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For other uses, see Miracle Man (disambiguation).
Miracleman

Cover to Miracleman' #3.
Howard Chaykin, artist. Howard Victor Chaykin (born October 7, 1950 in Newark, New Jersey) is an American comic book writer and artist famous for his
Publication information
Publisher Eclipse Comics (USA), Quality Communications (UK)
First appearance Marvelman #25 (UK)
Miracleman #1 (U. Eclipse Comics was an American Comic book Publisher, one of several influential independent publishers during the 1980s and early 1990s Quality Communications is the company formed by Dez Skinn in 1982 to publish Warrior, an anthology Comic book title In Comic books and other stories with a long history first appearance refers to the first occurrence to feature a Fictional character. S. A. ) Warrior Magazine #1 as Miracleman (UK) precedes Miracleman #1 (U. S. A)
Created by Mick Anglo
In story information
Alter ego Micky Moran
Team affiliations Miraclewoman
Warpsmiths, Kid Miracleman. Michael "Mick" Anglo (1916- is a British Comic book Writer, Artist, and popular culturist Miraclewoman is a fictional Superheroine appearing in the Eclipse Comics comic book Miracleman. The Warpsmiths are fictional aliens in several Science fiction Comics by Alan Moore and Garry Leach. Kid Marvelman (also known as Kid Miracleman in the US is a Fictional Comic book character appearing in Marvelman Young Miracleman
Notable aliases Mike, Marvelman
Abilities Superhuman strength, speed and stamina, Flight, Invulnerability, Force fields, Concussive energy blasts

Miracleman, originally known as Marvelman in his native United Kingdom, is a fictional character, a comic book superhero created in 1954 by writer-artist Mick Anglo for publisher L. Miller & Son. Young Marvelman (also known as Young Miracleman) is a Fictional Comic book character appearing in Marvelman The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located A comic book (often shortened to simply comic and sometimes called a comic paper or comic magazine) is a Magazine or Book of narrative A superhero (sometimes rendered super-hero or super hero) is a Fictional character "of unprecedented physical prowess dedicated to acts of derring-do Year 1954 ( MCMLIV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1954 Gregorian calendar) Michael "Mick" Anglo (1916- is a British Comic book Writer, Artist, and popular culturist L Miller & Son Ltd was a British publisher of magazines comic books and pulp fiction Originally intended as a home-grown substitute for the American character Captain Marvel, the series ran until 1963. Captain Marvel is a fictional Comic book Superhero, originally published by Fawcett Comics and later by DC Comics. He was revived in 1982 in a dark, post-modern series by writer Alan Moore, later written by Neil Gaiman. Alan Moore (born November 18 1953 in Northampton) is an English Writer most famous for his influential work in Comics, including the acclaimed Neil Richard Gaiman (ˈgeɪmən (born November 10, 1960) is an English author of Science fiction and Fantasy short stories and

The rights to Miracleman are currently trapped in a complex and expensive legal battle between Gaiman and Todd McFarlane, with several other people also claiming at least partial ownership of the character and the works containing him. Todd McFarlane (born March 16, 1961) is a Canadian Comic book artist writer toy manufacturer/designer and media Entrepreneur who is best known

Contents

Marvelman: The Mick Anglo years

The character's origins were in black and white reprints of the American Captain Marvel comics by a London publisher, L. Miller & Son, Ltd. When the US publishers of Captain Marvel, Fawcett Comics, agreed to cease publication of the title after a lawsuit from DC Comics, Len Miller was faced with the supply of Captain Marvel material being cut off. Captain Marvel is a fictional Comic book Superhero, originally published by Fawcett Comics and later by DC Comics. L Miller & Son Ltd was a British publisher of magazines comic books and pulp fiction Fawcett Comics, a subsidiary of Fawcett Publications, was one of several successful Comics publishers during the Golden Age of Comic Books in the 1940s National Comics Publications v Fawcett Publications, 191 F2d 594 ( 2d Cir He turned to a British comic writer/artist, Mick Anglo, for help, and transformed Captain Marvel to Marvelman and Captain Marvel Jr. Michael "Mick" Anglo (1916- is a British Comic book Writer, Artist, and popular culturist to Young Marvelman. The changes took place with issue number 25 in each title, both cover-dated February 3rd, 1954, although they had been announced about five issues earlier.

