Forty years ago, Mike Moran said Kimota again. Now, the notoriously unfinished saga is returning with the delayed ending we’ve been waiting for since 1993. Your Major Spoilers review of Miracleman #0 from Marvel Comics awaits!
MIRACLEMAN #0
Writer: Neil Gaiman/Ryan Stegman/Mike Carey/Peach Momoko/Jason Aaron/Ty Templeton
Artist: Mark Buckingham/Ryan Stegman/JP Mayer/Ty Templeton/Paul Davidson/Peach Momoko/Leinil Francis Yu
Colorist: Jordie Bellaire/Sonia Oback/Antonio Fabela/Sunny Gho
Letterer: Todd Klein/VC’s Joe Caramagna/VC’s Ariana Maher
Editor: Nick Klein
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $5.99
Release Date: October 5, 2022
Previously in Miracleman: Mike Moran has a magic word that turns him into Miracleman, once a superhero, now nearly a god. After finally defeating his former sidekick, Miracleman has realized that the world he knew is gone, and it’s time for a new one. But how to bring about the new age?
KIMOTA!
Miracleman aimlessly stalks the halls of Olympus, seeking out unreality to soothe his mind, eventually finding himself in the library. Taking a stack of comic books from the shelves, Miracleman begins to read. First, he sees an alternate version of himself, wearing chains and a leather jacket, battling a cyborg version of his old ally Big Ben. It feels very much like something left over from Todd MacFarlane’s attempt to revive the character in the ’90s. Next up is a strange noir/science fiction hybrid starring Warpsmith Jakksa Gun facing a renegade Miraclebaby accused of murder, using the skills he has gotten from Earth’s old detective films. Another story tells of the miracle of Kimota, featuring the natural extension of transformation, while the final tale gives us a comic book writer best known for tales of Miracleman facing his creation in real life. The various stories leave our hero troubled and disturbed, continuing to redraft his world with the insights he has gained from fictions of himself.
AN INTERESTING MIX
The presentation of this issue as the first salvo of a fortieth-anniversary story isn’t quite accurate. Rather than a story that sets up “The Silver Age” storyline, we get more apocryphal tales of metafiction. That’s not to say that the stories aren’t entertaining, as Peach Momoko delivers a horrific Junji Ito body horror story, while Jason Aaron and Leinil Yu use the fourth wall and the multiverse concept to great effect in their story. Ty Templeton’s various efforts (one an ad for a Miracleman Saturday morning series, another a series of newspaper comic strip parodies) are amusing, but not really particularly engaging, and the first story by Ryan Stegman is a complete misfire for me. Dark and gritty art and a story that feels like somebody didn’t quite make a parody aren’t what I expected from Miracleman. The most exciting part of the issue for me is the preview at the end, revealing that Mark Buckingham has gone back to redraw the two issues released by Eclipse in the ’90s in his current style, promising the next issue later on in October.
BOTTOM LINE: VARIATIONS ON A THEME
When I sit down and think about it, though, I can’t hold the solicitation against Miracleman #0, so when I embrace what’s actually in the issue, it all evens out to slightly above average, with two good stories, one blah one, a couple of ephemeral things, and one pretty excellent part making for a better than average 3 out of 5 stars overall. Marvel has had this property for more than ten years now, with little more than some reprints on good paper to show for it, so I’m happy to see new material. I’m just chomping at the bit to get one with the story I’ve been waiting on since 1993.
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MIRACLEMAN #0
More apocrypha about Miracleman aren't what I wanted, but the creators here have a lot to show us, and best of all, it serves as a precursor to The Silver Age being finished after 20 years in limbo.
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Writing6
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Art6
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Coloring6
Once upon a time, there was a young nerd from the Midwest, who loved Matter-Eater Lad and the McKenzie Brothers... If pop culture were a maze, Matthew would be the Minotaur at its center. Were it a mall, he'd be the Food Court. Were it a parking lot, he’d be the distant Cart Corral where the weird kids gather to smoke, but that’s not important right now... Matthew enjoys body surfing (so long as the bodies are fresh), writing in the third person, and dark-eyed women. Amongst his weaponry are such diverse elements as: Fear! Surprise! Ruthless efficiency! An almost fanatical devotion to pop culture! And a nice red uniform.