For those that never heard of Miracle Man, it's a
superhero title that was written by Alan Moore and
Neil Gaiman during the 80's. Among the artists to
pencil the stories were Gary Leach, Alan Davis and
Mark Buckingham. Having read most of the series
personally, I can tell you it deserves all the
critical acclaim that it has received. Some suggest
this title, along with Miracle Man planted the seeds
for the next evolution of superheroes. Those leading
to books like Authority and Planetary. Within this
report I'll explain to you what is going on now and
why it is happening.
Latest News:
On October 24th, a Marvel Conference Call was done
with members of the comic book media. The purpose of
which was to announce that Neil Gaiman had set up a
company called Marvel and Miracles LLC. The companies
main purpose is to collect money to pay lawyer Ken
Levin to legally clear up who owns Miracle Man. Joe
Quesada says he's known Ken for a while, and he's
always been a big supporter of creator rights.
In order to fund Marvel and Miracles LLC. Neil is
doing a 6 issue mini series for Marvel Comics where he
re-makes many of the classic Marvel Characters.
Particularly ones created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.
Marvels side of the profits will go to Marvel and
Miracles LLC. Details of the project are still
forthcoming from Marvel and will be in a future issue
of Wizard.
How this Began:
The history of Miracle Man is a complicated one that
stretches across 50 years and two continents. Starting
in America, in 1938 DC published Superman. Then in
1941 a rival company called Fawcett published a
character with similar powers named Captain Marvel. DC
filed a lawsuit that continued through the 40's and
into the early 50's. After victories and appeals by
both sides, it was clear that Fawcett was about to
lose the case. Rather than fight it any longer they
decided to settle with DC and stop publishing Captain
Marvel. By 1953, the comics weren't selling all that
great, and it wasn't worth it for Fawcett to continue.
But in Britain the Captain Marvel comics will still
successful. Wanting to keep their jobs, the
re-packagers/publishers L. Miller & Sons there asked
artist Mick Anglo to come up with a character very
similar to Captain Marvel. He came up with Marvel Man
in 1954. Captain Marvel ended with issue #24, within a
full page ad promoted Marvel Man #25. From there the
title continued.
Both characters were little boys whom upon saying a
magic word would turn into an fully grown adult with
superpowers. Billy Batson would shout Shazam to turn
into Captain Marvel. Mike Moran would shout Kimota to
turn into Marvel Man. Their powers were same in that
that they were similar to Superman. Both had younger
versions and sisters of the same character and uncles,
dogs, cats, etc.. The comic continued on until 1963
where among young readers were Alan Moore and Neil
Gaiman.
In the 80's UK publisher Dez Skinn read an interview
where Alan Moore mentioned he wouldn't mind writing
Marvel Man. From here Dez Skinn believes that Miracle
Man is in public domain and quickly moves into action.
He contacts Mick Anglo and being the nice guy that he
is, works out an agreement saying if a new
Miracle/Marvel Man was popular, he'd reprint some of
the stuff he and his studio did from the 1954-63
period and pay him for it.
Dez also contacts both Alan Moore and arranges that he
(33%), Alan Moore (33%) and artist Gary Leach (33%)
own the rights to Marvel Man. Starting in 1982, Marvel
Man is published in a black and white magazine called
Warrior by Dez Skinns company Quality Communications
Ltd. That is until Marvel Comics UK threatened to sue
them because they say they own the rights to any
character named "Marvel" within any comic books. The
resulting exchanges leave Alan Moore so disgusted he
vows never to work for Marvel Comics.
Also involved within this was Alan Davis, who took
over the art duties from Gary Leach. To get him to
come on the rights got divided again. 30% to Alan
Davis, 30% to Alan Moore, 30% to Dez Skinn and 10% to
Quality Communications Ltd. Davis leaves the title
after 3 stories and gives his 30% back to Gary Leach.
Other artists continue on the title without getting
rights to the character, until later.
