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uosdwisrdewoh's review against another edition
4.0
Alan Moore, accompanied by various skilled artists, continues his seminal work in this continued repackaging of his long out-of-print Miracleman run. As with the first volume, the over-the-top violence was revolutionary—and even bracing—when it was published, but it’s hard to see that clearly when it’s now obvious how it opened the door for things like Superboy Prime ripping limbs off characters in the pages of a major DC Comics storyline twenty years later. But even if the impact has been dulled by decades of imitators, Moore mixes the shocks with a degree of grace. When Miracleman bursts through a wall and bashes the heads of ex-Nazi guards together in an explosion of blood and eyeballs, it’s almost elegiac as it adorns the title of the chapter “The Wish I Wish Tonight.” Miracleman is on his way to save his wife and to face down his creator, which he does in another act of violence that Moore and Chuck Austen render almost tenderly. In other hands, these scenes would feel cheap or schlocky. Moore, though, manages to pull it off. His legendary reputation was coalescing here, and you can see why.
As with any ambitious, but pulpy, comic approaching its 40th anniversary, there are flaws, again, the most glaring being the character of Evelyn Cream. Moore attempts to give more shades to his character than the blaxploitation figure of his first appearance, but it still reads awkwardly. Cream’s inner turmoil in wrestling with the caricatures of racism reads more like Moore himself wrestling with these ideas through the device of a Black character whose main trait is his blackness.
And again I must take note of the steep price set by Marvel to read this work. It’s available online for a bit cheaper (if you want to deal with the nightmare that’s Amazon’s new Comixology interface), but to get this edition in print, you’ll pay $34.99 for 122 pages of story. The book does include nearly 100 pages of bonus material, but these are mostly uncolored process artwork, which are mildly interesting but not revelatory. They definitely don’t justify the expense. The book itself is well worth reading as a cornerstone of modern comics. Just try to find a discount copy if you don’t want to feel a bit ripped off.
As with any ambitious, but pulpy, comic approaching its 40th anniversary, there are flaws, again, the most glaring being the character of Evelyn Cream. Moore attempts to give more shades to his character than the blaxploitation figure of his first appearance, but it still reads awkwardly. Cream’s inner turmoil in wrestling with the caricatures of racism reads more like Moore himself wrestling with these ideas through the device of a Black character whose main trait is his blackness.
And again I must take note of the steep price set by Marvel to read this work. It’s available online for a bit cheaper (if you want to deal with the nightmare that’s Amazon’s new Comixology interface), but to get this edition in print, you’ll pay $34.99 for 122 pages of story. The book does include nearly 100 pages of bonus material, but these are mostly uncolored process artwork, which are mildly interesting but not revelatory. They definitely don’t justify the expense. The book itself is well worth reading as a cornerstone of modern comics. Just try to find a discount copy if you don’t want to feel a bit ripped off.
treading's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
jammasterjamie's review against another edition
5.0
God damn, this series is good, and the resonance of its influence to this day forty years later is obvious.
some_okie_dude27's review against another edition
(Minor Spoilers)
Moore continues strong with the second volume of his first major superhero deconstruction Miracleman, where he took a British Captain Marvel/Shazam knock off and turned him into a postmodern reflection on the state of the superhero and how a superhuman would be viewed in a real credible world, and how they ascend into being a god. I could even argue that it rivals its spiritual sequel Watchmen in sense of power and scope that Moore brings to the table, now I'll be the first to admit that it's not a perfect work, and it's actually quite different than Watchmen, in sense of style and what it's about.
While the first arc revolved around a god awakening, the second examines a god learning about where he came from, and how it might not have been as ridiculous as he initially thought. We meet Emil Gargunza, a genius and the man who created the Miracleman family in order to gain godhood himself. He proves to be as demented as he exhibits his perverse plan to Liz Moran, who is now with child, the first naturally born superhuman in the world. Miracleman and his new ally, the assassin Evelyn Cream, who goes through a wonderfully written redemption arc as he sacrifices himself in order to save Miracleman and his wife. Moore's prose, along with Alan Davis' exceptional art, is magnificent, despite Moore's flaws with his habit of telling too much and not showing as much as he could, comics is a visual medium. But, I overlook those rather frivolous flaws in order to talk about Moore's actual storytelling. I'm constantly in awe with Moore's bringing a sense of reason into a concept that's clearly mad, which is what followers of Moore like Grant Morrison would replicate to mixed success. It's almost like nobody else can truly do what Moore can do with his examinations of our modern mythology with the superhero, he brings a sense of rationality to the concept that's rarely ever seen.
