemaker's Lambiek Comiclopedia. Retrieved November 14, 2011. is an Ameri ...

), soon replaced by

Rick Veitch Richard Veitch (born May 7, 1951) is an American comics artist and writer who has worked in mainstream, underground, and alternative comics. Early life Rick Veitch is a native of the small town of Bellows Falls, Vermont. One of six children, he ...

and then

John Totleben John Thomas Totleben (born February 16, 1958 in Erie, Pennsylvania) is an American illustrator working mostly in comic books. Biography After studying art at Tech Memorial in Erie, Totleben attended The Kubert School for one year. He then spent se ...

. Eclipse split the rights to the character, with 2/3 going to Eclipse and 1/3 split between the current writer and artist of the series. Moore wrote the series until issue 16. 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.

The Neil Gaiman years

Miracleman was a featured character in the mini-series ''

Total Eclipse An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ce ...

'' (1988–89). "Screaming", a short story by Neil Gaiman and Mark Buckingham, appeared in ''Total Eclipse'' #4. This was Gaiman's first published Miracleman story. This story was reprinted in issue #21 and in "The Golden Age" trade paperback. Gaiman and Buckingham picked up the series at #17, which was published in June 1990. Three volumes were planned, consisting of six issues each: "The Golden Age," "The Silver Age" and "The Dark Age." "The Golden Age" showed the world some years later: a

utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book '' Utopia'', describing a fictional island societ ...

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 James Graham Ballard (15 November 193019 April 2009) was an English novelist, short story writer, satirist, and essayist known for provocative works of fiction which explored the relations between human psychology, technology, sex, and mass med ...

's short story "War Fever"), and several duplicates of

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the Art movement, visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore th ...

. 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 Eclipse went bankrupt in 1994, ceasing publication of Miracleman with issue #24. Issue #25 was completed but never published. Gaiman had approved a spin-off series, ''Miracleman: Triumphant'', written by Fred Burke, penciled by

Mike Deodato Jr Mike Deodato (; born May 23, 1963), sometimes credited as Mike Deodato Jr., is the professional pseudonym of Brazilian comic book artist Deodato Taumaturgo Borges Filho. Early life Mike Deodato was born on May 23, 1963 in Campina Grande, Paraíb ...

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 remained in publishing limbo after Eclipse collapsed. Issues #23 and #24 saw the resurrection of Young Miracleman and described the beginnings of trouble in Miracleman's idyllic world. A few pages of issue #25 were leaked to various websites, and appear in George Khoury's book ''Kimota! The Miracleman Companion''. "The Dark Age" would have seen the full return of Kid Miracleman and completed the story.

Ownership battle

In 1996,

Todd McFarlane Todd McFarlane (; born March 16, 1961) is a Canadian comic book creator, artist, writer, filmmaker and entrepreneur, best known for his work as the artist on ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' and as the creator, writer, and artist on the superhero horro ...

purchased Eclipse's creative assets, including the purported Miracleman rights, for a total of $25,000. In 2001, McFarlane said that he owned all rights related to Miracleman, dismissing Neil Gaiman's claims of co-ownership, and announced that the character would appear in '' Hellspawn''. McFarlane introduced Mike Moran (Miracleman's alter ego) in ''Hellspawn'' #6, with the alleged intention of returning Miracleman himself in ''Hellspawn'' #13. McFarlane included Miracleman in his section of what was then the long-delayed Image 10th Anniversary Book. He released a Miracleman cold-cast statue as well as a 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. His appearance as Miracleman is explained by Man of Miracles' ability to shape-shift and the fact that people see him as they wish. 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 Eclipse Comics assets. Also in 2002, Gaiman wrote the ''

1602 Events January–June * January 3 – Battle of Kinsale: The English defeat Irish rebels and their Spanish allies. (The battle happens on this date according to the Gregorian calendar used by the Irish and Spanish but on Thursday, 24 De ...

'' 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". It emerged in 2009 that original creator Mick Anglo had retained the rights to Marvelman from the beginning, meaning that the purchase of those rights by

Quality Communications Quality Communications was a British publishing company founded by Dez Skinn that operated from 1982 to 2008. The company's most notable publications were the monthly comics anthology ''Warrior'', which featured early work by writer Alan Moore ...