While transforming the Marvels, Miller continued several other Fawcett reprint titles including Whiz Comics, Master Comics, Don Winslow of the Navy, and several westerns. Cover logos and trademarks that looked significantly like those used by Fawcett added to the appearance that the Fawcett line was continuing.

Cover of Young Marvelman Annual, 1960
Cover of Young Marvelman Annual, 1960

Marvelman's origin was based strongly on that of Captain Marvel: a young reporter named Micky Moran encounters an astrophysicist who gives him his super powers, based on atomic energy. To transform into Marvelman, he has to speak the word "Kimota" (phonetically, "atomic" backwards). Marvelman was joined by Dicky Dauntless, a teenage messenger boy who became Young Marvelman on speaking the name "Marvelman", and young Johnny Bates (Kid Marvelman, whose magic word was also "Marvelman").

They had fairly typical, unsophisticated superhero adventures, and the comics ran until February 1963. The titles published were Marvelman, Young Marvelman, and Marvelman Family which usually featured Marvelman, Young Marvelman and Kid Marvelman together. 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.

Mick Anglo's association with Len Miller also ended in 1960. Michael "Mick" Anglo (1916- is a British Comic book Writer, Artist, and popular culturist Marvelman Family was a monthly, from October 1956 to November 1959. A variety of Marvelman and Young Marvelman albums were printed annually from 1954 to 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. Jack Marvel was the name given to British Comic book character Marvelman when his stories were reprinted in Brazil's Marvel Comic in the early-1960s

Marvelman/Miracleman: The Alan Moore years

In March 1982, a new British monthly black-and-white comic was launched called Warrior. Warrior was a British anthology comic that ran for 26 issues between March 1982 and January 1985 From the first issue until issue #21 (August 1984), it featured a new, darker version of Marvelman, written by Alan Moore, illustrated by Garry Leach and Alan Davis, and lettered by Annie Parkhouse. Alan Moore (born November 18 1953 in Northampton) is an English Writer most famous for his influential work in Comics, including the acclaimed Garry Leach is a British Comics artist and publisher Biography Leach studied Graphic Design at St Alan Davis (born 1956 is a British writer and artist of Comic books Biography UK work Alan Davis was born on June 18, 1956 A letterer is a member of a team of Comic book creators responsible for drawing the Comic book 's text Annie Parkhouse (née Halfacree has been one of the leading Letterers in British Comics for over 30 years 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 migraines, having dreams of flying, and unable to remember the 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.

Moran is working as a freelance reporter when he gets caught up in a terrorist raid on a newly built atomic power plant. Fortuitously remembering the word "Kimota", Marvelman is reborn and saves the day. As Marvelman, Moran remembers his early life as a superhero, but oddly there are no known records of his exploits and his wife Liz finds the descriptions of the adventures ridiculous. Moran later discovers that Johnny Bates (Kid Marvelman), not only also survived, but lived on with his superpowers intact. Kid Marvelman (also known as Kid Miracleman in the US is a Fictional Comic book character appearing in Marvelman Bates however was corrupted by his power and is now a sociopath. Sociopathy is a loosely-defined term that may be used to refer to Psychopathy Antisocial personality disorder Dissocial 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. Big Ben is the name of a Comic book character who first appeared during Alan Moore's run on Marvelman in Warrior and then went on 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", attempting to enhance the human body using the alien technology. Thus Spoke Zarathustra (German Also sprach Zarathustra, sometimes translated Thus Spake Zarathustra) subtitled A Book for All and None 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 died. Young Marvelman (also known as Young Miracleman) is a Fictional Comic book character appearing in Marvelman 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). Doctor Thaddeus Bodog Sivana is a Fictional Comic book Supervillain. In "reality" Gargunza was the scientific genius behind the experiment that created Marvelman. Gargunza, after working as a geneticist for the Nazis, had been recruited by the British after World War II. Unable to keep pace with the US and Soviet nuclear arms race 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. Reverse engineering (RE is the process of discovering the technological principles of a device object or system through analysis of its structure function and operation 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". Krypto, also known as Krypto the Superdog, is a Fictional character. 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.