But with the awe that comes with the superhero, comes the horror following right along on its tail. Moore puts in subtle and not so subtle hints in how terrifying a superhero could be if thrown into the real world, as Miracleman slaughters his way through Gargunza's goons in increasingly grotesque fashion, and even has a grim sense of enjoyment for the task of murder, as he seems to grow desensitized to the harm that he bestows among the men that's harming his family. He may be justified, but you find yourself starting to question Miracleman's actions. You certainly understand where Miracleman is coming from, but as Moore tends to do, he often has you questioning the hero's actions and making you ask yourself on if you should really root for this man or not.
Moore also begins to plant the seeds for Miracleman's descent into godhood and his slow divorce away from humanity, which will be hit much more harder as soon as we'll get into the third and final trade of Alan's run. Miracleman is a person who wants to do the right thing, as is the case with a lot of Alan Moore's characters, but often tries to do it in ways that are morally questionable, but Moore also shows the fact that Miracleman is not always considering the morality of man, but rather of a being that is, in many ways, 'better' than mundane humanity.
But the question remains, is he really?
rebus's review against another edition
4.75
I probably waited too long between volumes, but I found that didn't in the slightest diminish my enjoyment of Moore's run on the title. Amusing references to Warren Zevon and Heidegger abound, reminding us that true humanity is not bowing down to the external world. There's also mention of a semi-literate engineer.
Sheldon Cooper would be proud.
Sheldon Cooper would be proud.
ivan_tw's review against another edition
3.0
The middle section of the trilogy, admittedly weaker than those surrounding it. Chuck Beckham's art is very basic and traditional, and when compared to Garry Leach's preceding darkness, and John Totelben's succeeding kaleidoscope, his 'How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way' style doesn't hold up. Even Moore seems like he's not on his A-game, Miracleman's battle with Gargunza, while satisfying and poetic, feels too simple and typical for the man who reinvented comics. Of course, it's still written (if not maybe drawn) better than anything else out there, especially at the time, and both art and story picks up in the last couple issues after the Gargunza arc is dealt with, when Moore brings in alien shapeshifters into the mixture. Still excellent and an integral part of the overall trilogy, Miracleman book 2 reminds us that even Alan Moore can be rote sometimes.
verkisto's review against another edition
4.0
(This review is for all three volumes written by Alan Moore. Potential spoilers may follow.)
I first read Miracleman long after I had read Watchmen, and around the time when I decided to read more of Alan Moore's work. Given that Miracleman is basically Watchmen v0.1, I wound up reading the works out of order, but I liked them enough that when the series was finally getting reprinted last year, I started buying them up to re-read them all together. Since The Golden Age finally saw print last month, I decided to sit down and make my way through the series again.
Ultimately, Watchmen is Moore's magnum opus. It takes the ideas that he started examining in Miracleman and Swamp Thing and forms them into a complex analysis of comic book heroes, comic books, and politics, all while telling an engaging, compelling story. It's just a shame that it was the first of Moore's works I read, since all the other stories he's told using these ideas pale in comparison to it.
Miracleman was Moore's first attempt at deconstructing the superhero mythos, and there's no denying that he did a great job with it. When a hero comes along with abilities that make him god-like, it's logical that they would become like gods. Moore takes another version of Superman and does just that with him. When someone with that kind of power exists, and sees ways to improve the world, why wouldn't he do it? Why wouldn't he step in and say "This is how we're going to do things, because if we don't, I have the power to make it happen regardless"? Once the heroes are public, and their strengths are common knowledge, how would one avoid that kind of conclusion?
The opposite side of that coin is someone with that kind of power without any kind of moral compass, which Moore also addresses with the character of Kid Miracleman. That character is one who has internalized his suffering, blaming others for his own pain, so when he has the opportunity to take his revenge, he does so, without remorse, regret, or concern over anyone who gets in his way. Since there are only a handful of others who can survive against such a superhuman onslaught, several innocents are killed in that revenge. Moore doesn't shy away from showing the horrors of such an act, but neither does he shy away from showing the aftermath of it. Some story arcs would approach that story, end it, and then move on. Look at how The Avengers ended, with widespread destruction and (presumably) thousands of deaths. It's all ignored to focus on the victory of the heroes. And it's not at all realistic. Moore attempts to make it realistic, and he succeeds.
The origin story for the Miracleman Family is a little ridiculous, which can be forgiven, since Moore was working within the confines of the original origins of the characters and attempting to create a new mythos while keeping the existing canon in place (see also how he did the same to Swamp Thing). The explanation he creates makes about as much sense as it can, given those constraints, and it makes as much sense as other superhero origin stories.
