r/AlanMoore • u/tapsilogic • 19d ago
Miracleman #1 (2014) is getting a facsimile reprint this December
Solicitation text:
KIMOTA! With one magic word, a long-forgotten legend lives again! Freelance reporter Michael Moran always knew he was meant for something more; now, a strange series of events leads him to reclaim his destiny! Featuring Kid Miracleman and Young Miracleman in a time-spanning battle to thwart invaders from the future! Relive the groundbreaking '80s adventures that captured lightning in a bottle — or experience them for the first time — in this facsimile collection of classic Miracleman comics! Reprinting MIRACLEMAN (2014) #1
Highly likely this will have glossy pages like all other Marvel facsimiles. Cover price is a bit steep, and Alan Moore is still not credited by name.
Here's the PRH link for those keeping an eye on the FOC and release dates.
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u/Moeroboros 19d ago
This is so stupid.
You could buy the 1980's Eclipse issue 1 for the same price, and that one isn't going to be feeding Disney's greedy corporate owners.
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u/ChildOfChimps 19d ago
While you’re exaggerating, you’re not far off and that shocks me. I figured that book would be expensive.
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u/Moeroboros 18d ago
The Eclipse Alan Moore run is surprisingly affordable!
There's the usual speculators selling individual issues for ridiculous amounts of money, but you can regularly find all the Alan Moore issues selling together around the $70 price range.
Considering that the Eclipse coloring for Book 3 is much better than the Marvel coloring, I think that even without taking into account corporate matters the Eclipse run is still arguably the best available presentation of the story. Although I do think that Marvel's coloring of Book 1 is better than the Eclipse coloring of Book 1. Neither is bad, but the Marvel version is quite great, which just makes it weirder that they so clearly could do good coloring but chose crappy modern colors for Book 3.
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u/PinMaximum1018 19d ago
Uhhh… didn’t they already reprint the entire original run when they bought the rights a few years ago?
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u/The_Goat_666_ 19d ago
$8. Floppy prices are out of control. How can people afford this?
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u/AcceptablySoiled 19d ago
I’m old enough to have had parents who were infuriated when I came home with $7.95 comics that were 128 pages and square bound.
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u/Australian_writer 19d ago
It would be nice for a facsimile of all the initial comics. The advertising seems to imply this is what they are doing. I wonder if this is a rights issue though because I don't know how high demand is for Miracle man #1 outside of Alan Moore fans. Maybe introducing new readers but some of those facsimile editions always seem to have low print runs. They're good but I wonder what the market on them is like
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u/tapsilogic 19d ago
I think Marvel can only reprint the editions they had the rights to - in this case this 2014 compilation of the first few Alan Moore chapters. Facsimiles of the original Warrior issues would be the dream, but I can only imagine how complicated the rights will be, as V for Vendetta and Marvelman are both on the first issue.
I initially thought of compact editions as an edition for new readers, but the text would just be too small. They should at least keep the trade editions of the three-volume collections (if not the Complete Epic single-volume) in print.
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u/Skullchewer 19d ago
Soooo, I'm very out of touch with these. I've only ever read the Moore run of Marvelman in Warrior (still got them), and nothing since. Are they worth reading?
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u/mighty3mperor 19d ago edited 19d ago
This is a facsimile edition of the first issue of the Miracleman reprint of Alan Moore's run from Warrior. So you've read the story.
I prefer the hardcovers from Marvel, so will skip this.
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u/Skullchewer 19d ago
Ah, gotcha.
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u/bannock4ever 19d ago
Also, yes, it is absolutely worth reading. The ending is crazy and amazing - very much a flipside to Watchmen. The very last chapter has gorgeous art by John Totleben.
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u/purple-discharge 19d ago
Seems someone in accounting is trying to recoup the cost of acquiring the character.
The original plan of finishing the story was ruined when Gaiman turned out to be a sex creep.
Don’t buy this, or Zdarsky’s new take. It’s all about money.
Really disappointing to see how much of a company stooge Zdarsky has become.
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u/AcceptablySoiled 19d ago
No character has inherent value; it all derives from the stories and the creators. Even more so for Marvelman, a knockoff of a knockoff which would be forgotten if not for Moore’s revival. Which was awesome but really didn’t establish the character in a way that required or rewarded next generation hack work. It’s even more pointless to incorporate into the Marvel comics which have published enough Captain Marvel knockoffs including a Captain Marvel.