August 1984's #21 was the last issue of Warrior to feature Marvelman. Although the magazine would continue for a few more issues, Warrior's legal troubles (partly due to the publication of a Marvelman Special, which Marvel Comics felt infringed their trademark) led to the character being licensed to an American publisher: first to Pacific Comics, and after Pacific's collapse, to Eclipse Comics. Marvel Comics is an American comic book company owned by Marvel Publishing Inc A trademark or trade mark, represented by the symbols ™ and ®, or mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual Pacific Comics (PC is best known as one of the independent Comic book publishers that flourished in the early 1980s but was also a chain of comics shops and a distributor Eclipse Comics was an American Comic book Publisher, one of several influential independent publishers during the 1980s and early 1990s

Name change to Miracleman

In August 1985, Eclipse began reprinting the Marvelman stories from Warrior, colourised, resized, and published under the new title Miracleman (also due to pressure from Marvel Comics). With its sixth issue, Eclipse finished reprinting the Warrior content and began publishing all-new Miracleman stories from Moore and new artist Chuck Beckum (aka Chuck Austen), soon replaced by Rick Veitch and then John Totleben. Chuck Austen (born Chuck Beckum) is an American Writer and Artist of Comic books most famous for his controversial work on the popular Rick Veitch is an American Comic book artist and writer who has worked in mainstream underground, and Alternative comics. John Totleben (born February 16, 1958 in Erie Pennsylvania) is an American Illustrator working mostly in Comics.

Miracleman #15, art by John Totleben.
Miracleman #15, art by John Totleben. John Totleben (born February 16, 1958 in Erie Pennsylvania) is an American Illustrator working mostly in Comics.

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 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) came to Earth; Miraclewoman emerged; and several native superhumans were revealed to already be living on Earth, such as Firedrake. Childbirth (also called labour, birth, partus or parturition) is the culmination of a Human Pregnancy or The Warpsmiths are fictional aliens in several Science fiction Comics by Alan Moore and Garry Leach. Miraclewoman is a fictional Superheroine appearing in the Eclipse Comics comic book Miracleman.

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 while Miracleman, Miraclewoman, and their allies are in outer space. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom.

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 (by the few who possess a copy of the book). 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, realizes that they cannot go through Bates' personal forcefield, and instead teleports some wreckage inside the forcefield -- *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, as he and his superhuman allies bring the entire planet under their totalitarian control. Totalitarianism (or totalitarian rule) is a concept used to describe Political systems where a State regulates nearly every aspect of public and private 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. A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. Fundamentalism refers to a "deep and totalistic commitment" to a belief in and strict adherence to a set of basic principles (often Religious in nature a reaction 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, in which the "hero" destroys a dystopian society. V for Vendetta is a ten-issue Comic book Lance Parkin'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, in which an "apocalypse" of expanded human consciousness heals rather than destroys the world). Lance Parkin is a British Author, best known for writing Fiction and reference books for Television series, in particular Doctor Who Promethea is a Comic book series created by Alan Moore and JH

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, Squadron Supreme, Moore's own Watchmen, Kingdom Come, The Authority, and many of the works of Mark Millar. Rising Stars is a 24-issue Comic book Limited series by J Michael Straczynski about 113 people (called "Specials" as they are born The Squadron Supreme is a Fictional Superhero team that exists in the Earth-31916 universe and was created by J Watchmen is a twelve-issue Comic book Limited series written by Alan Moore, and illustrated by Dave Gibbons and John Higgins The Authority is a Superhero Comic book published by DC Comics under the Wildstorm imprint Mark Millar (born December 24 1969 is an award-winning Scottish Graphic novelist born in Coatbridge.

We can gather a glimpse of how Moore originally meant the story to continue 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

Miracleman #23, art by Barry Windsor-Smith.
Miracleman #23, art by Barry Windsor-Smith. Barry Windsor-Smith, also known as Barry Smith (born May 25, 1949) is a British Comic book illustrator and painter whose best known work has

Writer Neil Gaiman developed the series further in the 1990s, working with artist Mark Buckingham. Neil Richard Gaiman (ˈgeɪmən (born November 10, 1960) is an English author of Science fiction and Fantasy short stories and Mark Buckingham is a British Comic book artist. He is best known for his work on Marvelman and Fables. 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 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. Utopia is a name for an ideal community taken from the title of a book written in 1516 by Sir Thomas More describing a fictional Island in the 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. James Graham Ballard (born 15 November in the International Settlement in Shanghai, China) is a British Novelist and Short For the song by David Bowie, see Andy Warhol (song. Andrew Warhola (August 6 1928 &ndash February 22 1987 known as Andy Warhol

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, written by Marv Wolfman and penciled by Bo Hampton, with pencil assists by James Ritchey III and Mark Pacella (among others), and inks by Rick Bryant. Marvin A "Marv" Wolfman (born May 13, 1946) is an award-winning American Comic book Writer.

