I’m writing this still reeling in shock from the announcement that Marvel Comics bought the rights to Marvelman.  For those of you not familiar with the character, Marvelman (called “Miracleman” in the US because Marvel Comics felt their comics empire would collapse if the word “Marvel” was used to describe anything that wasn’t theirs) was a British ripoff of Captain Marvel back in the 1950s-60s.  The stories were cute and fun and good solid entertainment for kids.  Then Alan Moore got a hold of the comic, and comics were never the same again.  Before the Dark Knight, before Watchmen, this was the series that asked the question “What if superheroes lived in the real world?” for the first time.  And it was AMAZING.  Well-written, with gorgeous artwork by a variety of artists (including some of the best artwork of John Totleben’s career, and that’s saying a lot).  I won’t spoil the ending of Moore’s run, but when he finished, it took Neil Gaiman to come in and keep the series alive.  And did I mention gorgeous artwork?  This is where I first read Mark Buckingham’s pages, and realized that here was an artist who could draw in any style, from cartoony to Warhol, and do it WELL.  To date, the “Andy Warhol” issue by Gaiman & Buckingham remains one of my all-time favorite single issues of any series.  Legal issues prevented the comic from continuing, and it’s remained one of the great unfinished stories ever. Read More »