As good as Moore's run on Miracleman was (and continues to be), it's simply not as good as Watchmen. Considering, though, that Miracleman is still a four-star story when compared to the five-star story of Watchmen, Miracleman is still a story worth reading and examining. I just wish I had read them in the proper order so I could have experienced Moore's development over the course of all his works.
I first read Miracleman long after I had read Watchmen, and around the time when I decided to read more of Alan Moore's work. Given that Miracleman is basically Watchmen v0.1, I wound up reading the works out of order, but I liked them enough that when the series was finally getting reprinted last year, I started buying them up to re-read them all together. Since The Golden Age finally saw print last month, I decided to sit down and make my way through the series again.
Ultimately, Watchmen is Moore's magnum opus. It takes the ideas that he started examining in Miracleman and Swamp Thing and forms them into a complex analysis of comic book heroes, comic books, and politics, all while telling an engaging, compelling story. It's just a shame that it was the first of Moore's works I read, since all the other stories he's told using these ideas pale in comparison to it.
Miracleman was Moore's first attempt at deconstructing the superhero mythos, and there's no denying that he did a great job with it. When a hero comes along with abilities that make him god-like, it's logical that they would become like gods. Moore takes another version of Superman and does just that with him. When someone with that kind of power exists, and sees ways to improve the world, why wouldn't he do it? Why wouldn't he step in and say "This is how we're going to do things, because if we don't, I have the power to make it happen regardless"? Once the heroes are public, and their strengths are common knowledge, how would one avoid that kind of conclusion?
The opposite side of that coin is someone with that kind of power without any kind of moral compass, which Moore also addresses with the character of Kid Miracleman. That character is one who has internalized his suffering, blaming others for his own pain, so when he has the opportunity to take his revenge, he does so, without remorse, regret, or concern over anyone who gets in his way. Since there are only a handful of others who can survive against such a superhuman onslaught, several innocents are killed in that revenge. Moore doesn't shy away from showing the horrors of such an act, but neither does he shy away from showing the aftermath of it. Some story arcs would approach that story, end it, and then move on. Look at how The Avengers ended, with widespread destruction and (presumably) thousands of deaths. It's all ignored to focus on the victory of the heroes. And it's not at all realistic. Moore attempts to make it realistic, and he succeeds.
The origin story for the Miracleman Family is a little ridiculous, which can be forgiven, since Moore was working within the confines of the original origins of the characters and attempting to create a new mythos while keeping the existing canon in place (see also how he did the same to Swamp Thing). The explanation he creates makes about as much sense as it can, given those constraints, and it makes as much sense as other superhero origin stories.
As good as Moore's run on Miracleman was (and continues to be), it's simply not as good as Watchmen. Considering, though, that Miracleman is still a four-star story when compared to the five-star story of Watchmen, Miracleman is still a story worth reading and examining. I just wish I had read them in the proper order so I could have experienced Moore's development over the course of all his works.
thecommonswings's review against another edition
4.0
Blimey. On one level this volume keeps up the brilliance of the first, with a properly new and interesting take on the superhero origin story (and confirming for me how much Grant Morrison used this as the jumping off point for Zenith rather than Watchmen) complete with a lovely Captain Marvel/ Shazam joke tucked away in one frame.
The problems are twofold: firstly the change of artists. Rick Veitch and Rick Bryant do fine, spidery, sinewy work which feels a natural fit with the predecessors. And obviously John Ridgway is a perfect fit for the innocent flights of fancy stories. But Chuck Austen, although technically obviously very skilled, does these wooden, ugly cliched figures which manage to badly mangle a sequence that demanded far more careful handling.
The other problem is far more worrying and that’s Alan Moore *yet again* using sexual assault for cheap plot progression where it’s totally unnecessary. Just because Moore is a more sophisticated writer doesn’t stop it from just being a fancy version of fridging. And he keeps doing it throughout his career and it’s really ugly
The problems are twofold: firstly the change of artists. Rick Veitch and Rick Bryant do fine, spidery, sinewy work which feels a natural fit with the predecessors. And obviously John Ridgway is a perfect fit for the innocent flights of fancy stories. But Chuck Austen, although technically obviously very skilled, does these wooden, ugly cliched figures which manage to badly mangle a sequence that demanded far more careful handling.
The other problem is far more worrying and that’s Alan Moore *yet again* using sexual assault for cheap plot progression where it’s totally unnecessary. Just because Moore is a more sophisticated writer doesn’t stop it from just being a fancy version of fridging. And he keeps doing it throughout his career and it’s really ugly
ipacho's review against another edition
5.0
The awesomeness took new amazing heights in this volume. Love it!