Miracleman and other comics

You know, I was actually working on a book a few minutes ago, but I had to take a quick break to alert you to this:

http://ifanboy.com/podcasts/video/iFanboy_-_Episode__129_-_Miracleman

This is a video podcast about Miracleman. My most favoritest comic book character ever. He’s a cheap rip off of Captain Marvel (who the general public will know as Shazam) who is a cheap rip off of Superman.

But Alan Moore and his artists took the material to someplace deep, philosophical, brutal, fierce, and magical. They took a completely stupid concept and Alan Moore ran with it. He made it into something logical, believable, and it took your breath away. A host of artists worked on it, some better than others, but in general, the art was a labor of love for these guys and it showed.

Because of rights disputes to who owned the character, the issues stopped at 24. The next issue is actually all written and drawn but not colored yet. The creator is fighting for his right to publish it but it’s been tied up in courts for years as to who actually owns the right to publish Miracleman stories.

At one point, since my book was no longer in print, it became a rare book and sold for over a hundred dollars on Ebay and Amazon. Miracleman is having the same type of value boom. The guys at iFanboy call it “the greatest work in comics that you have never read.”

Because I’m old, I’ve read it. I have the entire series, which lists on Ebay for $599.99. I have five copies of issue number one. Why? Well, I bought one. Then a friend gave me his collection and there was one in there. Then one day I was looking through the dollar bin and found three more. I bought all three. Not because I thought they would ever be worth anything, but because I loved them. No one realized how great they were until little known Alan Moore started getting attention and people thought “OMG, I have to have everything this guy has ever written!”

I guess I might as well continue about comics for a few minutes and make this an actual blog post for comic fans.

Will there ever be a more Golden age for comics than the 80's? The Dark Pheonix Saga, Nexus, Badger, Miracleman, Superman at his best, Hulk by Peter David, art and some stories by John Byrne before his lost his goddamn mind, Sandman, Secret Wars, Alan Moore's Swamp Thing, Watchmen, Frank Miller's Daredevil, The Dark Knight and more! OMG it was the best of times for comic fans. I dare anyone to tell me a better decade for comics.

Irredeemable- Concept: What if Superman turned evil one day? And killed ten million people out of built up frustration with the human race. It’s an interesting concept because you would need the combined might of all the super villains and all the super-heroes combined in order to take down Superman. Flash, Batman, Green Arrow, Captain Marvel, Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern, everyone. One of the greatest weaknesses Superman has is his friends. I remember one fantastic scene Brainiac came up with where he captures Jimmy Olson, Lois Lane and Perry White and put them in a box, with oxygen, deep under the sea. I remember Superman coming to save them and Brainiac saying “Wait! Think! If you let in the water, they will be crushed by the immense pressure. If you try to take them to the top too fast they’ll get severe bends and die.”

Of course, if Superman doesn’t care about his friends anymore, and in fact starts killing them, what do you do?

The story is interesting, and I like where Waid is going with the back-story and the ramifications of having a super villain so powerful and so ruthless, but I disagree with his choice to have a villain and a superhero show up in later issues that are as powerful as The Plutonian (This story’s Superman.) I’d much rather see fifteen heroes gang up and try to take down The Plutonian through powers and guile.

The latest issue is powerful because The Plutonian visits his first foster family. They returned him to the foster home one day and then moved and never spoke out loud again for the next twenty years for fear that he would hear them. They have been writing everything to each other for decades. The reason why they returned him to foster care is heartbreaking.

The Walking Dead – Concept: If someone dies, they become a zombie. The more people die, the more zombies there are. In about two years civilization has collapsed and 90% of the population is zombies. No one knows why but the author hints that there is a reason and a possible cure. Follow Rick and his band of survivors across America looking for food, sanctuary, a safe place to rest, and possibly other survivors that still hold some shred of decency in an insane world.

This series reminds me of the book “A Song of Ice and Fire” in the sense that the author (Robert Kirkman) isn’t afraid to kill off anyone. Have you been with the story for fifty issues? Are you married to the main character? You are The Hero’s best friend? Even you’re not safe! No one is safe! You could be killed off this issue!

The story has been well-plotted for sixty issues, the dialogue clever and realistic, the situations ever changing and each issue leaves you slavering for the next one.

Red Hulk – Concept: There’s a new Hulk and he’s red. He punches The Watcher. Can you please just go away Jeff Loeb? Awful.

Superman- Concept: I have no idea! It’s just crazy-town! There’s the Legion of Super Heroes from the future, New Krypton, no Superman, two or three Superboys, The Guardian and Mon-el. I have no idea what’s going on.