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Bagged & Boarded #4 - Miracleman
The 1980's was a goofy time for fashion and music. For comic books, it was a time to grow up just a little. The 80's has been dubbed the "grim 'n gritty" era, a decade where superheroes grew more darker and violent than ever. By the end of the 80's and early 90's, the most popular characters were, arguably, the Punisher, Ghost Rider, and Wolverine thanks to their ruthless, no-nonsense tactics and the more wholesome, clean-cut books like Superman, Captain America, and Fantastic Four were on the outs. Unfortunately, the majority of creators and fans missed the point entirely of the books that started this movement.You can point to Superman as the starting point for The Golden Age of comics and most people point to the first appearance of Barry Allen, the second Flash, as the beginning of the Silver Age. Alan Moore's revamp of Miracleman could definitely be classified as the foundation of this latest dark age, a movement that would be equivalent to the 70's cinematic revolution that saw films like Chinatown, Taxi Driver, The French Connection, Apocalypse Now, and The Godfather being made. Moore would completely deconstruct the superhero genre and psychologically break down the hero.
The genesis of Miracleman actually begins with the 1939 introduction of Fawcett Comics' Captain Marvel, one of the many superheroes that appeared on the heels of Superman. Billy Batson was an orphaned newsboy granted powers by the wizard Shazam. Batson only has to say the wizard's name to transform into the super-powered (and grown-up) Captain Marvel. The comics were whimsical with cartoony art by C.C. Beck and featured silly characters like Hoppy the Marvel Bunny and the talking anthropomorphic tiger, Tawky Tawny. Captain Marvel was also the first character to feature spin-off versions of himself, such as Captain Marvel Jr. and his sister Mary Marvel, created by Otto Binder, who would go on to create Supergirl, a decade later.The Captain Marvel comics were a huge success and outsold Superman by a long shot. Even Elvis read them and counted Captain Marvel Jr. as his favorite character, even modeling some of his outfits (like the over-one-shoulder cape) from Jr. Everybody loved Captain Marvel, except DC who sued Fawcett, claiming they copied Superman. Due to the lawsuit and the decreasing popularity of superhero comics, led to Fawcett shutting down in 1953. Billy Batson and friends wouldn't be seen again for another 20 years when DC purchased the rights to the Fawcett characters and integrated them into their company.
In England, Captain Marvel reprints were selling huge and with the supply cut off, publishers L. Miller & Son commissioned Mick Anglo to create their own version, Marvelman. He was now rookie reporter, Mick Moran, who said the word, 'Kimota', to become into his powerful alter-ego. Along came sidekicks, Dicky Dauntless (Young Marvelman) and Johnny Bates (Kid Marvelman), who only had to say 'Marvelman' to transform. The stories were innocent enough, if somewhat innocuous.The original comics were published until 1963, but would be radically revived by Moore in 1982 for anthology magazine, Warrior. At the same time, Moore was also doing V For Vendetta with Warrior, that's how awesome the man is. The comics were shortly reprinted in America by Eclipse Comics and the character was renamed Miracleman, due to Marvel Comics owning the copyright to the word marvel.
Mick Moran is now middle-aged with no memory of his earlier adventures or his magic word. He's married now and ekes out a meager existence as a freelance journalist. During a terrorist attack, Moran suddenly remembers the magic word and becoming Miracleman once again. Moran must deal with the ramifications of being an extraordinary being in an ordinary world. Later, he learns the horrible truth about his true origins.Moran was actually an orphan abducted by the government to be a part of a top-secret experiment using technology from a crashed alien ship. Moran, Dauntless, and Bates are kept sedated for years and their earlier comic book adventures were an elaborate virtual reality simulation meant to condition their minds. When the plug is pulled on the project, the Miracles are tricked into attacking a fortress rigged with an atomic bomb. Dauntless is killed and Moran is left to wander an amnesiac.
