Miracleman, Book Three: Olympus
Written: May 23 '06 (Updated May 24 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Not possible in only 15 words.
Cons: Not even applicable.
The Bottom Line: The best comic series ever just keeps getting better.
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| cdm72's Full Review: Alan Moore - Miracleman: Olympus |
From what I can gather, it was always understood that Alan Moore would only write 3 books in the Miracleman story, and then he’d step down and let someone else take over. Well, if you have to go, there’s not many swan songs better than “Olympus” wherein Moore takes this goofy Captain Marvel knock-off from the 50s and makes him not only relevant, but he makes him a god.
Book Three opens in 1987, 5 years after the end of Book Two, which right away seems like a bad idea because no matter what happened in the intervening years, it’s a pretty safe bet Miracelman came through alright, but really isn’t that how it always works? You know that no matter how bad things get for the main character, they’re most likely not going to kill him, so the bad guy is always going to have to lose. So that’s a point we can overlook.
Miracleman talks to us from some new refuge we’re unfamiliar with in the beginning, writing his story down in a book with steel pages. He takes us back to his first meeting with the Qys (those were the mysterious figures from the end of Book Two), who turn out to be the source of the science that allowed Dr. Gargunza to create the Miracle family. The Qys take Miracleman and Miraclewoman to their home where they also meet up with the Warpsmiths, a race who seem to have mastered both time AND space, as well as matter. After learning of Miracleman’s daughter’s birth, the Qys have decided not to destroy Miraclman, but to watch the earth and see how things progress.
How they progress is Johnny Bates is forced to unleash Kid Miracleman again and about 50,000 Londoners are slaughtered.
What follows is the most awesome battle ever seen in comics.
Naturally Miracleman wins, like we expected anything less. But the resolution to this fight is something that has to be seen to be believed.
Miracleman and Miraclewoman then make themselves known to the people of earth and from there set about making the earth into a Utopia. They end hunger, war, disease. They help others gain powers like themselves and soon there are no shortages of super-powered beings. When he offers this procedure to his estranged wife Liz, things don’t go so well. It’s a shame to see how things came out between them because in Book One she seemed like such a rock, such a solid part of Miracleman’s life. But the pressures of being married to a god, huh?
The speech Miracleman gives the world regarding the demise of money is typical Alan Moore writing and reminiscent--or maybe a precursor; I’d have to check my copyright dates--of what he did in V FOR VENDETTA:
“Hello. Let’s talk about money. For lack of it, Brazil must level precious forests, with other nations hunting precious whalemeat to survive. Poor people cannot put the environment before their children’s bellies. And yet, what is money? Money is a promise, to redeem the cash of every bearer for its worth in gold or merchandise. An empty promise. Should we all demand at once redemption of our coins, we’d learn such wealth does not exist. Money’s imaginary, real if we believe in it. Rich nations, honoring each other’s empty promises, assure their mutual credibility...and always with the force of arms to see that everyone believes! No more. From August, everything is free; national surplus teleported to those nations most in need until they master self-sufficiency. Each soul shall have free clothing, food and shelter, entertainment, education, all requirements for a worthwhile life...with greater luxuries for those who wish to work providing the above. Come summer, money won’t exist...but then, it never did. Good night.”
“Olympus” is an awesome work, although a bit flowery at times, very purple on the prose, and considering it takes 6 issues to tell it, not a lot really seems to HAPPEN. But that was the complaint about Book Two, wasn’t it? The thing about Miracleman is, it’s not so much happens, but how it happens, and Alan Moore knows better than anyone how to write something that shouldn’t be possible, a comic book, about superheroes, for adults, that doesn’t seem even for an instant goofy. This is serious sh!t.
On art this time around is John Tottleben and if I didn’t give him thee credit he’s due, I’d be doing the Miracleman legacy a disservice. Of all the artists to grace these pages, Tottleben is, for my money, THE Miracleman artist, plain and simple. Everything from his composition to his layout to his use of lighting, Tottleben is a Miracleman genius.
To this point, Miracelman Books One and Two didn’t read like the comics you were used to, but you still knew that’s what they were. Book Three: Olympus, is in a category all its own. This isn’t a comic book it’s . . . illustrated literature. Yeah, that’s about as good as anything. So far the best in the series.
Miracleman Book One: A Dream of Flying
http://www.epinions.com/content_231478169220
Miracleman Book Two: The Red King Syndrome
http://www.epinions.com/content_232120094340
Miracleman Book Four: The Golden Age
http://www.epinions.com/content_232810974852
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
cdm72
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Location: St. Joseph, MO, USA
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That's me in front of Trent Reznor's house in NOLA several years ago.
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