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Marvel Comics buys the rights to Miracleman/Marvelman

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Marvel Comics buys the rights to Miracleman/Marvelman

Old 08-13-09, 02:58 PM
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Marvel Comics buys the rights to Miracleman/Marvelman

Or so they say. Joe Quesada announced in San Diego that they had acquired the rights to the character.

http://www.examiner.com/x-3094-Graph...rvelman-rights

http://blog.newsarama.com/2009/07/24...elman-edition/

Still, there are some reports that they are still negotiating with Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman for the 80's series rights.

http://classic-comics.suite101.com/a...y_of_marvelman

I still don't get this. Why all of a sudden did Mick Anglo own the rights of the character? I know he created them but I thought that Len Miller, the owner of the British publication, will also own the character. Then in the 80's Alan Moore recreates the character for Warrior, and then gets in a legal tangle with Marvel Comics. Warrior stories where then picked up by Pacific comics and then by Eclipse, where the character changed name to Miracleman. Neil Gaiman continued the stories and then Eclipse closed shop. Todd McFarlane bought Eclipse with the purpose of getting Miracleman and then everything when to shit, since Gaiman and McFarlane went into a legal battle for Miracleman and 2 Spawn characters Neil had created. From there, it went to Marvel purchasing the rights? How?

hopefully, Marvel will be able to publish the stories. I for one will definitely buy anything the release regarding Marvelman/Miracleman.
Old 08-13-09, 03:32 PM
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Re: Marvel Comics buys the rights to Miracleman/Marvelman

This does sound odd. I'm sure Marvel has all its ducks in a row, but I too fail to see how this is the outcome after years and years of legal battles between Mcfarlane and Gaiman. All of a sudden the original creator got the rights back and renders all that moot? What?

Or are we somehow talking only holding onto the rights in Britain?

This is more confusing than the stupid Harmony Gold/Big West Robotech/Macross crap that prevents that stuff from coming out here...
Old 08-13-09, 05:50 PM
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Re: Marvel Comics buys the rights to Miracleman/Marvelman

The short version is this: Mick Anglo has always owned all of the rights to pre-Warrior Marvelman. For a long time, people thought that Len Miller had a piece as well, and all of the stuff that Moore and Buckingham and Gaiman and all the rest did in the 80s in Warrior were based on a license from Miller. Likewise, Eclipse's rights (and therefore McFarlane's) were derived from Warrior. Since Miller never had any rights in the first place, neither does McFarlane. This all came to a head when Gaiman sued McFarlane over the rights to Angela. Gaiman considered taking McFarlane's Miracleman rights in exchange for his Angela rights as a settlement, but ultimately concluded that McFarlane had no rights. Only Anglo did, and he has no apparently decided to sell them to Marvel.

However, this doesn't mean that Marvel can reprint the Moore or Gaiman stories. Under UK copyright law, the individual writers and artists own copyright in their work. Anglo only owns copyright in the character and on the stories he personally wrote and drew. So Marvel still needs to negotiate with Moore, Buckingham, Gaiman, Leach, Davis, and all the rest. However, Moore has said in an interview that he believes Marvel will be reprinting some of his Miracleman stuff, which suggests that Marvel has already reached out to him and struck some sort of deal.
Old 08-13-09, 08:04 PM
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Re: Marvel Comics buys the rights to Miracleman/Marvelman

Still, that doesn't answer on who owns the characters in the UK and who owns the copyright of the stories and characters in the US. I want to finally be able to purchase reprints of all Miracleman/Marvelman comics, especially the Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman works. Hopefully, whatever agreement comes of this will help do that. Still, things can get muddy, especially when Moore is on the other side of negotiations.
Old 08-13-09, 11:00 PM
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Re: Marvel Comics buys the rights to Miracleman/Marvelman

Gaiman set up the "Marvels and Miracles" thing in order to sort out the rights to the character, so I don't think that either he or Buckingham are going to present much of a problem for getting their existing material back in print and continuing their storyline.

The biggest roadblock for getting the Moore stories back in print is all of the artists involved (as well as letterers) and the usage of the Warpsmith characters.