, Eclipse and McFarlane was illegitimate. At the San Diego Comic Con in 2009, Marvel Comics announced they had purchased the rights to Marvelman, "one of the most important comic book characters in decades", from 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'', was released in August 2010. These reprints contain only early material. Alan Moore has stated that he would donate some of his royalties from any Marvel reprints of his Marvelman stories to Mick Anglo.

Marvel Comics

At New York Comic Con 2013, Marvel announced that they had solidified their rights to Miracleman and that Neil Gaiman would finish the story he had started 25 years earlier. The series adopted a giant-sized format, with each issue containing a reprint of the corresponding issue of the Eclipse Comics series, reprints of select Mick Anglo Marvelman stories, and non-fiction material such as essays, photos and Marvelman design sketches. The first issue, reprinting the recolored and relettered stories from ''Warrior'' #1 & 2/''Miracleman'' #1, was released on January 15, 2014. The reprints continued, collecting remastered and recolored work of the original run, with hardcover collections following. In September 2014, the first new Miracleman material under the Marvel Comics banner was announced. Featuring a 'lost' story that was written in the 1980s by

Grant Morrison Grant Morrison, MBE (born 31 January 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer, screenwriter, and producer. Their work is known for its nonlinear narratives, humanist philosophy and countercultural leanings. Morrison has written extensively for th ...

, and illustrated in 2014 by

Joe Quesada Joseph Quesada (; born January 12, 1962'' Comics Buyer's Guide'' #1650; February 2009; page 107) is an American comic book artist, writer, editor, and television producer. He became known in the 1990s for his work on various Valiant Comics books ...

, it was joined by a brand new story by

Peter Milligan Peter Milligan (born 24 June 1961) is a British comic book writer who has written extensively for both British and American comic book industries. In the UK, Milligan has contributed to numerous anthology titles including '' 2000 AD'', '' Revo ...

and

Mike Allred Michael Dalton Allred is an American comic book artist and writer most famous for his independent comics creations, ''Madman'' and ''iZombie''. His style is often compared to pop art, as well as commercial and comic art of the 1950s and 1960s ...

. The reprints proceeded through #16 when the series was retitled ''Miracleman: The Golden Age'', which reprinted issues 17–22. ''Miracleman by Gaiman & Buckingham: The Silver Age'' issues 1 to 3 were announced for release in 2017 but those solicitations were cancelled shortly thereafter. At the 2018 San Diego Comic Con at a retailer only event Marvel announced legal hurdles causing the cancellation had been resolved and the new series was supposed to begin publication in 2019 with the previously announced creative team of Gaiman and Buckingham on board. On December 29, 2021, the ''Timeless'' one-shot was released, featuring the Miracleman "MM" logo on the final page. Later ads by Marvel confirmed that Miracleman would appear in the Marvel universe going forward. On June 24, 2022, Marvel Comics announced that Neil Gaiman and Mark Buckingham would complete ''Miracleman: The Silver Age'', beginning in October of the same year. "We're back! And after thirty years away it is both thrilling and terrifying,” Buckingham said. “Neil and I have had these stories in our heads since 1989 so it is amazing to finally be on the verge of sharing them with our readers." ''Miracleman: The Silver Age'' issues 1 & 2 shipped in October and November 2022 respectively, with issue 3, which will contain the story originally planned for issue 25 in 1993, scheduled to ship December 28, 2022. All three issues feature new art by Buckingham but the original plots created by Gaiman in 1993.

Fictional character biography

Alan Moore version

Michael Moran is working as a freelance reporter when he gets caught up in a terrorist raid on a new atomic power plant. Seeing the word "atomic" backwards ("cimota") while he was 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, and explains to his wife Liz that he lost his memories when all of the Marvelman family were caught in an atomic explosion. Marvelman's reappearance catches the attention of Johnny Bates ( Kid Marvelman), who not only survived, but lived on with his memories and superpowers intact. Bates, however, was corrupted by his power and became a bitter

sociopath Psychopathy, sometimes considered synonymous with sociopathy, is characterized by persistent antisocial behavior, impaired empathy and remorse, and bold, disinhibited, and egotistical traits. Different conceptions of psychopathy have been u ...