And Bates? The little boy survives and decides to stay as Kid Miracleman, growing up completely twisted and without moral restraint. Kid Miracleman lays low at first until Miracleman resurfaces. They wage war with Kid Miracleman easily gaining the upper hand having had more time to develop and increase his powers. Only when he accidentally says his former mentor's name does he change back into an un-aged and frightened Johnny Bates.Bates is left to fend for himself in an orphanage where he is constantly bullied by a trio of older boys. Even worse, his Kid Miracleman personality struggles to break free, taunting him at every turn. Then one day, the bullies decide to rape poor Johnny Bates and, in desperation, he transforms into Kid Miracleman. The mad Kid Miracleman turns London into a gruesome slaughterhouse finding grotesque ways to murder and torture hundreds of thousands of innocent people. It is up to Miracleman and a group of newly-discovered super beings, including Miraclewoman, to defeat the genocidal maniac.
Moore's run ends with Miracleman doing what Moore felt Superman should have done, make the world a better place, whether people like it or not. He replenishes the ozone layer, does away with money, and provides mankind with everything they could want. Yet, at the same time, he has grown further and further away from his own humanity. It's a theme that would be seen again in Watchmen, Squadron Supreme, and Kingdom Come.
Miracleman is both a thought provoking and disturbing look at the life of a superhero. It would pave the way for Moore's magnum opus, Watchmen, and Frank Miller's seminal work, The Dark Knight Returns. Regrettably, Miracleman is tied up in all sorts of legal knots and any reprints or collections will probably not be seen for years.
Whoo! I'm punching these out and making for the lack of updates. This time, we're back with a little bit of light reading. Most of you know I'm a sucker for girls with guns and so I eagerly devoured this little gem of a graphic novel. Smoke and Guns is a little Sin City mixed in with The Warriors and rendered with a clean, cartoony-style by artist Fabio Moon.
Soon, Scarlett discovers she's in enemy territory as the city has been divided up by the cigarette companies. Each zone patrolled by various factions like the Chinatown Dolls (who all look like Chun-Li from Street Fighter, the Belles (dressed like bellhops, Cheerleaders, and Meter Maids.
The story kicks off with a bang and moves at a rapid pace from there. The comic is like your standard popcorn, action film. Expect a lot of gunfights and explosions, but not a lot of depth. There's never really any explanation on who or why Scarlett is drugged. It just happens, then the story runs off from there. Still, its a lot of fun and who the Hell is gonna complain when they're reading about chicks fighting each other while dressed in sexy costumes.
His name is Agent Graves. He's just offered you a chance for revenge. How? A briefcase with two guns and one hundred bullets. All untraceable. What would you do? That's the premise of DC/Vertigo's 100 Bullets, written by Brian Azzarello with art by Eduardo Risso and awesome covers from Dave Johnson. It's an ongoing series, set to end at 100 issues.
Azzarello is one of the best writers of crime in comic books and 100 Bullets is his magnum opus. There's a heavy noir influence mixed in with modern sensibilities, dark humor, and plenty of action. The best part of the comic is the richness of its mythology and the attention to detail. You really have to pay attention to just about every character that shows up as you never know who might turn up again to play an important role. This strength might also be a bit of a weakness as some issues feature two unrelated developments happening at the same time. In "Shot, Water Back", Dolen confronts his target, while an insane gun battle occurs just outside the window. We do find out what's going on eventually, but it's rather confusing and a tiny bit farfetched that it would occur right then and there.
Animal Man was a C-list superhero, who first appeared in the 1960's and made only a few appearances for the next two decades. His most noteworthy accomplishment was forming a team of other lesser known characters called, appropriately enough, the Forgotten Heroes. Origin? Real name, Buddy Baker, who was exposed to radiation from a crashed spacecraft that gave him the power to call on the abilities of the animal kingdom. Speed of a gazelle, flight of a bird, limb regeneration like a lizard, etc.
Buddy's first adventure in the series finds him investigating a laboratory break-in, only to discover a callous experiment, in which monkeys are injected with horrible diseases. It ends with an ironic conclusion straight out of The Twilight Zone. Later, Animal Man travels to a remote fishing village where schools of dolphins are routinely (and brutally) mutilated for sport. One fisherman gleefully guts a baby dolphin causing an enraged Buddy to toss him into the ocean where the man is actually rescued by a female dolphin searching for her slain family. That is the "dolphin way."
The weirdness continues after Buddy's family are murdered by a conglomerate, who have taken his animal crusading personally. On a spiritual quest, Buddy takes in a Native American peyote ritual and discovers he is actually a character inside a comic book. He finds ways to manipulate the panels and eventually meets Morrison himself as they discuss the killing of Buddy's family and poignantly close off Morrison's run.