So you've been waiting around, thinking, "Hey, what's the deal with this whole Marvelman thing, and how can I, a regular Joe, find out more, and if so, can it be early this summer?"
It turns out Marvel has you covered, friend. Look out for the Marvelman Classic Primer #1 in June with covers by Mick Anglo (old) or Joe Quesada (new).
We've still got no news on how this will be implemented going forward, or what the status is of the Alan Moore/Neil Gaiman stories, but I'd expect some big announcements during the San Diego convention, which will have been a full year since the innocuous announcement we got last year.
Press Release:
Marvel is proud to announce the return of Marvelman to shelves everywhere with the release of MARVELMAN CLASSIC PRIMER #1 in June! Who is the mysterious Marvelman? And just why is he one of the most enduring super heroes of all time? The answers arrive in this commemorative one-shot featuring interviews with creator Mick Anglo, superstar Neil Gaiman and more who contributed to this character's history over the years! Plus, get all-new pinups of key Marvelman characters by superstar artists Mike Perkins, Doug Braithwaite, Miguel Angel Sepulveda, Jae Lee, Khoi Pham and Ben Oliver! This landmark issue features two covers–one with the timeless art of Mick Anglo and another with the now-iconic rendition of Marvelman by Marvel Editor-In-Chief–and superstar artist–Joe Quesada!
Then, in July, thrill to the debut of MARVELMAN FAMILY'S FINEST #1, a new ongoing series reprinting Marvelman's greatest adventures for the first time in the US! Plus, no comics fan can miss MARVELMAN CLASSIC VOL. 1 PREMIERE HC, reprinting Marvelman's earliest adventures in chronological order!
Now's your chance to learn just why Marvelman is one of the most important characters in comic book history-it all begins in MARVELMAN CLASSIC PRIMER #1, this June!
MARVELMAN CLASSIC PRIMER #1
Written by JOHN RHETT THOMAS
Cover by JOE QUESADA
Variant by MICK ANGLO
Rated A… $3.99
ON SALE IN JUNE!
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Hmm. Are they really going to waste time reprinting the old pre-Moore Miracleman stories that nobody really cares about?
Sounds like they’re gonna reprint everything with the family book. Pretty cool if thats right.
To those of you excited about this announcement: Is your affection for the character and excitement concerning the new series based on the quality of the character and his past stories OR is your affection based on the extreme rarity associated with the old books and the quality of the old creative teams?
I mean no offense to anyone who likes Marvelman. I have never read any of the books and know very little about the character. I have enjoyed the iFanboy videos and posts concerning the old books, but find the character rather generic and boring. What makes him unique? Why should I spend $4 on this Primer?
Sounds like no Moore era stuff yet. The wait game continues…..
@stulach My excitement is based on having read 3 issues of the Moore run during my freshman year of college. loved them, been a holy grail ever since
@RoiVampire – Interesting. I wish we knew if the Alan Moore issues are going to be collected.
@stulach I’m just hoping they are. That’s all we can do now
Here’s hoping they reprint Moore’s run. Or maybe convince Gaiman to pick up where he left off.
I think Marvel has a great opportunity here to expose folks to a classic character (as far as I know–I haven’t read anything, I just know it’s an old character)…what would have been nice? offer it for 10¢ as a way to get people excited. It works–the Batman 10¢ adventure got me back into comics!
Gaiman has already spoken with Marvel abuot this book. Signs point to that he’ll likely continue his run and even the artist said he’s ready to publish the unpublished Gaiman material he drew and continue finishing his story.
Alan Moore is such a softy for past creators, he’ll likely make Marvel publish his work on condition that his fees go to Mick Anglo. It’s going to happen, just as I’ve said. Watch.
@kickass For once i’m pretty sure you’re dead on
@Roi-When Am I not? 😉
I am with you @mikeromo! It would be a great way to introduce a classic character.
@stuclach – I have read the first 7 issues and they are really good. But the style has pretty much been copies by writers since then so it’s not going to seem too original.
I’ve read very, very few Golden Age Miracleman stories – which is what I guess this is going to collect. They were your average Golden Age stories – nothing spectacular, nothing awful, just average. That being said, I’ll pick up both of these. I think the Primer would be a good companion to the Kimota! book.
I’ll be checking this out and maybe wait for the TPB of the HC Classics if it appears. What I really want is the Moore/Gaiman stuff. I hope they re-color it tastefully.
@stuclach I’m excited based on having been given most of the Moore run in the early 90s when I was around 12 or 13. Now I hope to read Gaimans run someday.
I actually mostly caught Moore’s run by picking up issues for a dollar at the Houston airport when I was a kid. I don’t know why they were there either. I later had the trade of Gaiman’s run. I always really enjoyed the character and the stories from both of those, so I’m interested to get some more background on the character (aside from the histories I’ve read).
This is actually pretty cool what Marvel is doing. We all have known (and some lucky few have read) the famous MiracleMan run. But for them to reprint the ENTIRE run of the character is nice of them to do.
Although I gotta imagine how well or poorly these stories have aged. Time will tell.
Thanks for the responses. I’m still not sure. I may wait until the Moore run comes out (if it does).
Never read anything (like Mike). I’m pretty excited for this book and any potential further reprints.
Like Mike and ato220, I never read anything about the character. I’ll check out the primer for a nice history lesson and go from there.
@stuchlach – The pre-Moore MM stuff might be of interest if only for the sake of comparison. It might help give Moore’s work more weight and impact if you do read it. Would Miller’s "The Dark Knight Returns" have been such a bolt from the blue if Batman had never had the Dick Sprang/’60s TV show era?
@Stuclach I’m really only interested in the Moore/Gaiman material, might check this out, but the original character was essentially just a stand in Captain Marvel when Fawcett UK couldn’t use him anymore. I was also really enjoying the subtle build up toward Miracleman’s return Bendis was working on in HellSpawn, but that came to naught because of legal issues.
The only exposure I’ve ever had to Marvelman has been the iFanboy video episode about the character. I’m definitely curious enough to check out the Primer.
How can you have a new ongoing series if it’s a reprint of old stories?
Me is confoosed.
Regardless, I think this is a great idea, since I have a hell of a time finding all those missing issues of MarvelMan, or MiracleMan, whatever.
Just glad that a new generation of readers will be able to read this with fresh eyes.
The primer will help explain, to the uninitiated, who exactly saved the day and defeated The Void in Siege #4. You heard it here first, folks.
I’m only half joking.
Like many I’m mainly interested in the Moore/Gaiman stuff. I’d certainly be interested in Gaiman continuing where he left off as I liked the work he did in thepast, at least the bits I’ve read. The only thing is, this still seems like relatively little information, and it’s kind of lost it’s impact over the long wait since the initial announcements last year. The excitement I felt thne has kind of faded I’m afraid. Maybe my attention span just isn’t what it should be.
@Kodaiji @PraxJarvin – Thanks. I’ll consider this. Do we have any idea how many issues like this we will get?
Re: Stuclach–well, I haven’t read any of the early Marvelman stories, but from the way the Moore/Gaiman recreation of the characters feel they would parallel Shazam in some ways. They say a secret word and transform themselves. It might be fun to read some of the early stories though, but if they can swing the Moore/Gaiman reprints those are well worth picking up. The art above looks great by the way.
It was basically a Captain Marvel rip off, and probably filled with silver-age zanyness.
By the way, how awesome was that riff in the last Ultimate Spidey.
"Marvel man…Nah!"