. 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 falls 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 the 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 Zoroaster,; fa, زرتشت, Zartosht, label=Modern Persian; ku, زەردەشت, Zerdeşt also known as Zarathustra,, . Also known as Zarathushtra Spitama, or Ashu Zarathushtra is regarded as the spiritual founder of Zoroastrianism. He is s ...

", 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 (which comprised the original stories) by the researchers, for fear of what they could do 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 died. In the meantime, it's revealed that Liz had conceived a child with Marvelman, which has the potential of being the first naturally-born superhuman on Earth. In issue #21 of ''Warrior'', Moran meets his dream-world nemesis Dr. Gargunza (loosely based on Doctor Sivana). In "reality", Gargunza was the scientific genius behind the experiment that created Marvelman. Gargunza, after working as a

geneticist A geneticist is a biologist or physician who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a scientist or a lecturer. Geneticists may perform general research on genetic processes ...

for the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...

, had been recruited by the British after World War II. Unable to keep pace with the U.S. and Soviet

nuclear arms race The nuclear arms race was an arms race competition for supremacy in nuclear warfare between the United States, the Soviet Union, and their respective allies during the Cold War. During this same period, in addition to the American and Soviet nuc ...

, the British had backed Gargunza to use genetics to develop a new superweapon. By coincidence, an alien spacecraft crashed in the UK around 1947 and Gargunza was able to

reverse-engineer Reverse engineering (also known as backwards engineering or back engineering) is a process or method through which one attempts to understand through deductive reasoning how a previously made device, process, system, or piece of software accompl ...

enough technology to create the Marveldog. The alien technology, and thus the Zarathustra project, consisted of growing an advanced 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 consciousness was transferred. After the project's cancellation, Gargunza escaped to South America. It's 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 host his own consciousness. Moran's daughter is born in ''Miracleman'' #9 (which became controversial due to a highly graphic

birth Birth is the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring, also referred to in technical contexts as parturition. In mammals, the process is initiated by hormones which cause the muscular walls of the uterus to contract, expelling the f ...

scene, based on medical illustrations of the process); two races of aliens, one called Warpsmiths, the other called ''Qys'' (who were behind the original body-swapping technology) come to Earth; Miraclewoman emerges; and certain native super-humans are revealed to already be living on Earth, such as Firedrake. Now out of his catatonia, the small and spindly Johnny Bates is repeatedly beaten by older bullies at his group home. When one of them goes so far as to try to rape him, Johnny transforms into Kid Miracleman and unleashes a murderous holocaust on

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. When the Miracles discover what is happening, they and their alien allies collectively challenge Bates. One of the Warpsmiths, Aza Chorn, realizes that they cannot go through Bates' personal force field, and instead teleports some wreckage into his body, forcing him to transform into his mortal form to escape the horrific pain. His rampage is stopped, but Bates kills Aza Chorn as his last act. Unwilling to risk another chance for repeating this horror and out of mercy for his former charge, 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, Aza Chorn lies dead, and the world now knows that gods walk among them. Moore's last issue, number 16 ("Olympus") ends with a depiction of Miracleman's apotheosis, as he and his superhuman allies bring the entire planet under their

totalitarian Totalitarianism is a form of government and a political system that prohibits all opposition parties, outlaws individual and group opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high if not complete degree of control and reg ...

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 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 will ultimately be harmful to mankind. The issue ends with Miracleman sitting in Aza Chorn Memorial Park, thinking about everything that has happened in his life up to this point and wondering if he has done the right thing. Neil Gaiman's run begins with issue #17.

Reception

Volumes

''Warrior'' - 1982

Tim Callahan of ''

Tor.com ''Tor.com'' is an online science fiction and fantasy magazine published by Tor Books, a division of Macmillan Publishers. The magazine publishes articles, reviews, original short fiction, re-reads and commentary on speculative fiction. From 20 ...

