Announced at Vulture, Marvel will be releasing the first of what is probably many new “Miracleman” comics in the form of an Annual, to be released on New Year’s Eve. Included in the book will be a story written by Grant Morrison (famously written in the 80’s, and the supposed beginning of the long-running beef between Morrison and Moore) and newly illustrated by Joe Quesada as well as a new “Miracleman” story written by Peter Milligan and illustrated by Mike Allred, the dynamic duo of “X-Statix.” The whole thing will be wrapped in a cover by Gabriele Dell’Otto and a variant by Jeff Smith, as seen above. Suffice it to say, this is a pretty big deal.
The way it has come about is pretty interesting. As mentioned, Morrison had at one time been slated to write “Miracleman” after Moore, but when writing Moore about it to ask if he could have his blessing, the blessing wasn’t given. With all the rights and scripts and everything else for “Miracleman” coming to Marvel, Quesada contacted Morrison about the script in order to have it actually illustrated, with Morrison only agreeing to do it if Quesada himself draws it. Focusing on Johnny Bates before the tumultuous cataclysm that comes with Moore’s finale on the series, it’s certainly going to be interesting to see what Morrison had to say 30 years ago on the character, and whether it will be as timeless as Moore’s writing on the series has been.
Of course, that we get a new Milligan/Allred jam is also quite exciting, as Milligan came out of the same general school of thought Morrison did and, well, “X-Statix” is the best. Promising something that is more along the lines with the early Anglo-era of “Miracleman,” Milligan refers to the story as an homage to what “Miracleman” used to be before it became all grim and gritty in the 80s.
The “Miracleman” Annual will arrive in stores on New Year’s Eve. The article also notes that Marvel is still on track to have Neil Gaiman write the finale of his original run, which dropped off the map at issue #24, so this is just a great day for everyone who likes “Miracleman” it seems.
