Fan letter written to Miracleman #10. Transcribed text: You may get some flak from uptight, busybodies about the birth scene in MM #9, but I’m on your side, Alan; it was right, it was true, and it was EXACTLY what I was hoping for in a comic book! I’m speaking as a mother... who has been there. Thank you for not sentimentalizing or romanticizing it with off-panel butterflies. Birth is a powerful event, and this one was... a miracle. Columbia, MO

Fan letter written to Miracleman #10. Transcribed text: Gee, so babies don't come by way of storks. Imagine my surprise! Thanks to Miracleman #9, I now know the truth. My life is fulfilled. But seriously, all harsh sarcasm aside, I did not much care for the childbirth scenes in the above-mentioned issue. It’s not that I find childbirth disgusting or disturbing... in fact, the opposite is true. It is, of course, one of the few genuine miracles left in today’s world, and I look forward to being involved in one some day myself... But to devote panel after panel to such an event, crucial to the plot though it might be, was a bit much. Hey, I’m no prude, but you must admit that this amount of sheer graphic detail was over the top... Ontario, Canada

Fan letter written to Miracleman #10. Transcribed text: One of Alan Moore's outstanding abilities is to find fresh and interesting angles to overused storylines and stale characters. Miracleman himself is a perfect example of this. Yet issue #7 contained blood and violence that had no purpose whatsoever in furthering the plot, and issue #9 had unnecessarily graphic scenes. Intelligent and insightful stories make mature reading, not senseless blood and nudity. Troy, Ohio

Fan letter written to Miracleman #6. Transcribed text: Dear Eclipse team: Jim Starlin’s cover to #4 was pretty frightening. Miracleman looks like the ultimate Aryan monster—I suppose this is how Sir Dennis [Archer] sees him. The reproduction on this issue was much better than in previous issues, and the colors—particularly for Miracleman’s outfit—are much more brilliant. Good job. Thanks for publishing the Miracleman 3-D Special. This is the only reprint material of the series that I had not yet seen. While nothing in the Special seems to be of any immediate importance to the storyline occurring in the regular magazine, the old stuff adds a sense of depth, of history to the character. While the purple perspective blocks distracted horribly from Mick Austin’s great cover art, the splash page was really nice—who was the artist here? As for the 3-D effect, Ray Zone did a good job, as he has on everything that I’ve seen which he has handled. Meanwhile, 3-D isn’t all that great an attraction for me—the novelty just isn’t that appealing. From a marketing standpoint, though, your strategy appears sound: Miracleman completists like me would buy the Special anyway; people who are intrigued by 3-D and who haven't bought MM before now may be led to try the regular book as well. Anyway, I hope it works out that nicely for you, but I’ve kinda had my fill of 3-D books for awhile, okay? By the way, a text page either introducing the character or explaining the context would have been good to include in the Special for those readers who haven’t encountered MM previously. Just a helpful hint, y’know. Lexington KY

Fan letter written to Miracleman #6. Transcribed text: Dear Alan, Not having had the pleasure of reading the original run of Miracleman in Warrior, these Miracleman stories are all new to me, and may I say that I'm quite impressed! But I'm sure that by now you've received thousands of letters telling you how great Miracleman is and how much everyone loves the work you and Alan Davis are doing. So I won't tell you again what is so great about Miracleman. I won't bore you by telling you again how vivid the artwork is and how delightfully subtle the writing is. I just want to tell you why I like Miracleman so much. In MM #2, while discussing the genesis of your version of Miracleman, you said that you were "struck by the image of the eternally youthful and exuberant hero as a middle-aged man trudging the streets and trying fruitlessly to remember his magic word." I think that image is something we can all identify with. Although the difference is not so extreme for us as it is for Mike/MM, somedays we just "trudge the streets" while others we fly high, a "youthful and exuberant hero." Miracleman lets us see that hero within ourselves and, just a little bit (how much can we ask for just 75¢?), he pulls that hero out of us! Yet, don't we all sometimes feel that there is a superhero of some sort lurking within the depths of our being and maybe, just maybe, someday we might accidentally say our magic word? Isn't that what we're all striving for? To remember our magic word? Kimota! Shucks. It didn't work. Los Angeles CA

