Miracleman, Book One: The Golden Age Review (Neil Gaiman, Mark Buckingham)

I was put off from reading any more Miracleman for a number of years after trying and failing to get through Alan Moore’s unreadable third book but recently saw this one on the shelf and decided to give it a shot. Neil Gaiman took over writing duties from The Original Writer (as Moore demanded to be credited in the new Marvel reprints, because he can really hold a grudge) and he can write a decent comic, eh - maybe his Miracleman would be an improvement?

… It’s not. The Golden Age is anything but golden.

It’s a collection of short stories featuring people living in Miracleman’s world, experiencing his “perfect” rule - and we find out, predictably, that life isn’t quite so perfect for everyone. Some pilgrims journey up his temple, Olympus, to ask him to grant their wishes; some guy learns not to be superficial towards women’s appearances; Andy Warhol gets cloned several times for some reason and tends to the clone of Emil Gargunza, Miracleman’s nemesis; a woman reads her kids a dreary children’s book about a baby superhero; another woman thinks she’s a spy; and everyone watches fireworks go off at a carnival to celebrate the golden age of Miracleman.

The stories and characters in this book are unbelievably dull and flat. They’re neither interesting in themselves or in relation to Miracleman. They add nothing to the character who doesn’t seem to progress in this book at all - it’s a completely superfluous addition to the series. All Gaiman does is bore you with unnecessary, unentertaining stories for an entire book and you’re right back where you started: Miracleman’s in charge and that’s that.

I didn’t enjoy Mark Buckingham’s often grubby art either. It’s very ‘90s Vertigo, lots of extra-scratchy lines and weak colours. It’s so dated and unappealing.

This technically fourth book and the previous third book makes me wonder if this is a character that had the legs for a long-running series or whether Miracleman would’ve been better served by appearing in a standalone story arc that spanned a couple of books tops.

The Golden Age is an utterly boring read and a pointless addition to the series. It doesn’t make me excited to read the forthcoming Silver Age either, let alone the Dark Age (though at the rate Gaiman’s going, he might never get around to that one - which may be for the best).