r/marvelcomics • u/Theorist129 • 28d ago
Have you read the original Alan Moore Miracleman?
Hey folks! Not trying to be a controversy stirrer, but it's obviously been a hot topic of late. I'm not here to say aha, all these larpers, like, it's still on my TBR pile too, but it feels maybe halfway down the Alan Moore iceberg?
And of course, your opinion on new use of MM need not be based on having read it, or your opinion on Armageddon or Zdarsky or whatever, but I'm curious as to the climate of familiarity. Independent of the writing and IP ethics and whatnot, if it's spurred more interest in classics of the canon, I think that can be a good! I recently came across the ComicBookCanon aggregated list of top comics of all time, and there were a surprising number of titles there that I see given only scant mention.
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u/Mistervimes65 28d ago
I read it from the beginning in Warrior magazine and all the iterations that followed multiple times.
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u/woman_noises 28d ago
I bought the omnibus on sale for $40 a couple years ago. Haven't read any of it yet lol.
I have read Moore's Supreme and I think its fantastic. And some of Tom Strong and i loved it, tho never finished.
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u/Philander_Chase 27d ago
It’s big enough for an omnibus? Thought it was only 16 issues… unless it includes Neil Gaiman 🤢
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u/woman_noises 27d ago
No it only includes Moore material i believe, plus sketches and behind the scenes material. It's almost 800 pages.
Ok I just looked it up because I was curious. The omnibus also has dozens of variants from when marvel reprinted the whole thing so that fills up a bunch of pages. Also I think its got an epilouge issue by Grant Morrison that was created in the late 9 0s?
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u/salvatorundie 27d ago edited 26d ago
There is a less-lengthy Original Epic collection, without most of the original art reproductions contained in the Omnibus. Like the Omnibus, it otherwise also contains every Miracleman (and related) story Alan Moore wrote. It's also available digitally:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/miracleman
Alan Moore has not otherwise done anything with the character since writing his last story at the end of 1989, and has taken steps to ensure that remains the case, which Marvel has respected. He will not get mad about any developments regarding this character, any more than he doesn't get upset with anything DC does with Swamp Thing.
Someone is going to complain about the new colouring by Marvel -- that's not going to matter to most people coming to these stories new. How someone else feels about the colouring shouldn't deter anyone from reading this story in any edition. Someone is going to complain that this edition by Marvel is censored -- it basically is not, other than the last five letters of the word BIGGER being replaced by the letter X, where usage of a derogatory term for Black people was not fully spelled out, and grown-up adults can still make out what was intended to be said. The Marvel editions include stories published in 2014 by Mike Allred and Peter Milligan, and Joe Quesada and Grant Morrison. Someone is going to bring up some nonsense about some (long-passed-if-it-ever-happened-at-all) feud between Alan Moore and Grant Morrison (and bring up some tired "battle of the mages" imagery), which is completely irrelevant. Alan Moore is a prose author now, and not a comic book writer anymore, and he won't get pissed off if you buy this book -- at Moore's request, his share of reprint royalties from this edition of his story actually go to the estate of Mick Anglo, who has always been Miracleman's creator since the character's creation in 1954.
This book is a fully-self-contained story that stands completely on its own, with its own definite conclusion, that really doesn't need and never needed any follow-ups. You can read this book and solidly and safely disregard all other stories about Miracleman by anyone who is not Alan Moore and the artists he worked with, even and especially stories about it's publishing history.
Everyone should get a chance to read this story, in any edition and in any format they can comfortably find it in. Alan Moore's story shines through it all. It's both an early inspiration and influence and best complement and follow-up for any "edgy" and "boundary-pushing" take on superheroes ever done in any medium since its publication. It also documents the early creative development and growth of Alan Moore and his artists. There hasn't been a superhero story in any media since Moore concluded writing Miracleman at the end of 1989 that's been anywhere near as good. Read other types of comics.
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u/Cautious_Desk_1012 28d ago
Read it multiple times before all of this. Genuinely one of the best comic runs ever.