A short story by Gaiman and Mark Buckingham (entitled "Screaming") appeared in Total Eclipse #4, where it technically comprised Gaiman's first published Miracleman story. Mark Buckingham is a British Comic book artist. He is best known for his work on Marvelman and Fables. This story was reprinted in issue #21 and in "The Golden Age" trade paperback.

Alternate versions

An alternate version of Miracleman is seen in the British comic The Daredevils #7, owned by Marvel UK. The Daredevils was a Comic book magazine published by Marvel UK in 1983. Marvel UK was an Imprint of Marvel Comics formed in 1972 to reprint US produced stories for the British weekly comic market though Here, Miracleman is shown on Earth-238 being killed by the Fury. The Fury is a Fictional character created by writer Alan Moore and illustrator Alan Davis as an antagonist for the Marvel Comics hero

The ownership of Miracleman and the character's future

The legal ownership of Miracleman is a complicated story, which stems from the character's beginnings.

L. Miller & Son was a UK publisher of dozens of comic titles. Len Miller reprinted material from many US publishers and European sources as well as creating his own original British comics. One of Miller's main source of income came from reprints of comic stories featuring Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family, originally created by Fawcett Publications in America. Captain Marvel is a fictional Comic book Superhero, originally published by Fawcett Comics and later by DC Comics. However, the company one day found itself facing the cancellation of two popular titles (Captain Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr. ) due to the conclusion of a long-running legal battle between Fawcett and National Periodicals (the parent company of DC Comics). DC Comics is an American comic book and related media company National maintained that Fawcett's Captain Marvel infringed the copyright of National's Superman character (see National Comics Publications v. Fawcett Publications for further details). 'Copyright infringement' (or copyright violation) is the unauthorized use of material that is covered by Copyright law in a manner that violates Superman is a fictional Comic book Superhero widely considered to be one of the most recognized of such characters and an American Cultural icon National Comics Publications v Fawcett Publications, 191 F2d 594 ( 2d Cir Faced with reduced sales in the 1950s, Fawcett Publications eventually capitulated and this decision meant that Captain Marvel would no longer be published.

Faced with the sudden loss of their star feature, L. Miller & Son, Ltd. turned to Mick Anglo 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. L Miller & Son Ltd was a British publisher of magazines comic books and pulp fiction Michael "Mick" Anglo (1916- is a British Comic book Writer, Artist, and popular culturist Anglo created Marvelman, which proved successful enough to keep the Marvelman/Young Marvelman titles going. In 1959, Britain allowed the importation of "real" American comics for the first time since 1939. The year 1959 ( MCMLIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. American publishers were quick to respond with "pence price" editions of popular titles. Soon, with new American four-color silver-age comics circulating in the United Kingdom, the demand for British produced black and white reprints began to shrink. Miller, in an effort to save money, cancelled Marvelman Family and turned both Marvelman and Young Marvelman into reprint books in 1959. European publications October 29 first issue of Pilote, featuring debuts of the series Astérix by René Goscinny, This move, however, was not enough to save the titles, both of which struggled on but were finally cancelled in 1963. Despite experimenting with format and a variety of material, 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 recycled some of his Marvelman stories as Captain Miracle which appeared briefly under his Anglo Comics imprint which folded in 1961. Michael "Mick" Anglo (1916- is a British Comic book Writer, Artist, and popular culturist 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. [1]

Warrior

The infamous Marvelman Special, cover art by Mick Austin.
The infamous Marvelman Special, cover art by Mick Austin. Michael J "Mick" Austin is a fine artist who lives and works in the UK

In 1982 when Warrior reintroduced Marvelman as its flagship title, the rights to the character were allegedly held in a four-way split between Warrior editor Dez Skinn, writer Alan Moore and artist Garry Leach, who owned 30% each, and the originating publisher, Quality Communications, which owned 10%. Events Year overall Steve Gerber sues Marvel over rights to his character Howard the Duck, and brings out his own Destroyer Duck Warrior was a British anthology comic that ran for 26 issues between March 1982 and January 1985 Derek "Dez" Skinn is a British Comic book and Magazine editor and author of number of books on comics Alan Moore (born November 18 1953 in Northampton) is an English Writer most famous for his influential work in Comics, including the acclaimed Garry Leach is a British Comics artist and publisher Biography Leach studied Graphic Design at St