Fan letter written to Miracleman #6. Transcribed text: Dear Editor, I suppose my first order of business is to ask who writes the letter pages. I guess I've become spoiled by many of the books that feature “signed” letter pages. It seems to make things a bit more personal. My assumption is that the page is handled by catherine yronwode. This might be a wrong assumption, though. Unless you have a reason not to place your name on your work (it doesn't have to be a good reason), please let us know to whom we are speaking. Thanks. Now on to Miracleman #4. Jim Starlin's cover was nice. I got a kick out of the familiar bust on the bookshelf behind Miracleman. As I said, I thought the cover was nice, but neither it nor Howard Chaykin's cover for issue #3 caught the full power of the fine work inside the book. (This is definitely not true of Mick Austin's wonderful painting on the cover of the Miracleman 3-D Special.) Just the same, I'm looking forward to Paul Gulacy's treatment next month. In terms of writing, what could I say about Alan Moore that hasn't been said many times over by many comic readers and critics. Having not read Alan's Swamp Thing stories, this is my first series exposure to his writing. I find it very mature and thoughtful. As such it is thought-provoking. After being disappointed by others' claims, it is good to finally read an adult superhero comic. The art by Alan Davis is a perfect match for Alan Moore's writing. So was Garry Leach's. It is rare that so fine an artist succeeds another fine artist. I hope the new stories featuring Chuck Beckum's art is as appropriate. Congratulations on a QUALITY-filled run so far, and here's hoping that your new stories continue to ECLIPSE the competition. Cincinnati OH

Fan letter written to Miracleman #4. Dear Alan: I pity those poor comic fans who missed out on Miracleman no. 1. They may believe that it’s not worth the effort (and money) to pick it up, especially now that issue no. 2 is out. I think they are making a big mistake. Miracleman is miraculous. It is, by far, the best title to debut in 1985. But my enjoyment of it goes beyond that... I honestly believe it is one of the best titles, period. Yes, there have only been two issues so far, but as this is a reprint (I wonder how many collectors even realize that simple fact?), we know things are going to get even better. You know I’ll be sticking around, and I think there will be a lot of us, eventually (assuming the current issue stockpiling rage dies down). No comic is perfect, however, and I do have a few quibbles to voice. The cover logo is pretty sad... it’s somewhat garish, don’t you think? I think something a little more subdued is in order. Ron Fontes’ Void Indigo logo (that comic’s only redeeming factor) is a good example. MIRACLEMAN deserves to have a unique, dramatic logo instead of something that looks like it was designed in five minutes. I’m sure co-creator Alan Davis could be persuaded to come up with a suggestion or two. This brings me to my second point. Why don’t you give Mr. Davis cover credit? As far as I’m concerned, the penciller is more important than the inker when it comes to comic art, and yet inker Garry Leach, talented though he may be, is the only name to appear. My final quibble is a simple one... how about some pagination, hmm? I realize that the pages of original art are not numbered, but I think it would be easy to get your typesetter to tap out a few numbers which you could include in a nice subtle manner at the bottom of each page. A minor point perhaps, but it became rather noticeable at the bottom of the first page of your editorial, in which readers are told the article is continued on page 31. Of course, with no pagination, we have no idea where page 31 is. I think you can see the problem here, and I hope you decide to rectify it soon. So much for that. I’ll finish this letter in a moment, but I wish to add that since MIRACLEMAN will inspire a LOT of letters from your readers (this is just one of several) you are therefore going to need a letters page. The obvious choice for a name for such a page would be “Miraclemail”. Sometimes the obvious choice is the best choice, so that will be my suggestion. Thank for listening. I wish you much success... but then, you’ve already GOT that, don’t you? OK then, continued success! Sudbury, Ontario Canada