'' ranked the ''Marvelman'' stories from ''

'' 3rd in their "10 Best Comics Written by Alan Moore" list, stating, "''Marvelman'' is based on a Captain Marvel analogue, with the cynicism of the 1980s and a dose of real-world logic smashed into its innocent shell. The opening few chapters provide a blueprint that revisionist superhero comics would follow forever after—the revelation that everything the hero thought he knew was wrong, and he may not even really be a hero to begin with—and the inky realism of Garry Leach’s drawings only helped Moore make his stand on behalf of smart, relevant, devastatingly powerful superhero comics. The fact that everyone who came after Moore took the faux-realism and the hyper-violence of ''Marvelman'' as its primary lesson isn’t Moore’s fault. He did it right, and they just missed the point." Jason Rhode of '' Paste'' ranked the ''Marvelman'' stories from ''

'' 7th in their "10 Best Alan Moore Comics of All Time" list, asserting, "All Moore ever did was take comics seriously. Their premises, their possibilities, their audiences. It’s strange to say this about a man who got kicked out high school for dealing LSD, but nobody has ever been a more faithful student than Alan Moore. Imagine a radical doctor who made their patients immortal. That’s Moore. The story of Michael Moran, who remembers that he is a superman, begins as a whimsical take-off on Captain Marvel, and ends as the story of a living god. Along the way, Moore reckons with issues of morality, humanity and the fragility of our world. After ''Marvelman'', everything was possible."

''Miracleman'' - 2014

According to Diamond Comic Distributors, ''Miracleman'' #1 was the 23rd best selling comic book in January 2014. Corey Schroeder of ''

Comic Vine Whiskey Media was an American online media company founded independently by ''CNET'' co-founder Shelby Bonnie in 2008. It was the parent company of Tested, Screened, and Anime Vice, and the former parent company of ''Giant Bomb'' and Comic Vine. W ...

'' gave ''Miracleman'' #1 a grade of 4 out of 5 stars, saying, "This issue really defines a “mixed bag” in terms of what you get. On the one hand, it’s very cool to see the original stories and, for me, very, very fascinating peering behind the curtain at exactly what went on behind the scenes with this character (the interview with Anglo by Joe Quesada is especially interesting, especially since very little of it focuses on the comic and a great deal focuses on the man himself) but I could see someone who couldn’t care less feeling like they’re paying extra for nothing. Buyer beware, in that case, but the core story here is as rock solid and resonant now as it was thirty years ago." Jesse Schedeen of ''

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

'' gave ''Miracleman'' #1 a grade of 7 out of 10, writing, "As long as you don't come into ''Miracleman'' immediately expecting the same caliber of work from Moore that he delivered on Watchmen or Swamp Thing, you'll find a thoughtful, intelligent look at a once-campy superhero. It's just a shame that Marvel insisted on cramming the issue with supplemental content and driving up the price accordingly. Wait for the trade, perhaps, but don't miss this chance to finally experience a classic."

''Miracleman'' - 2022

Sayantan Gayen of '' CBR.com'' called ''Miracleman'' #0 a "shining example of the trajectory the franchise can head toward in the future," stating, "''Miracleman'' #0 is an anthology of stories and comic strips that bring together unique styles and sensibilities thanks to industry stalwarts, writers, and artists alike, who have come out to commemorate an important piece of comic book history. As brief as these tales are, they are remarkably bold and ambitious, making the most of their limited page counts. Some stories take Miracleman on a journey of death and rebirth, while others are bitter reunions in harsh environments. But whatever the situation, the limelight is always shining on the titular character and his chequered past." Joe Grunenwald of ''

Comics Beat Heidi MacDonald (born November 15) is a writer and editor in the field of comic books based in New York City. She runs the comics industry news blog '' The Beat''. Career MacDonald is a former editor for DC Comics' Vertigo imprint and '' Disney ...

'' described ''Miracleman'' #0 as a "mixture of entertaining, thought-provoking, and just plain fun" asserting, "''Miracleman'' #0 is set up to be for everyone. Readers who aren’t familiar with the character can still enjoy the stories present on a surface level, while those who are aware of Miracleman and his history will appreciate the metatextual levels present in all of the offerings. And as an introduction to the actual Miracleman, Gaiman and Buckingham’s framing story presents a man, albeit one with god-like powers, who is essentially bored and looking for escape in fiction. Who can’t relate to that?"

Alternative versions

An alternative version of Marvelman is briefly seen in the British comic ''

The 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 ...

