Miracleman Book One: A Dream of Flying
Marvel Comics
Alan Moore

Have you heard of Miracleman? Even if you’re into comics chances are you haven’t. It’s a shame but it’s not your fault. Back in the golden age he was a hero called MarvelMan. He was the UK’s answer to DC’s Captain Marvel. It was your standard fun, 50’s “Wiz! Bang!” comics. Then came Alan Moore. The legendary Mr. Moore resurrected MarvelMan. Eventually, the name had to be changed to Miracleman. The series would become one of the most powerful, and important comics ever created. Thanks to legal problems, the series ended in the early 90’s while Neil Gaiman was at the helm. It was put into legal hell for decades, unable to be reprinted. In 2013 Marvel got the rights and began re-releasing both the original 50’s and the highly-anticipated Alan Moore run. I’ve been waiting to read this book for decades. My expectations had been built up. Everything I read and heard about the series rose my hopes and now I finally read it. And ya know what? It blew my expectations away.

Yes. It is that good. It is every bit as good as people have said and then some. It’s an absolutely brilliant idea. Moore (due to legal reasons is known here as, *ahem,* “The Original Writer”) took the same character from the kooky 50’s book and revived him.

After nearly twenty years of being simple Micky Moran Miracleman has returned. Twenty years of not knowing you’re the most powerful person on the planet. Twenty years of not remembering your past of fighting mad scientists and fantastically named villains. What happened twenty years ago? And what happened to his partners? Young Miracleman and Kid Miracleman. They’ve been gone for twenty years as well.

I’ll be honest. I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone. That’s as much as you’re going to get. Just read this book.

The writing is pure Alan Moore. Beautiful, dark, and smart. This take might be thirty years old and other creators might have taken ideas from it but Miracleman is still as relevant and innovative as ever. Garry Leach launched the book with Moore and his art is painstakingly gorgeous. His perfectionist style is stunning. It really is something to behold. It’s timeless. The work has been remastered only to highlight the impact his style has. Even after Alan Davis takes over, the quality never drops. Not that it would, Davis has been a top talent for as long as he’s been in the business.

Miracleman is about the biggest must-read in comics there is, mainly because so few have read it and it’s that important. And that excellent. So, read it.

 

Jo Schmidt