Fan letter written to Miracleman #3. Transcribed text: Dear Editors and folks associated with Miracleman #1; Jesus H. Christ Gawdalmighty!!!! (Let me here say that I have never before written to a comic book and that I had never heard of Marvelman until a friend showed me the Marvelman Special.) How is it that Alan Moore can take campy, almost ridiculous comic characters and give them unexpected depths of character? What inspires him to soar to poetic heights with his scripting? (Gotta get ahold of meself here—I’m getting syrupy.) Why aren’t there more scripters like him? I just read Miracleman #1 today and, needless to say, I was impressed! Chapter 1, the reprint, was sooo campy it was almost embarrassing. Why this episode, I wonder? Does Moore (who never does anything without a reason) mean to imply that it has some bearing on the current storyline? And why do the time travelers, with their silly weaponry, come from 1981 (why, for that matter, does the story take place in 1982—three years in the past)? I’m sure the answers will come out in good time in a typical Moore-ish logical but totally unforeseeable climax. He does have a way with intertwined plots. As for the later chapters—opening them with a quote from Nietzsche was a tour de force. In conjunction with the zoom-in on Miracleman’s smiling face, the quote brought in perfectly the new serious and sinister mood. Garry Leach’s artwork—oy! It fits perfectly with Moore’s script. His modeling of shadows and dark masses around cleanly drawn faces and bodies deftly suggests the old Miracleman while introducing the new. This is a book to be proud of, folks! Michael Moran’s nightmare is vivid and disturbing. The discovery that he is a middle-aged, rather unattractive man susceptible to migraines (something I get meself) is also disturbing. It makes one wonder what Moore is up to. The episode with the terrorists is surreal. They’re so businesslike! But then—the rebirth of Miracleman! Whoooo! This is what comics are about! The other touches—Liz’s incredulity, Kid Miracleman, the gathering storm, the tiger—they add life and interest to the story. But there was one panel—one incident—that really grabbed me. On page 25, the first panel, Young Miracleman, “Dicky with the stupid name,” died. Screaming. Two bodies fused in one. It was a horrible way to go, but why were there two of him? What could he be screaming? Then, oh my god, it hit me—he was screaming for help, he was screaming for Miracleman! By calling for his friend, he called out the very phrase that would turn him into a normal human in the midst of an A-bomb explosion. Is that why he died and the others didn’t? This wasn’t the worst of it, however. In a flash of memory, I recalled, from the Marvelman Special, a strange skeleton trophy—of two people fused together. Jesus! How horrible! How wonderful! It’s such an awful thing to happen, but it’s such a fantastic thing to put in. I can’t come up with the proper adjectives. Alan Moore is just incredible. Garry Leach is impressive. Miracleman is superlative. Thanks for putting up with such a long letter. You’ve all done a great job. I’m getting Miracleman as often as it comes out! Chicago IL You folks who don’t know what [redacted] is talking about: Marvelman Special was a British supplement to the story of M.man, which is appearing in the U.S.A. as (ta-da!) Miracleman 3-D Special #1. Go get it, right now! It’s got 3-D effects by Ray Zone, a framing sequence by Alan Moore, art by Alan Davis, and three miraculous tales by the great Mick Anglo and Co.!

Fan letter written to Miracleman #3. Transcribed text: Dear Sirs, Miracleman is great! I liked the way you handled the intro, but it's too bad about your distribution problems. I'm glad I ordered plenty, though! About the best thing of the 'new' Miracleman is the art! Garry Leach is really a super artist, and teamed with Alan Moore, who can go wrong? I'm glad you haven't gone to the 'new' printing process that Marvel has moved on to. It would make your book as pathetic as theirs are beginning to appear. I'm very thankful for companies like Eclipse and First Comics. They have forced quality on the 'big two,' and DC has shown a super improvement with competition. Too bad Marvel can't get the message. Keep it up! Atlanta GA