However, in subsequent years there arose confusion as to how Skinn had gained the rights to Marvelman, or even if he actually held them. It is unlikely that the 1960s deal between Miller and Class was known in the 1980s. Several conflicting justifications were proposed:

  1. Skinn thought the rights were in the public domain.
  2. He had purchased outright the rights from Marvelman creator Mick Anglo. Michael "Mick" Anglo (1916- is a British Comic book Writer, Artist, and popular culturist
  3. After publishing had already begun, he had offered some form of retroactive deal to Anglo.
  4. He just took the character, assuming there would be no interest in an obscure property owned by a dead company. (Skinn eventually said in the fan book Kimota! that this last justification was the case).

As far as is known, Moore and Leach thought the second situation to be the case at the time and that their ownership was legitimate. So when Leach left the strip and was replaced by Alan Davis, Moore, Skinn and Leach transferred part of their ownership of the character to Davis — with Skinn claiming 10% and Moore, Davis and Leach, 30% each. Alan Davis (born 1956 is a British writer and artist of Comic books Biography UK work Alan Davis was born on June 18, 1956 Moore and Leach continued to own the aspects of work they created. Further, Skinn says that when Anglo visited Quality's office to view the new work, he agreed to being paid only if his old work was reprinted, should the revision prove successful. This happened, and Anglo was paid against the Marvelman Special published in 1983. Skinn also comments that he never directly claimed to have bought the rights from Anglo, who may not even have held them to begin with, given his role as an editorial packager for L. Miller & Son.

To further complicate things, Marvel Comics, who objected to a competitor producing anything with "Marvel" in the title, threatened legal action in 1983. Marvel Comics is an American comic book company owned by Marvel Publishing Inc 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's Captain Britain. Marvel UK was an Imprint of Marvel Comics formed in 1972 to reprint US produced stories for the British weekly comic market though Captain Britain ( Brian Braddock) briefly known as Britannic is a Fictional character, a Superhero appearing in the comic books published by 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 Warrior's final two issues.

Eclipse Comics and bankruptcy

In 1985 Eclipse Comics bought the rights from Skinn and started reprinting Marvelman, retitling it Miracleman to placate Marvel Comics. Eclipse Comics was an American Comic book Publisher, one of several influential independent publishers during the 1980s and early 1990s Davis, stating that he wanted no more to do with Moore or the situation, gave his rights to Leach.

So for much of the initial 16 issues on Miracleman, Eclipse believed they owned the rights to publish the character. 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, who would be taking over the title, and Gaiman divided them between himself and artist Mark Buckingham. Neil Richard Gaiman (ˈgeɪmən (born November 10, 1960) is an English author of Science fiction and Fantasy short stories and Mark Buckingham is a British Comic book artist. He is best known for his work on Marvelman and Fables. Unfortunately, Eclipse went bankrupt in 1994. The last published Miracleman issue was #24; issue 25 is nearly complete (per Kimota!) but has never been printed. Also, Gaiman had approved a spin off series called Miracleman: Triumphant which was written by Fred Burke and drawn by Mike Deodato Jr. Mike Deodato (born May 23, 1963 in Campina Grande, Paraíba, Brazil) sometimes credited as Mike Deodato Jr 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 vs. Neil Gaiman

In 1996, Todd McFarlane purchased Eclipse's creative assets for a total of $40,000. Todd McFarlane (born March 16, 1961) is a Canadian Comic book artist writer toy manufacturer/designer and media Entrepreneur who is best known It has been suggested that McFarlane was mainly interested in the Miracleman rights; the rest of Eclipse's characters and properties were incidental, though he did not expect to keep them idle. McFarlane's plan was to reintroduce Eclipse's characters through two new Image Comics anthology titles, Todd McFarlane's Twisted Tales and Todd McFarlane's Alien Worlds. Image Comics is an American Comic book publisher It was founded in 1992 by seven high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their However, these were never printed and to date the only Eclipse character to appear again has been The Heap in McFarlane's Spawn title. Spawn is a fictional Comic book character created by Todd McFarlane.