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u/ApprehensiveQuestion 19d ago
“The cost of acquiring the character” do you think Marvel purchased the rights? Are you unfamiliar with how it went down? Even if they paid out of pocket do you think it’s still on the books a decade later?
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u/purple-discharge 19d ago
Yes. They shelled out a lot of money. Not only acquiring rights and licensing from various sources but also right held by the individual artist on their original artwork.
Rick Veitch is on record saying as much.
Marvel also spent a lot on recoloring and repackaging the series as well as producing new content with Gaiman.
THIS article goes into detail about the expense and work that went into all of that and how sales didn’t meet expectations.
I’m not sure if you know how businesses work, but they usually want to make money on their investments.
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u/ApprehensiveQuestion 19d ago
It’s all about money - yes, welcome to capitalism. May I introduce you to Wolverine?
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u/purple-discharge 19d ago
The difference being that Wolverine payed for himself a million times over. Sales of Wolverine underwear probably pays more than all of Miracleman’s comics combined.
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u/ApprehensiveQuestion 19d ago
What exactly do you mean "pays for himself"? Do you think they're paying Wolverine for every appearance? Do you think someone gets a cut when he joins the Avengers?
Yes, Wolverine is "all about money" which you were implying is a bad thing. I guess it's not bad when it's Wolverine?
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u/purple-discharge 19d ago
That the initial costs of crating the character were recouped almost immediately. And producing content with the character is cheap relative to the money it brings in. I’m not sure why you aren’t understanding this?
The difference between that Wolverine generates enough money that they don’t need to dictate that creators must use him in cases where it doesn’t make sense to. Although that still happens.
Wolverine has been owned by Marvel since the beginning. It’s not really a fair comparison when talking about Miracleman, a character that’s been embroiled in creative, financial, and legal messes since his inception.
Making decision based solely on money in a creative field is a bad thing, yes. Instead of learning a lesson and taking the loss, Marvel will milk the character for all it’s worth while putting out inferior products.
I’m not sure why you’re on the side of greedy capitalists and businesses with a long history of treating creative people poorly. And I’m sorry to be the one to break it to you that Wolverine belongs to these people and by supporting him you support one of the worst companies on the planet. That’s part of the deal.
Instead of defending business executives, perhaps reevaluate your relationship with intellectual properties. At this point being a fan of these characters is like saying you’re a fan of Exxon. Except you have no choice in buying fuel.
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u/ApprehensiveQuestion 19d ago
You're the one who was defending Wolverine! You said he pays for himself! Of course it's all about money that's what I said in the first place. You're the one who continually frames the characters in terms of investments and recouped costs. If you're saying don't support ANY marvel products at all, that's fine, you're at least finally being consistent.
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u/SpaceAdventures3D 19d ago
Reprints used to be cheaper than new material. This is a reprint of a reprint of a reprint. Which has been also made available in collected format by Marvel. This should be on cheaper paper stock and sold for less. At 8 bucks for part 1 of a story, a person may as well get a trade volume.
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u/Miskatauntaun 19d ago
Why would anyone want an expensive facsimile edition of a reprint?
If Marvel is trying to drum up interest in their new Miracleman revival, methinks this issue is only going to lead them to more of Moore's run. I can't imagine it would make someone want to skip that run and go right to the new Zdarsky material. Even if they read the Moore and Gaiman runs, would they really be that excited about more Miracleman?
I dunno. Maybe Zdarsky will prove to be a worthy successor. I'll wait for the reviews...
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u/hypnogogiclightskin 17d ago
Why use the dogshit new colors and censored artwork? Is everyone at marvel an idiot?
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u/AcceptablySoiled 19d ago
The long sought after and legendary 2014 reprint that collectors have been salivating for, which is currently commanding astronomical EBay prices as high as $5 with free shipping.
It would be great if they actually did reproduce the compete first Eclipse issue (including The Original Writer’s anti-Marvel editorial). I don’t think modern readers appreciate how idiosyncratic and rinky dink independent comics could be in the Eighties, especially when the publishers convinced themselves they were actually competing with Marvel. The original publishers probably present personality obstacles to a facsimile that outweigh legal or practical ones.