'' #7 (1983) (owned by

Marvel UK Marvel UK was an imprint of Marvel Comics formed in 1972 to reprint US-produced stories for the British weekly comic market. Marvel UK later produced original material by British creators such as Alan Moore, John Wagner, Dave Gibbons, Steve Di ...

) in the

Captain Britain Captain Britain is a title used by various superheroes in comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with Excalibur. The moniker was first used in publication by Brian Braddock in ''Captain Britain Weekly'' #1 by writer Ch ...

story. Actually called Miracleman (the first time the name was attached to the character), he is killed by the Fury. His junior partner, named 'Rick' and never explicitly identified as Young Miracleman, is married to the superheroin Captain UK, that world's Captain Britain. Rick is seen to be killed by the Fury, though he is rescued by Roma who goes back in time to save him and reunite him with his wife. The '' A1 Sketchbook'', released in late 2004 by

Atomeka Press Atomeka Press is a British publisher of comic books set up in 1988 by Dave Elliott and Garry Leach. Atomeka ceased publishing in 1997, was briefly revived from 2002 to 2005 and revived again in 2013. History Atomeka was established as a compan ...

, included four Miracleman-related pin-ups (although the pin-ups were not labelled as Miracleman, likely to avoid further legal entanglements) by original Miracleman artist

Collected editions

Eclipse

The Miracleman comics published by Eclipse were collected into a number of individual

volumes Volume is a measure of occupied three-dimensional space. It is often quantified numerically using SI derived units (such as the cubic metre and litre) or by various imperial or US customary units (such as the gallon, quart, cubic inch). The defi ...

in the 1990s. All of these books are currently out of print. * ''Miracleman Book One: A Dream of Flying'', by Alan Moore, Garry Leach, Alan Davis. Collects ''Miracleman'' #1–3, (which in turn reprinted stories from ''Warrior'' #1–11). **Paperback: Eclipse Books, 1990. . **Hardcover: Eclipse Books, 1990. . * ''Miracleman Book Two: The Red King Syndrome'', by Alan Moore, Alan Davis, John Ridgeway, Chuck Beckum, Rick Veitch. Collects ''Miracleman'' #4–6, (which in turn reprinted stories from ''Warrior'' #12–21) and ''Miracleman'' #7, 9, and 10. 8, containing 1950s reprint material, was omitted **Paperback: Eclipse Books, 1990. . **Hardcover: Eclipse Books, 1991. . * ''Miracleman Book Three: Olympus'', by Alan Moore and John Totleben. Collects #11–16. **Paperback: Eclipse Books, 1991. . **Hardcover: Eclipse Books, 1991. . * ''Miracleman Book Four: The Golden Age'', by Neil Gaiman and Mark Buckingham. Collects #17–22, but does not contain the "Retrieval" storyline published in those issues. **Paperback: Eclipse Books, 1992. . **Paperback: HarperCollins, 1993. . * ''Miracleman: Apocrypha'', by various. **Paperback: Eclipse Books, 1992. .

Marvel

In August 2010 Marvel began reprinting the original Mick Anglo Marvelman and Young Marvelman stories, beginning with the character's first appearance in issue #25. Marvel began collecting their recolored reprints of the Miracleman comics originally published by Eclipse. Alan Moore was credited as "The Original Writer".

References

External links

Why ''Miracleman'' Matters
by

Julian Darius Julian may refer to: People * Julian (emperor) (331–363), Roman emperor from 361 to 363 * Julian (Rome), referring to the Roman gens Julia, with imperial dynasty offshoots * Saint Julian (disambiguation), several Christian saints * Julian (giv ...

Reference article on Marvelman
by ''Encyclopædia Britannica''
Captain Marvel Culture
A history of the many Captain Marvels and their social and historical significance *

at the International Catalogue of Superheroes * * * {{GoldenAge 1954 comics debuts 1963 comics endings 1982 comics debuts British comics characters Comics by Neil Gaiman Comics characters introduced in 1954 Eclipse Comics superheroes Eclipse Comics titles Marvel Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength Marvel Comics superheroes Marvel Comics telekinetics Marvel Comics telepaths Marvel Comics titles Fictional characters with energy-manipulation abilities Fictional characters with superhuman senses Horror comics Warrior characters Warrior titles