McFarlane clearly had plans for Miracleman, but had neglected to consult Neil Gaiman, the last person to have held part of the rights. In 1993, Gaiman had created the characters Angela and Medieval Spawn for McFarlane. Angela is a Fictional character in Todd McFarlane 's Spawn Comic book series A Hellspawn is a fictional creature from the popular comic book Spawn. Gaiman claimed that he had created them with the understanding that he would retain creative ownership of them, an ownership which McFarlane now disputed. His plans stymied, in 1997 McFarlane reached a supposed verbal agreement (and according to Gaiman, a written one as well) with Gaiman in which Gaiman would cede his half-ownership of Cogliostro and Medieval Spawn in exchange for which McFarlane would trade his rights to Miracleman. Cogliostro ("Cog" initially rendered " Cagliostro " is a supporting character in Todd McFarlane 's Spawn comic series A Hellspawn is a fictional creature from the popular comic book Spawn. A subsequent letter from McFarlane to Gaiman would void this deal, if it ever legally existed, as McFarlane claimed that he already owned the two characters and pointed to a copyright notice on Spawn Issue 7 and cited them as the product of work-for-hire. He also stopped paying Gaiman royalties around this time for the action-figures and other items featuring the characters that were still in print. This was another of the direct causes for the legal action. At the time, no one was aware that the rights for Miracleman were not included in the purchase of most of Eclipse Comics' assets and both men believed that McFarlane held a large stake in Miracleman. That was a fact that would not become clear until after the lawsuit concluded. It turned out that McFarlane did, however, own two trademarks for Miracleman logos. Gaiman and Marvels and Miracles, LLC would take action to try to block him from being able to reregister these trademarks.

In 2001, McFarlane had introduced Mike Moran (Miracleman's alter ego) in Hellspawn issue 8, with the alleged intention of returning Miracleman himself in Hellspawn issue 13. Hellspawn is an American Comic book series published by Image Comics. 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" 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 to see him at the time.

Man of Miracles was released in action-figure form in Spawn Series 29, wearing a modified Miracleman costume and bearing one of McFarlane's two trademarked logos. This has created many fan-fueled rumors.

Marvels and Miracles LLC

To aid him with the legal battle against McFarlane, Gaiman formed Marvels and Miracles LLC, a company whose goal was to clear up the ownership of Miracleman once and for all. [2] In 2002 Gaiman sued McFarlane over his unauthorized use of Miracleman, prompting McFarlane to countersue in turn. McFarlane lost the suit, and the following appeal. The case was seen as one of the single most important events in the comic industry on the issue of creator's rights. Unfortunately, it only cleared up the confusion over the characters Gaiman had created for McFarlane. The issue of Miracleman was thrown out in both the initial lawsuit and the appeal before the 7th District Court and there have been no further legal papers filed on the subject.

Gaiman had been dropping hints that should he successfully win full ownership of Miracleman from McFarlane that the name would revert back to Marvelman, the character would see a return to publication through Marvel Comics, and that Marvel would also reprint all past material. Marvel Comics is an American comic book company owned by Marvel Publishing Inc In 2002 Gaiman wrote the 1602 series for Marvel. Marvel 1602 is an eight-issue Comic book Limited series published from November 2003 to June 2004 by Marvel Comics Gaiman's profits from this series went to Marvels and Miracles LLC to aid his legal fight over Miracleman. [3] Gaiman's dedication in the collected editions of 1602 reads "For Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, with infinite admiration. For Jonathan and Lenny, comics fiends. And, of course, to Todd, for making it necessary. " Below, letterer Todd Klein thanks Gaiman for keeping him in mind, presumably to suggest that he, not McFarlane, is the beneficiary of Gaiman's remark, marking perhaps the only time a comic book letterer has submitted a dedication.

In late 2004 the A1 Sketchbook was released by Atomeka Press, in part including art from original Miracleman artist Garry Leach. Atomeka Press is a publisher of Comic books set up in 1988 by Dave Elliot and Garry Leach. Garry Leach is a British Comics artist and publisher Biography Leach studied Graphic Design at St 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 future

The character's future remains uncertain as of 2008, due to further complications which have come to light since the end of Gaiman's case against McFarlane:

Further, any reprint would have to involve Garry Leach, as his Warpsmith characters, which appear in the stories, were only "loaned" to Eclipse for their Miracleman run. Garry Leach is a British Comics artist and publisher Biography Leach studied Graphic Design at St The Warpsmiths are fictional aliens in several Science fiction Comics by Alan Moore and Garry Leach. Warpsmith solo stories have featured in A1, published by Atomeka Press. Atomeka Press is a publisher of Comic books set up in 1988 by Dave Elliot and Garry Leach.