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u/rincewind120 27d ago
I read the Ecipse issues back in the 90s and enjoyed them. I have Miracleman by The Original Writer omnibus and would have gotten the Miracleman by Gaiman omnibus as well. But Gaiman never actually got around to writing the last arc despite Marvel owning the character for years. And his scandal means it's never going to be completed.
Don't really care about the new version showing up in the Avengers. I thought Doomsday Clock was a soulless money grab by trying to tie Watchmen into the DC universe. I'd prefer Miracleman to remain separate, but that ship sailed long ago during the Total Eclipse crossover in the 90s.
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u/hiphopjunkie916 28d ago
It really is one of Moore’s best works even tho there’s some awkward racial subtext in there like halfway through the run. Taking a deconstructionalist story and trying to mash it into typical superhero fare isn’t gonna be a great fit but I think Chip has a long term plan for the character’s and I trust it will be at least entertaining
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u/Ok-Traffic-5996 28d ago
It's one of Alan Moore's best works. Neil "POS perv" gaiman's stuff was pretty overrated and mediocre.
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u/Prime359 28d ago
I’m know of the character in name, but that’s the where the extent ends.
I don’t know the history, characteristics or universe of the characters.
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u/Betelgeuse3fold 27d ago
I read Moore's Miracle Man, about a month and a bit ago. I really enjoyed it. Loved the art. Loved the concept. I'm still haunted by Johnny Bates' descent into depravity.
I'm curious about Neil Gaiman's follow up, but i haven't got there yet
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u/mighty3mperor 27d ago
Read it in r/WarriorComic when it was Marvelman and Warrior #1 changed my whole perspective on what comics could be. I felt Alan Moore told a complete story, so didn't feel compelled to follow it to Eclipse (I have picked up the Axel Press button ones) but I've since bought all the hardcovers released by Marvel so far and I feel I was right in that assessment.
I'm not interested in this new incarnation of Miracleman but I'll keep an eye on the reviews and word-of-mouth. If they defy expectations then I may pick up the trade.
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u/TheRich27 26d ago
I own the issues from Eclipse and have them signed by Mr. Moore. This is just more bullshit Marvel is tossing at the wall to stick because they have lost so much to DC.
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28d ago
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u/Theorist129 28d ago
I mean, I am using it in a pseudo-quotative sense. I've seen it tossed around along the lines of "All these larpers getting so upset about Miracleman but never actually read it, lol".
(Which, for clarity is a take I find piping tepid. Yeah, some people are talking about Miracleman's philosophical messages just off of wikipedia summaries & tiktoks. But also, one can have an opinion on zombie IPs and corporate/editorial overriding of artists, or David Colton's relations to Zdarsky's themes without having read any Moore comics. It's a multifaceted discourse.)
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u/mr_mxyzptlk21 28d ago edited 28d ago
The biggest problem with comic book characters, is... the middle. The constant, never ending middle. Beginning, middle, more middle, have some more middle, would you like some more middle... REEEEEBOOOOT!!! Brand new, never before seen... Benginning, more middle, have some more middle.... lather, rinse, repeat.
If you're familiar with the old Captain Marvel, or the Marvelman comics from the four-color days, even in a historical fashion, and then read the Moore/Leach/Davis/Gaiman Miracleman from the 80s, you don't need to ever read another Miracleman book.
There's nothing new, nor better to tell about the character. No one is going to top those stories from Warrior/Eclipse Comics. I respect Marvel for taking control over the character given the name, and the ongoing Captain Marvel struggles between them and DC, but good lord, just bury the character. He has an ending.
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u/NovaPheonix 28d ago
I've watched videos on it and just picked up the omnibus on sale, so I'm looking forward to actually reading it one day.
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u/SeraphOfFire 28d ago
I have read the Alan Moore Miracleman, and it lives up to the hype.
I'm cautiously optimistic about MM in the Avengers considering they're not just transplanting the original into 616 and calling it a day. If Zdarsky can balance him as a character and give him some interesting developement, it could work.