Miracleman #16 (Review) Miracleman and Woman Build a Lush Communist Superhero Society
Reading time: 4 minutes
Miracleman by Alan Moore is something that we have tried to cover on this site extensively. As great as that first issue of the series was, the conclusion to the run of this title by Moore and company is very different than most fans might expect. Of course, this is work by one of the smartest men in comics. When Marvel first started reprinting the series, it seemed that many people were skeptical of the work to begin with picking it up via this medium that this has been released. However, a small dose of Moore on a book that is heavy with reference material isn’t a bad thing per say. As this work is truly dense, wonderful, and lush with material each week. These collections may be a premium price, but the work featured in the back matter of the title may be worth it.
Marvel just finished their dense series of reprints on the character and we thought it was past time to take another look at the work before the next author Neil Gaiman steps on. Miracleman #16 shows some massive ideas that have proved exactly how this series has changed over the course of #15 short issues. Miracleman and Miraclewoman have turned into Adam and Eve. The two are molding their world into a society based wholly off of them. This turns into a Communist led society moderated by the strongest man and woman on the planet. Ultimately, this feels like a riff on where Superman would go if he wasn’t afraid to take full control over the entire Earth. This series has jumped onto that territory rather fast, and the juxtaposition of this issue in comparison to others is really going to send a powerful shockwave to break the expectations of readers.
Mount Olympus is the highest mountain in all of Greece, and Olympus is the name of the third book that houses this structure that Miracle family has fostered in such a short time. The Communist built land that the Miracle family has built is not without it’s advantages. The group has obliterated the poor, and destroyed the entire value concept of money. Examining what this change means for his alter ego’s marriage is a really stirring point where the narrative diverges to ultimately show the descent of Miracleman. This is such a spectacular place for Neil Gaiman to pick up after this. Will the author resume Miracleman's perfect society or destroy the house of cards that seems ready to topple over at any moment?
All of the above is great, but it would still be nothing without the incredible work of John Totleben. The illustrator has been noted to deliver work that slathers the page in an assault on sences. By far the best part of the process featured within this story is how the art mirrors Moore’s intent. The author asks a lot of the artist, and constantly stacks on the text pieces to the side. Moore can’t be an easy writer to work with, and in many ways that makes this story better. Upon making more research on the medium, many are taken aback by the marriage of text and art balanced here. Yet, reading 300-400 word lines about how this future has changed with Miracleman standing in the foreground gazing out his window is contemplative and beautiful. Sure, the approach taken to comics here is unusual, but the work merits the extra text, and Totleben always finds interesting ways to work around them.
This is a crowning achievement in the life of Miracleman and should go down as such. Moore excellently brought Mick Anglo’s character out of obscurity and into the modern comics world.
What even I didn’t know until now is that Marvel is taking what would normally be issue #17 of the Miracleman series and starting fresh with a new #1. Miracleman Book Four: The Golden Age, is now branded as a new launching point. I have no doubt that Gaiman took Moore’s continuity and expanded upon the premise, but the information here is still fresh. The next big piece of news regarding the Gaiman run is that the title is drawn by Fables artist Bill Willingham – nice! The run from Gaiman was cut short with issue #25 never seeing publication. The script was written for the title, but not drawn. Never before have we seen an age of Miracleman as golden as the one in which we are currently living in. After fantastic Morrison scripted opening featuring in All-New Miracleman #1, I am still excited to see the new stories and creative teams Marvel has in mind. At this point I’m just hoping the publisher can get a writer as good as a Morrison to stay on an ongoing title with the hero.
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