In 1985 Eclipse Comics buys Dez Skinn's (30%), Quality
Communications Ltd (10%), Gary Leach's (30%) share of
the Marvel Man rights (total = 70%), and republish the
original Marvel Man comics in a traditional sized
color comic book. They change the name of the
character to Miracle Man to avoid any legal dispute
with Marvel Comics. Alan Moore continues to write the
series until issue #16, where he then gives & splits
his rights to new writer (15%) Neil Gaiman and new
artist (15%) Mark Buckingham. They continue until
1994, to the title until issue #24, where Eclipse
folds under bankruptcy. Issue #25 is complete and
ready for publishing, finishing off a major
cliffhanger hasn't been published with the exception
of a few pages published here and there in magazines.
In 1996, Todd McFarlane bought the (70%) rights and
film of Miracle Man from a bankruptcy sale of Eclipse
Comics Assets. According to Neil Gaiman in 1997 he and
Todd McFarlane come to an agreement where Neil would
get the rights and film to Miracle Man. Todd mailed
the film to Neil, and upon Neil asking Todd for a copy
of the receipt of ownership that he proves he bought
the rights of the character off Eclipse, everything
stops including royalty checks Neil was receiving from
Todd for other characters created for him.
Wizard reported, incorrectly that the film for the
Miracle Man books was lost. When another interviewer
mentioned that to Neil, he told them it wasn't, and
that it was sitting in his basement along with an
agreement from Todd McFarlane saying he now had the
rights to Miracle Man. After which it was reported
that Neil had the rights to the character and could
republish it, which wasn't true. Nonetheless, a great
deal of excitement came up which Neil recognized.
Among those excited by the 'news' in the interview was
Marvel Comics Editor Joe Quesada. Joe says he is a fan
of Miracle Man comics, and that's the main reason he's
enthusiastic about reprinting it.
Joe Quesada, with the help of former Vertigo Editor
Stuart Moore tracked down Neil Gaiman and visited him
in a hotel lobby and talked about the possibility of
publishing Miracle Man through Marvel Comics. Neil
mentioned that Joe Quesada doesn't take no for an
answer. The talks over Miracle Man started almost a
year ago, when Joe and Stuart Moore tracked him down.
They sat in the hotel lobby talking about how Marvel
was different and how 'that stuff doesn't happen
anymore', which finally convinced Neil to go with
Marvel with this. But everybody knew the rights to the
character would have to be sorted out first.
Surprising everyone in 2001, in an issue of Previews
magazine it is advertised that Michael Moran would
appear in an issue of Hellspawn - a comic published by
Todd McFarlane, and the character actually did. A
drawing is made showing a slightly new version of
Miracle Man, and everyone expects the new Miracle Man
to be published but it has not as of yet. Some believe
Todd is listening to legal advice and not pushing
Miracle Man any further. Also of note Neil Gaiman asks
the comic industry to boycott any issues involving
Miracle Man/Mike Moran published by Todd McFarlane.
Gaiman flirted with the idea of simply publishing the
film that he had, but knew that Todd could sue him if
he did. But on the other hand, Neil could not afford a
lengthy legal battle with Todd McFarlane over the
rights to Miracle Man. Neil created Marvel and
Miracles LLC company in case a lengthy legal battle is
necessary.
Todd McFarlane refuses to answer questions regarding
Miracle Man in the media and on comic book message
boards.
This leads to where we are now. Neil Gaiman says his
and Mark Buckingham rights (30%) are today owned by
Marvel and Miracles LLC. They hope to get Todd to
uphold his 1997 agreement with Neil and hand over the
remaining 70% of the rights. They also have the
blessing and moral support of Alan Moore. Another
purpose of Marvel and Miracles LLC is to make sure the
creative talent that produced Miracle/Marvel Man give
permission and receive compensation from the reprints.
The Possible Future:
It is generally assumed by all parties that if/when
the Miracle Man rights are cleared up Marvel Comics
will be publishing it. That said, Neil did mention
that it is not guaranteed that Marvel would be the one
reprinting Miracle Man if the rights are assembled
under Marvel and Miracles LLC.
Joe Quesada says if the creators wish to revert the
character back to it's Marvel Man name, he would not
stop them. Neil also wants to finish off the series,
as he had plans after issue #25, he thinks it's
another 9 issues to finish off his original plans.
