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Miracleman
Miracleman is a superhero comic book series, centred on the character of the same name. Originally created by Mick Anglo and published by L. Miller & Son, Ltd. as Marvelman between 1954 and 1963, the character was revived in 1982 for a revisionist story written by Alan Moore, beginning in the pages of British anthology Warrior. From 1985 the character was renamed Miracleman, and the series was continued by American publisher Eclipse Comics until 1993. Since 2009 the rights to the character have been licensed by Marvel Comics, who have published new material.
By 1954, Hackney-based publisher L. Miller & Son, Ltd had experienced considerable success reprinting the adventures of Captain Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr., licensed from Fawcett Publications. However, legal action by DC Comics led to Fawcett cancelling the titles, cutting off Miller's source of material. Not wanting to lose two of their bestselling titles, Len Miller contacted artist Mick Anglo, whose Gower Street Studios had already created cover art for many L. Miller & Son comics. He designed the characters as the similarly powered Marvelman and Young Marvelman, with the titles renamed accordingly from their respective 25th editions. Anglo initially handled the strip himself while it was shaped before involving other artists from his studio, including Don Lawrence, Ron Embleton and Denis Gifford, who would all go on to have successful careers in the industry. The weekly comics were very successful, exceeding the sales of their predecessors, and led to several spin-offs – including a third title from October 1956, Marvelman Family, a monthly that featured Marvelman and Young Marvelman teaming up with Kid Marvelman that would run until 1959.
Sales however began to fall after the ban on importing American comics was lifted in November 1959. In 1960 they had dropped to a degree where L. Miller & Son switched the title to monthly reprint titles, and Anglo ended his relationship with Miller. Marvelman and Young Marvelman were finally cancelled after the February 1963 editions – both having reached No. 370. The publisher subsequently entered bankruptcy.
At the time of Marvelman's creation it was industry standard that British comic characters were created on a work for hire basis, with the works belonging to the publisher, The characters spent over two decades in publishing limbo based on the false premise that Anglo had sold the rights to the character in the 1980s. However, in 2009 it emerged that Anglo had actually retained the rights to the character from its initial creation in 1954.
When planning Warrior, editor Dez Skinn planned a similar set of content to his work with Marvel UK, and identified the need for the comic to have a superhero strip. Having read Marvelman as a child and having encountered Mick Anglo earlier in his career, Skinn was aware of the character's status as a historic British superhero and settled on a revival for Warrior, explaining:
It was always going to be Marvelman. I knew the character's history: I'd had a few Annuals as a kid and those cheap and nasty little comics. Wasn't particularly thrilled with them, outside of occasional stunning art, but I'd always had a soft spot for Mick Anglo ... So, given the difference between a brand-new character who would sell no more copies, or a somewhat forgotten character who might sell about a dozen more, I opted to follow the similar relaunch I'd done with Captain Britain—tease at first, then, as a bonus, surprise those who actually cared. If it failed, it was only six pages out of 52—the beauty of the anthology approach.
Skinn's first two choices to write Marvelman were Steve Parkhouse and Steve Moore. Both expressed a lack of interest, and when Moore told Skinn that his friend Alan Moore would "give his eye teeth" to write Marvelman, Skinn agreed to let him submit a pitch for the series. Alan Moore had also read Marvelman as a child before discovering DC Comics. However, as a teenager he found some of the Marvelman annuals while holidaying in Great Yarmouth, and enjoyed them more than he had expected. Also influenced by reading Harvey Kurtzman's Mad spoof "Superduperman", he was fascinated by the idea of what had happened to the fictional character in the meantime.
...realizing that since I hadn't seen an actual Marvelman since the early sixties the title had probably been discontinued, I wondered idly what Marvelman was doing these days. I was struck by the image of the eternally youthful and exuberant hero as a middle-aged man, trudging the streets and trying fruitlessly to remember his magic word.
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Miracleman
Miracleman is a superhero comic book series, centred on the character of the same name. Originally created by Mick Anglo and published by L. Miller & Son, Ltd. as Marvelman between 1954 and 1963, the character was revived in 1982 for a revisionist story written by Alan Moore, beginning in the pages of British anthology Warrior. From 1985 the character was renamed Miracleman, and the series was continued by American publisher Eclipse Comics until 1993. Since 2009 the rights to the character have been licensed by Marvel Comics, who have published new material.
By 1954, Hackney-based publisher L. Miller & Son, Ltd had experienced considerable success reprinting the adventures of Captain Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr., licensed from Fawcett Publications. However, legal action by DC Comics led to Fawcett cancelling the titles, cutting off Miller's source of material. Not wanting to lose two of their bestselling titles, Len Miller contacted artist Mick Anglo, whose Gower Street Studios had already created cover art for many L. Miller & Son comics. He designed the characters as the similarly powered Marvelman and Young Marvelman, with the titles renamed accordingly from their respective 25th editions. Anglo initially handled the strip himself while it was shaped before involving other artists from his studio, including Don Lawrence, Ron Embleton and Denis Gifford, who would all go on to have successful careers in the industry. The weekly comics were very successful, exceeding the sales of their predecessors, and led to several spin-offs – including a third title from October 1956, Marvelman Family, a monthly that featured Marvelman and Young Marvelman teaming up with Kid Marvelman that would run until 1959.
Sales however began to fall after the ban on importing American comics was lifted in November 1959. In 1960 they had dropped to a degree where L. Miller & Son switched the title to monthly reprint titles, and Anglo ended his relationship with Miller. Marvelman and Young Marvelman were finally cancelled after the February 1963 editions – both having reached No. 370. The publisher subsequently entered bankruptcy.
At the time of Marvelman's creation it was industry standard that British comic characters were created on a work for hire basis, with the works belonging to the publisher, The characters spent over two decades in publishing limbo based on the false premise that Anglo had sold the rights to the character in the 1980s. However, in 2009 it emerged that Anglo had actually retained the rights to the character from its initial creation in 1954.
When planning Warrior, editor Dez Skinn planned a similar set of content to his work with Marvel UK, and identified the need for the comic to have a superhero strip. Having read Marvelman as a child and having encountered Mick Anglo earlier in his career, Skinn was aware of the character's status as a historic British superhero and settled on a revival for Warrior, explaining:
It was always going to be Marvelman. I knew the character's history: I'd had a few Annuals as a kid and those cheap and nasty little comics. Wasn't particularly thrilled with them, outside of occasional stunning art, but I'd always had a soft spot for Mick Anglo ... So, given the difference between a brand-new character who would sell no more copies, or a somewhat forgotten character who might sell about a dozen more, I opted to follow the similar relaunch I'd done with Captain Britain—tease at first, then, as a bonus, surprise those who actually cared. If it failed, it was only six pages out of 52—the beauty of the anthology approach.
Skinn's first two choices to write Marvelman were Steve Parkhouse and Steve Moore. Both expressed a lack of interest, and when Moore told Skinn that his friend Alan Moore would "give his eye teeth" to write Marvelman, Skinn agreed to let him submit a pitch for the series. Alan Moore had also read Marvelman as a child before discovering DC Comics. However, as a teenager he found some of the Marvelman annuals while holidaying in Great Yarmouth, and enjoyed them more than he had expected. Also influenced by reading Harvey Kurtzman's Mad spoof "Superduperman", he was fascinated by the idea of what had happened to the fictional character in the meantime.
...realizing that since I hadn't seen an actual Marvelman since the early sixties the title had probably been discontinued, I wondered idly what Marvelman was doing these days. I was struck by the image of the eternally youthful and exuberant hero as a middle-aged man, trudging the streets and trying fruitlessly to remember his magic word.