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Miracleman
Miracleman Apocrypha: Stories That Never Were, Tales That Never Could Be
When Eclipse gathered together some of the top talents in the comics industry to work on their own versions of Miracleman, whom Alan Moore so masterfully resurrected, this title somehow seemed appropriate. In Apocrypha, eleven creative teams were given a shot at telling a story that featured what they thought would be the perfect Miracleman scenario.
The list of creators included Alex Ross (Marvels), Neil Gaiman (Sandman), Norm Breyfogle (Prime), Stefan Petrucha (The X-Files), and many more. These stories were printed in this three-issue anthology series. A framing story by Neil Gaiman and Mark Buckingham shows Miracleman—a man become like God—reading them as comic books in order to discover the nature of human aspiration.
The list of creators included Alex Ross (Marvels), Neil Gaiman (Sandman), Norm Breyfogle (Prime), Stefan Petrucha (The X-Files), and many more. These stories were printed in this three-issue anthology series. A framing story by Neil Gaiman and Mark Buckingham shows Miracleman—a man become like God—reading them as comic books in order to discover the nature of human aspiration.
93 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1993
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
October 20, 2022
Interesting. Very similar to Golden Age, just with more variability in art style and breadth. These are not 'in-canon' stories like the Golden Age, instead they are intended to be fictional stories written by people in the Miracleman universe.
There are some real winners, like a Miraclewoman story with a Nemo in Slumberland vibe, and then some downright distasteful stories, like one that [content warning] depicts Kid Miracleman's first rape/murder juxtaposed with the internal monologue of him as a cherubic, innocent superhero.
Overall I'd say skippable unless you're a completionist like me.
There are some real winners, like a Miraclewoman story with a Nemo in Slumberland vibe, and then some downright distasteful stories, like one that [content warning] depicts Kid Miracleman's first rape/murder juxtaposed with the internal monologue of him as a cherubic, innocent superhero.
Overall I'd say skippable unless you're a completionist like me.
May 13, 2022
Historias entretenidas pero muy lejos del material de Moore y Gaiman. Para completar no está mal. Lo mejor son las historias relacionadas con Bates y el culto que origina posteriormente.
August 6, 2009
This is, in effect, a coda to the Moore/Gaiman run of Miracleman. Using Gaiman's framework of Miracleman plunging into the comics section of the MiracleLibrary, we're 'treated' to a handful of metafictions involving the world after -- and before -- the rebirth of Miracleman.
These stories run from the funny (Dick Foreman's The Janitor, I suppose, even with its 60s-Underground looking art) through bittersweet (Sarah Byam & Norm Breyfogle's touching if heavy-handed The Scrapbook) to the unintentionally funny (definitely the corny Wishing Upon a Star, with art by then-fresh talent Alex Ross, and the short-and-silly Limbo by Matt Wagner), and the talent at work here (Kelley Jones, Kurt Busiek, Ross, and...Val Mayerik?...among a passel of others) has as broad a range.
Overall, I'd say this was a better idea -- in fact, a brilliant idea -- than it was a final product. The stories are worth more as curiosities than as well-written, or even well-homaged, comic pieces. I think the only piece that really works in the intended fashion is Steve Moore & Stan Woch's Miracleman & The Magic Monsters, which does in fact read like a cheesy comic story (versus like a comic story of American 1980s/90s comics). It will come as little surprise that the best bits are far and away Gaiman's framing pieces.
Oh, and none of this book is by cat yronwode...except an intro to the covers section.
These stories run from the funny (Dick Foreman's The Janitor, I suppose, even with its 60s-Underground looking art) through bittersweet (Sarah Byam & Norm Breyfogle's touching if heavy-handed The Scrapbook) to the unintentionally funny (definitely the corny Wishing Upon a Star, with art by then-fresh talent Alex Ross, and the short-and-silly Limbo by Matt Wagner), and the talent at work here (Kelley Jones, Kurt Busiek, Ross, and...Val Mayerik?...among a passel of others) has as broad a range.
Overall, I'd say this was a better idea -- in fact, a brilliant idea -- than it was a final product. The stories are worth more as curiosities than as well-written, or even well-homaged, comic pieces. I think the only piece that really works in the intended fashion is Steve Moore & Stan Woch's Miracleman & The Magic Monsters, which does in fact read like a cheesy comic story (versus like a comic story of American 1980s/90s comics). It will come as little surprise that the best bits are far and away Gaiman's framing pieces.
Oh, and none of this book is by cat yronwode...except an intro to the covers section.
February 2, 2015
Wonderful stories inspired by the work of Moore and Gaiman. Although many lack the sheer genious of the main writers, they are better than your average "what if?" stories, and they delightfully expand an already astonishing universe.
Want to read
July 9, 2019Historietas de Marvelman teóricamente apócrifas.
March 9, 2020
Weird! The previous volume was already like this. But much more crazy future than this. This felt a lot more normal even the title makes it seem weirder.
October 24, 2022
With so many different creative teams, the quality of the stories in this collection is bound to vary widely, but there are one or two gems here.
November 7, 2023
A hot take here, but this has actually some of my favorite moments from the whole series in it. A rare spin off run that genuinely adds a lot to the core series.
November 8, 2022
Essentially a bit of filler, imaginary stories ("Aren't they all?") set in the Miracleman universe, and —as with any anthology—of wildly varying quality, but there are enough very good stories here, comfortably outnumbering the poor, to be worth a look.
November 5, 2012
A nice collection of short stories set in the world of the Miracle man universe, a world where superheroes and aliens have come to Earth and brought about a new(sort of) golden age.
Nice mix of stories, though there is tendency towards the bittersweet or the cynical, which takes some of the sense of wonder and fun.
Interesting experiment, curious to see what would have happened if the anthology and the regular series had continued.
Nice mix of stories, though there is tendency towards the bittersweet or the cynical, which takes some of the sense of wonder and fun.
Interesting experiment, curious to see what would have happened if the anthology and the regular series had continued.
November 1, 2008
This was an anthology series set in the Miracleman universe. And though it's nice to dip into that universe again, these stories really can't hold a candle to Alan Moore's original series.
January 18, 2013
Miracleman Apocrypha: Stories That Never Were, Tales That Never Could Be
Wait, are you telling me that the regular Miracleman stories are factual?
;-P
Wait, are you telling me that the regular Miracleman stories are factual?
;-P
November 10, 2015
Pretentious and fantastical stories as the Miraclemen become like gods
July 10, 2009
Better than I expected. Many of these I would rate a 5.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews