Joe Quesada made a big announcement at his Cup o’ Joe panel, marking the return of one of the most contended characters in comics history: Marvelman. Ironically, the venerable Brit character was called Miracleman in its Alan Moore/Gary Leach incarnation because Marvel made Eclipse change the title back in the day — an act that so angered Moore that he vowed to never work for Marvel.
The character has since been in a rights battle between Todd McFarlane (who purchased Eclipse’s assets), Neil Gaiman, and the original character creator, Mick Anglo. While the Marvel announcement makes it sounds like the rights matter has been cleared up, there was amazement on the show floor that this had actually happened, the event being roughly analogous to ice cubes freezing in Satan’s back yard. Developing, but PR below:
The biggest news of Comic Con International in San Diego was revealed moments ago and jaws are still on the floor—the world-renowned super hero Marvelman is now part of the Marvel Comics family! Marvel Comics has purchased the rights to Marvelman from creator Mick Anglo and his representatives, finding a home for one of the most sought after heroes in graphic fiction!“It is an honor to work with Mick Anglo to bring his creation to a larger audience than ever before,” said Dan Buckley, CEO & Publisher, Print, Animation & Digital Media, Marvel Entertainment Inc. “Fans are in for something special as they discover just what makes Marvelman such an important character in comic book history.”
Originally created in 1954 by Mick Anglo and appearing in some of the most celebrated comic stories of all time, Marvelman is Micky Moran, a young reporter gifted with the power to save the world by simply uttering the word “kimota”!
“I did not think it would ever happen,” said Mick Anglo. “It’s a wonderful thing to see my creation finally back.”
Marvelman is back and he’s found a new home at Marvel Comics! What’s next for Mick Anglo’s legendary creation? Stay tuned to Marvel.Com (http://www.marvel.com/news/comicstories.8869) for all the news on Marvelman and this exciting new addition to the Marvel family!
And to join in the celebration, visit the Marvel Shop (http://shop.marvel.com) to purchase limited edition Marvelman t-shirts! Plus, this September, don’t miss the Marvelman by Quesada Poster exclusively at comic shops everywhere!
Great Marvel can ruin another character! Now did they get the rights to reprint all the Alan Moore/Neil Gaiman stories as well? Now that would be a huge scoop!
When does the movie come out???
Hey, it’s Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness’s Miracleman.
/nightmare scenario :>
Coming Soon From The Anti-Christ of Comics: Marvelman ponders life and meaning while whooping Hulk’s butt all for the approval of FRICKIN NORMAN OSBORN
BLECH
Rich Johnston did a piece today that mentions the uncertainty about whether Marvel will obtain the rights to reprint anything more than Anglo’s original material:
If they can reprint the Moore/Gaiman issues in an Absolute Edition Hardcover, then MM can be in a comic or movie with Powerpack for all I care!
If someone wants Moore’s complete run on MIRACLEMAN (#1-#24) without waiting, it can be had for a mere $700.
SRS
I wonder what I can get for the Miracleman book 1 HC. I think I have all the trades and all the issues, IIRC.
Good to hear that this stuff is back in print… depressing to hear that no one who created it owns a piece of it any more. I hope Mr. Angelo made a mint, though… and I hope Marvel treats Moore, Buckingham, Gaiman and the other creators with the respect and paychecks they deserve.
Moore only did the first 16 issues. Last year’s Overstreet says $219.
I’m worried about the commercial prospects of the 50’s MM; that’s trite material, and I have a hard time seeing selling more than a copy or two of any of that.
Reprints of the Moore or Gaiman material will selling triple digits at my store, I suspect.
Reprinting the 50s material BEFORE the Moore/Gaiman stuff is pretty likely to decrease the market for the Moore/Gaiman material — there’s a huge chunk of the market that doesn’t know MM from, say, The Sentry.
-B
I don’t understand all the rights, but… The Eclipse title was split three ways: author, artist, publisher. Moore transfered author rights to Gaiman. Gaiman traded rights to Angela for the publisher’s rights to MM (that was the basis of the lawsuit). I think Buckingham controlled the artist’s rights last.
1602 was written to finance the lawsuit. Gaiman, Buckingham, and Marvel have a decent relationship.
Marvel could license the reprint rights to another publisher (IDW? Titan?) to placate Moore, or Moore could channel his royalties to the artists involved, as he did with the movies he dislikes.
Any word from Neil Gaiman? Marvel should ask him first. (He has stated he would prefer not to write serialized fiction again, although min-series are a possibility, as MM was plotted into three ages by Gaiman.)