Fan letter written to Miracleman #3. Transcribed text: Dear Eclipse, As I read through the opening story in Miracleman #1, my first contact with the hero, I honestly felt that nothing could be done to salvage a hero who had sidekicks such as Kid Miracleman and (even worse) Dicky Dauntless as Young Miracleman. My only comforting thought was that I had only spent 75 cents on this experiment, where most alternative comics are a lot more expensive. Once I hit the page with the Nietzsche quote, I knew that I'd found something more. Going from dialogue such as "Gosh, Miracleman, you're tops!" to "Damn you, Liz, you're laughing at my life!!" was certainly an abrupt change of tone. But it worked. I felt Miracleman's sense of horror at what Dr. Gargunza had done, I felt Liz's disbelief at discovering her husband's secret, and—most especially—I felt the tragedy and menace of Kid Miracleman, the palpable corruption in what had once been good and young. Taking something as harmless and fun as the Miracleman Family adventures of the fifties and exposing it to the harsher light of reality (as far into reality as comic books can go, that is) makes this concept one of the most exciting ones I've been introduced to in six years of reading comics, and at the price it is commercially equal to those of the mainstream. I hope this means we'll be seeing the book regularly and for some time to come. Garland TX

Fan letter written to Miracleman #3. Transcribed text: Dear Editor: Okay, listen up. Here's the story. When I first heard about Miracleman in an Eclipse press release I thought to myself—"Hmmm, Captain Marvel clone." I really didn't put a lot of thought behind it. I didn't order the comic from my subscription service (Westfield Comics). In fact, I didn't think about Miracleman until I read about it becoming a collectors item before it even hit the comic shops. The Comic Buyer's Guide and the Westfield Newsletter were both talking about it. I've read where some dealers are already charging $1.50 for the book. I figured that it was a good thing I hadn't ordered it; I would have never received it, from the sound of things. Yesterday I was at a local comics shop here in the Huntington area (Comic World). As I was gazing through the racks I saw Miracleman #1. In fact, I saw more than 5 copies. Well, I bought three of 'em. I kept one and sent the other two to some friends of mine that told me of their plight of not being able to get ahold of the book in their area. I read the book last night. I was impressed! I was drawn into the story and characters by Alan Moore's great story-telling style. I've really got a thing for stories that span a great length of time with recurring characters. In other words, I took the bait and ran. I now plan on picking up on every issue of Miracleman. As long as the quality of the book is kept at the same level as the first issue, I'll be here chucking down my 75¢. Thanks for teaching an old dog a new trick. Stay outta trouble. Huntington WV

Fan letter written to Miracleman #3. Transcribed text: Dear Moore and Leach, I'd like to start this letter by thanking you for the price of Miracleman #1. This comic, after just one issue, has a very promising future. I confess—when I started reading the first story I was quite skeptical. Young Miracleman? Kid Miracleman?? The Miracleman Family??? I was considering quitting halfway through Chapter 1! I mean, this was great for the 1950s, but 1985? I truly wasn't sure. And then I reached the Moore/Leach section of the story. Now, I'll tell you right now that I'm a big fan of Alan Moore. There are many people whose writing I like very much, but Moore is my all-time favorite. He's a creative genius who will probably never be surpassed. And Miracleman #1 just proved that even more. Garry Leach's art was fabulous, too. I don't believe I have ever seen any of his work before, but I hope I see more of it in the future. And as for these two together? They made a story that I was ready to laugh at into one I was awed by. It was totally twisted around so that, by the end of the story, I was regretting my hasty judgments and awaiting next month's issue (it is monthly, isn't it?). I know the first several issues will be reprinting stories originally published in the British magazine Warrior, but what happens after that? Will Moore continue as the writer (Please!)? I heard that Alan Davis was going to draw it, but that he decided not to. Who will draw it—Leach or someone else? When will the reprinting end and the new stories begin? Well, that's about all. I think the current story line with Kid Miracleman is an ingenious idea, and I promise never to judge any comic before it's fully read ever again (really!). I'm sorry for you having all those problems while trying to get Miracleman on the stands, but look—all your troubles were rewarded! Pacifica CA