In the December 5th 2005 edition of Rich Johnston's column, it was revealed that a character called The Man Of Miracles would feature in Spawn #150. Rich Johnston (born 21 November 1972 in Gloucester, England) is an online Columnist who writes about the Comic book industry [4] The character was errantly rumored to be a retcon of Cogliostro, a character Neil Gaiman originally created for McFarlane's Spawn series. Retroactive continuity is the deliberate changing of previously established facts in a work of serial fiction Cogliostro ("Cog" initially rendered " Cagliostro " is a supporting character in Todd McFarlane 's Spawn comic series Johnston's assertion was rebuffed on the Alan Moore Fansite:

… David Hine, the current Spawn writer, told me that he doesn't intend to have any character in Spawn whose ownership is currently contested and that as far as he is concerned, the character Man Of Miracles is not Miracleman and bears no resemblance to the character. David Hine is an English Comic book writer and artist Biogaphy He has been working in comics since the late 1980s. He has a clear idea of who the character is, which will be made clear as the book progresses. And I know both he and his friend Mark Buckingham had discussed this amicably …

An action figure of Man of Miracles was produced by McFarlane in Spawn Series 29. [5]

Eventually the new Miracleman was revealed as the Man of Miracles, also known as MoM, also known as the Mother of Creation, an ageless and androgynous being of immense power, creator of worlds and gods, who, displeased about his/her sons, God and the Devil, sided with their common creation (as the Mother believes that God may have created mankind, but it was Satan's doing in granting them free will) and stalked the Earth in several forms, perceived differently by different people. Androgyny is a term derived from the Greek words ανήρ ( anér, meaning man and γυνή ( gyné, meaning woman that can refer to either of two God is the principal or sole Deity in Religions and other belief systems that worship one deity. The Devil is the The Miracleman form is just how Al Simmons comes to perceive it for a while: other forms in which he/she is known are Jesus Christ, Maya, Shiva and un unknown anime-inspired hero, a younger Moran with platin light blonde hair as Kaworu Nagisa and un unbuttoned blue jacket. Spawn is a fictional Comic book character created by Todd McFarlane. Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE) Shiva:(pronunciation; Sanskrit: शिव Śiva, lit "Auspicious one" One of the Trimurtis Shiva is the supreme God in the Shaiva is a Fictional character from the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise.

Collections

Cover to the collected Miracleman Book 3. Art by John Totleben.
Cover to the collected Miracleman Book 3. Art by John Totleben. John Totleben (born February 16, 1958 in Erie Pennsylvania) is an American Illustrator working mostly in Comics.

All of these books are currently out of print. Out of print refers to an item typically a book (see Out of print books) but can include any print or visual media or Sound recording, that is no longer being published

References

Footnotes

  1. ^ Matthew H. Gore, The Origin of Marvelman, (Ellendale, Tennessee: Boardman Books, 2006), 24. George Khoury is a writer and interviewer in the field of Comic books Khoury's most notable works focus on UK comic book writer Alan Moore. TwoMorrows Publishing is a publisher of Magazines about Comic books, founded in 1994 by John and Pam Morrow out of their small advertising agency in Raleigh North Matthew H Gore ( 1962) is a British historian popular culturist and educator residing in Memphis Tennessee. Matthew H Gore ( 1962) is a British historian popular culturist and educator residing in Memphis Tennessee. Founded by Thomas Volney Boardman in the 1930s TV Boardman Ltd. Matthew H Gore ( 1962) is a British historian popular culturist and educator residing in Memphis Tennessee. Founded by Thomas Volney Boardman in the 1930s TV Boardman Ltd.
  2. ^ Neil Gaiman returns to comics with Marvel project, Comic Book Resources, October 24, 2001
  3. ^ Sequart.com Annotations > Annotations to Marvel 1602
  4. ^ Lying in the Gutters, by Rich Johnston, Comic Book Resources, December 5, 2005
  5. ^ http://www.creators.qcomics.net/viewtopic.php?t=27

External links

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