Miracleman: The Silver Age #1 continues Neil Gaiman and Mark Buckingham's storyline with clever narrative and artistic touches! Miracleman, known in the UK as Marvelman, was a continuation of Captain Marvel in Marvelman #25 (1954) by Mick Anglo. Mark Moran’s transforming magic word was “Kimota!”, “atomic” backwards. He was joined by Dicky Dauntless, Young Marvelman, and Kid Marvelman, Johnny Bates, whose magic word was “Marvelman!” The series ended in 1963, but then was revived by Alan Moore and Garry Leach in the anthology, with Warrior #1 (1982). This ended in Warrior #21 (1984) with Moore’s conflict with the publisher and Marvel Comics which was Atlas Comics. Eclipse Comics started a new title with a name change with Miracleman #1 (1985). The rights were acquired by Marvel Comics and re-re-published Miracleman #1 (2014).
The Eclipse Comics run was continued by Neil Gaiman and Mark Buckingham with Miracleman #17 (1989). The run was entitled The Silver Age and suddenly ended with Book Two in Miracleman #24 (1993). So Gaiman and Buckingham will complete the mini-series with Marvel. It appears that the covers are reprints of a 2016 attempt to print The Silver Age. “The Secret Origin of Young Miracleman” is remastered from Miracleman #23 (1992). The Eclipse re-imagining had the trio of Miraclemen’s adventures implanted Dr. Emil Gargunza for Project Zarathustra. In 1963, the British government feared the Miraclemen and sent an atomic bomb that shifted Miracleman back to Mike Moran. He recovered his memory in 1982 and found that Young Miracleman was corrupted by his powers. He attacked London in 1985, but stopped by the alien Qys that gave them powers. Moran and Pantheon rebuilt the world into a Golden Age.
We begin with a narrator telling us that the setting in a South Pacific island, 2003 A.D. The date is also known as 19 E.M., the Era of Miracles, if they added Miracle Powers it would be a sly nod to atomics. The island looks like Manhattan and there is a statue of Miraclewoman flying. We move into the buildings until we get to the art deco Chrysler Building. We see a shadow which resolves as the super teen, Zapster, who gets into a playful fight against the also super-powered Jenda. These are seen in horizontal panels. Zapster wears a green outfit with a yellow cape. Jenda is an Asian girl with long pony tails, red uniform and black skirt. He slams a boulder into her, they are both smiling, when a massive, almost-Galactus profile, alien who speaks in faux Shakespeare. I like the Kirby riff. They team up and punch the alien down! The tiny form of Mist, a girl with blonde hair and a white uniform, tells them that the trio are being called back by Panorama. Zapster calls the alien Klingsor the Galaxatron, but his name is actually Duncan.
Mist casually tell them that he is waking up. Duncan transforms into a giant, alien bat. Jenda and Zapster are still arguing about their fight, he says they will return to fix the city, and they leave into the sky. The group reaches the citadel in the sky, a meeting of superheroes, and Duncan transforms into a green-haired boy. This reminds me of the Legion of Super-Heroes especially with the shapeshifter, Duncan, like Chameleon Boy. Pandora is forming a globe that will look into Young Miracleman. In a splash page, we see within the globe, Young Miracleman asleep, a Spitfire painting above him and an old fashioned television set in the foreground. We see conversations about Young Miracleman who was been dead for forty years. His body was found frozen in underspace and they are about to make him, in closeup we suddenly see Dick Dauntless eyes open! Young Miracleman adjusts to the current world. There is a Mark Buckingham section at the end of the comic. Gaiman and Buckinham’s art capture the 50’s-60’s innocence and superhero goofiness with some harsh truths and the children of the Silver Age!
Five Kimotas out of Five
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