If Marvel decides to reboot, then the character should exist as an Icon or Epic property, completely separate from Marvel continuity.
…and Captain Britain and MI-13 just ended. That would have been a natural way to introduce him to the Marvel Universe!
Maybe there’ll be some retro stories where Silver Age Marvelman and co. meet up with Silver Age Sentry and Silver Age Blue Marvel.
Oh, boy!
On second thought, maybe he’d be better off under the Icon imprint, but that’d be a poor way to recoup the money they shelled out for him. Maybe there could be 2 Marvelman continuities: an Icon/Ultimate Marvelman where the Warrior Magazine sensibilities could continue, and a Marvel Universe version where he could meet up with Captain Britain and Spider-Man.
oh Marvel, please don’t f–k this up.
A couple of weeks ago Neil Gaiman was in Toronto and during the Q&A he said that he hoped his and Alan Moore’s take on the Marvel would be reprinted sometime in his life time, but he wasn’t holding his breath with how much of a legal minefield it all was. He mentioned that he would love to finish the story that he started way back when and has all sorts of story notes from back when he was writing the series. Given his attitude back then, either this news is a new development or Gaiman just found out recently what Marvel is doing.
Here’s Gaiman’s twitter reaction to the news:
http://twitter.com/neilhimself/statuses/2829320394
Re Marvelman: I think it’s great news that Mick Anglo’s creations is going to be seen again, and hopeful that my work & Bucky’s will be back
http://twitter.com/neilhimself/statuses/2830274665
@comicazepep they bought them from Mick Anglo’s representatives. Todd mcfarlane could still sue everyone but I hope he won’t.
Of course, how will Marvel acquire the film from McFarlane? Or can they get it from Dez Skinn?
Buckingham and Gaiman seem to be willing to produce more work. Moore has said publicly that his royalties should go to Nick Anglo.
Truth to tell, I liked Miracleman a lot, but think DC doing T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents is a lot more interesting — though both properties will be extremely easy to screw up.
Obviously the needed to acquire these rights before securing the rights to the Moore and Gaiman material, which is the goal.
‘Nuff said!
I think the Quesada drawing above says a lot… Notice the “MM” logo is the original one, not the 80s version. That means they haven’t acquired the rights to those stories yet.
Why… it’s a Miracle! Now we can see Marvelman go straight into the capable hands of Tom Defalco or Jeph Loeb! I hate to be one of the naysayers, but we do have 5 years or so of past Marvel blunders to remind us that Quesada should be fired.
Is it really possible for Marvel to ruin the character? Is the uncertainty of Marvel’s ability to reprint stories (because if that is all marvel is ever able to do is to reprint the old stories due to being unable to resolve the legal issues), or to tell new stories with a comic character, does that make the stories that have already been told less good? Aren’t these stories supposed to be retold, and told differently, and told again in a way that only hints at the original version with a kind of come later nostalgia for the characters while reinventing them for a new society?
I consider Tim Burton’s Willy Wonka to be an absolute travesty, a cardinal sin, and a purely evil affront to good taste, the minds of children, and eyes, but it doesn’t do anything to diminish how good the version with Gene Wilder is.
You know, IF they print it, or IF they make new stories, and the stories reduce the minds of its readers to useless gobs (assuming they aren’t already like that), then yes, have at it, flay them. But at least let them run the race. Don’t shoot the damn horse the moment it is born.
A little correction to the statement that “Marvel made Eclipse change the title back in the day.” Not true. When I decided to publish Alan Moore’s “Marvelman” in the U.S. in the ’80s, I had no contact whatsoever with Marvel. Logic told me that publication of a character named “Marvelman” would undoubtedly infringe upon any number of trademarks owned by Marvel. Eclipse decided, with the approval of Alan Moore, Garry Leach, and Dez Skinn, to change the name to “Miracleman.” Eclipse then registered a trademark for the new name and logo in the U.S.. No one — Marvel included — challenged the trademark.
And doesnt Mcfarlane actually own a copyright on the Miracleman logo? And that is really the only legal thing he can lay claim to regarding Marvelman/Miracleman? That is the reason why Marvel is using the old logo, I believe. Because if they use the modern one, they obviously give Mcfarlane something to sue over. Am I wrong?
The Wikipedia entry is quite detailed, although it includes the (erroneous) statement that Marvel forced the “Miracleman” name change.
SRS
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