It should be noted that Todd McFarlane isn't the only
party in dispute regarding the rights to Miracle Man.
Apparently original creator Mick Anglo has said in
interviews that he wasn't paid for the character
and/or stories, which Dez Skinn disputes. It is very
questionable what rights Mick might own since he was
aware of the new Marvel/Miracle Man and did not fight
it back then. Plus there is a chance the publishing
company L. Miller & Sons may have owned some or all of
the rights to the character when it was created in
1954. Dez also says that there is a surviving son of
the L. Miller & Sons company. He could start a legal
battle, if he chooses to get involved. Although like
Anglo, one speculates what rights they might have if
they knew of the future Marvel/Miracle Man and did not
fight it. While it wasn't stated within the press
conference it is assumed by myself that these are
among the issues Marvel and Miracles LLC will be
sorting out.
Outside News:
Joe Quesada said the Neil Gaiman mini-series would
probably be published under Marvel Knights.
Bill Jemas says there is no anti-Todd campaign at
Marvel. He also said they would not be revealing how
much of the cover price would be going to Marvel and
Miracles LLC.
They haven't made any plans yet about how they will
reprint Miracle Man, if they get the rights. It could
be done in single issues, or it could be done in
TPB's. Have to wait and see. Neil said he was
absolutely flabbergasted to find out how much people
were paying for Miracle Man comics on eBay. He told
Alan Moore about it, and he said "What's eBay?" (note,
this is a joke - Alan won't go on the Internet).
Both Neil and Joe have been checking in with Alan
Moore and have his blessing. Neil says Alan is
impressed with Joe's behavior, particularly with Joe
willing to let the character go back to being named
Marvel Man, if Neil and Mark Buckingham wishes. Joe
mentioned that when he flew to England to talk to Alan
Moore regarding reprinting his Captain Britain work,
he mentioned to him that this would be coming down the
road in the future. Joe believes as long as you keep
creators informed of what's going on and why those
decisions were made, you have happier freelancers.
Neil Gaiman mentioned that if A) He enjoyed writing
for Marvel and B) he had time, he might consider doing
more work for them. He specifically mentioned doing
Dr. Strange with Craig P. Russell.
Neil says it's not likely that he'll come back and do
a monthly series. He has other work on his plate, and
he's not the fastest writer in the world.
When asked about new characters Neil Gaiman said in
just about everything he's written, he ends up leaving
behind some new characters that the company can use
after he's done with them. He expects that to be the
same after this series. He mentioned the series will
be a complete story with a beginning and end. Neil
also mentioned that he likes taking obscure characters
and using them.
Joe and Neil were asked about their responsibilities
as publishers and creators to the comic industry.
Joe Quesada replied by saying he promotes comics - and
not just Marvel Comics - because he knows he's not
going to be EIC forever, eventually he'll be back
freelancing and he wants a healthy comic industry to
go into. When he's on TV his message is that comics
are not just for kids, he gets the 1-800 comic locator
number on screen.
Neil Gaiman said his responsibility lies in making
good comics, as without good comics people decide not
to read them at all. He mentioned the Sandman books
sell more every year than the year before, and they've
sold millions so far.
Neil's next book comes out next year, called Caroline.
It's a spooky little kid story illustrated by Dave
McKean.
Other info from the conference call:
Bill believes the orders for Heroes Book were low
because of a credibility issue with Marvel, and that
it wasn't solicited the normal way through Previews
Magazine. Joe Quesada jokingly said they didn't
publicize the issue enough.
Joe Quesada asked that retailers who are making up
copies of the Heroes book to stop, and they are
assuming that the marked up prices are going to the
appropriate charities.
Recently Diamond Comics Distributing asked retailers
about moving 'New Comics Day' from Wednesday to
Thursday. Marvel is against the move. They would
prefer it moved back to Tuesday or stay at Wednesday.
Marvel said it is possible to push the date Diamond
gets their books from the printers back, but they
recently moved up the cut off date for when retailers
have to have their orders in. If they push back the
date, it will give retailers less time to order and
that wouldn't be fair to them.
Bill Jemas publicly thanked Tom Brevoort and Peter
David for being the first to turn in a Silent script
(as a part of Marvel's Nuff Said event, a month of
wordless comics). Bill mentioned that some of the
pages from that issue will be going online and seeing
the script and pages gave him a big moral boost.
PRESS RELEASE!
NEIL GAIMAN AND MARVEL UNITE!
Marvel To Publish New Project By Internationally Acclaimed Author!
New York, NY, October 26, 2001 - Neil Gaiman and Marvel Comics have
reached an agreement to publish a new project by the New York Times
best-selling author. In addition, Marvel will donate all profits from
the project to Neil Gaiman's Marvels and Miracles, LLC. Gaiman
created the Marvels and Miracles, LLC. to clarify the legal rights to
the critically acclaimed Miracleman property.
This new project marks the first time in seven years that Marvel and
Gaiman have worked together. Currently under development by Marvel's
Editor in Chief Joe Quesada and Gaiman, the new project will most
likely see publication in 2002.
"I am delighted to have this opportunity to work with Joe Quesada and
Marvel," said Gaiman. "The Marvel characters have been part of my life
for over thirty years, and the opportunity to play in the sandbox that
Stan (Lee) and Jack (Kirby) gave us back then is one I find exciting
and faintly scary."
"I am also particularly pleased that Marvel has agreed to donate all
their profits from this project to the Marvels and Miracles
enterprise, which I formed initially to help clarify the rights to the
much-missed Miracleman, so that ultimately old and new stories can
again be put into the hands of MiracleMan's readers," Gaiman added.
"Once those rights have become clear, I plan to dedicate all of the
profits which any Miracleman publishing might generate, beyond those
needed to make sure that the original creators are being properly
paid, to comics-related charitable organizations.
"What can be said about Neil that hasn't been said before?" asked
Quesada. "Readers of novels and comic books world-wide are well
acquainted with the fact that when Neil is involved with a project it
becomes something more than brilliant... it becomes magical!"
"With strong television and movie credits and a bona-fide best-selling
novel, Neil is in a position to pick and choose his projects in
virtually any media," stated Marvel President and COO Bill Jemas. "So
it is wonderful that he continues to work with comics and great for
Marvel fans that he will be working with us. We were enormously
pleased that Neil was receptive to doing a project with Marvel when we
first approached him. And given Neil's dedication to our industry,
when Ken Levin, who's handling the Marvels and Miracles enterprise for
Neil, asked Marvel for an assist with that effort, we were very happy
to help."
Neil Gaiman is a critically praised writer, who recently authored the
New York Times' bestseller, American Gods. Neil Gaiman is acclaimed as
the award-winning creator/writer of DC Comics' Sandman series, called
by Norman Mailer "a comic strip for intellectuals, and I say it's
about time." With Terry Pratchett he co-wrote the international
bestseller Good Omens, soon to be a major motion picture directed by
Terry Gilliam. His six-part TV series for the BBC, Neverwhere, was
broadcast in 1996, and in 1998 he wrote the English-language script
for Miyazaki's record-breaking Japanese film Mononoke Hime (Princess
Mononoke), which was released by Miramax in 1999. His first book for
children, The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish, illustrated by
his long-time artistic collaborator Dave McKean, was listed by
Newsweek as one of the best Children's Books of 1997. He has won
numerous international awards and is beloved by readers world-wide.
With a library of over 4,700 proprietary characters, Marvel
Enterprises, Inc. is one of the world's most prominent character-based
entertainment companies. Marvel's operations are focused in five
divisions: entertainment (Marvel Studios), licensing, toys (Toy Biz),
comic book publishing and Internet/New Media. Marvel facilitates the
creation of entertainment projects, including feature films,
television, home video and the Internet, based on its characters and
also licenses its characters for use in a wide range of consumer
products and services including video and computer games, apparel,
collectibles, snack foods and promotions. Marvel's characters and plot
lines are created by its comic book division which continues to
maintain a leadership position in the U.S. and worldwide while also
serving as an invaluable source of intellectual property. For
additional information visit the Marvel Web site at
.
Bill Rosemann
Marketing Communications Manager
Marvel Comics