It shouldn't be too long before we get some news...
Old 08-14-09, 02:38 AM
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Re: Marvel Comics buys the rights to Miracleman/Marvelman

I still have all my original Warrior magazines, always having been a fan of anthology titles. I'd start buying comics again if I knew of something similar in the market today.

I also picked up some/all of the US reprints and continuations having been given a free copy of Issue 1 by publisher Dez Skinn at a little chat he gave at a British SF Association meet way back when.

It'd be interesting to see what comes of this. I remember when MArvel leaned on the UK publisher for using Marvelman and the namechange happened because they couldn't afford the litigation in spite of having a good case for the legitimacy of the character's longstanding appellation!
Old 08-14-09, 01:41 PM
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Re: Marvel Comics buys the rights to Miracleman/Marvelman

I guess it's too late to sell my complete run of Miracleman now, eh?

For the longest time, I was sort of scared of reading them, lest I damage them somehow, and piss away my retirement. LOL!
Old 08-17-09, 07:05 PM
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Re: Marvel Comics buys the rights to Miracleman/Marvelman

I sold my set a few years ago. Looking forward to picking up some tpb reprints and hopefully new stories.
Old 08-18-09, 08:46 AM
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Re: Marvel Comics buys the rights to Miracleman/Marvelman

A friend of mine who works at Marvel told me that we should expect Marvelman items in 2010, but he couldn't give any details on what exactly is coming out.
Old 08-26-09, 02:02 PM
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Re: Marvel Comics buys the rights to Miracleman/Marvelman

Hoping for a reprint of the Alan Moore run on Miracleman so I don't need to pay an arm and a leg for originals...
Old 03-23-10, 09:53 AM
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Re: Marvel Comics buys the rights to Miracleman/Marvelman

It seems Marvel is going to call him Marvelman and they are releasing a one shot this summer.

Marvelman Returns in June
The time has come! Marvelman makes his return in June


Marvel is proud to announce the return of Marvelman to shelves everywhere with the release of MARVELMAN CLASSIC PRIMER #1 in June! Who is the mysterious Marvelman? And just why is he one of the most enduring super heroes of all time? The answers arrive in this commemorative one-shot featuring interviews with creator Mick Anglo, superstar Neil Gaiman and more who contributed to this character's history over the years! Plus, get all-new pinups of key Marvelman characters by superstar artists Mike Perkins, Doug Braithwaite, Miguel Angel Sepulveda, Jae Lee, Khoi Pham and Ben Oliver! This landmark issue features two covers--one with the timeless art of Mick Anglo and another with the now-iconic rendition of Marvelman by Marvel Editor-In-Chief--and superstar artist--Joe Quesada!

Then, in July, thrill to the debut of MARVELMAN FAMILY'S FINEST #1, a new ongoing series reprinting Marvelman's greatest adventures for the first time in the US! Plus, no comics fan can miss MARVELMAN CLASSIC VOL.1 PREMIERE HC, reprinting Marvelman's earliest adventures in chronological order!

Now's your chance to learn just why Marvelman is one of the most important characters in comic book history-it all begins in MARVELMAN CLASSIC PRIMER #1, this June!

MARVELMAN CLASSIC PRIMER #1
Written by JOHN RHETT THOMAS
Cover by JOE QUESADA
Variant by MICK ANGLO
Rated A ...$3.99
ON SALE IN JUNE!


http://marvel.com/news/comicstories....eturns_in_june
Old 03-23-10, 09:57 AM
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Re: Marvel Comics buys the rights to Miracleman/Marvelman

And the Kimota: The Miracleman Companion is going to be re-released, but this time in hardcover and with added material.
Old 03-23-10, 04:29 PM
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Re: Marvel Comics buys the rights to Miracleman/Marvelman

Am I correct that this is all brand new stuff or fifties stuff, and that Marvel till hasn't announced any reprints of the 80s stuff?
Old 03-23-10, 05:16 PM
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Re: Marvel Comics buys the rights to Miracleman/Marvelman

Originally Posted by JasonF
Am I correct that this is all brand new stuff or fifties stuff, and that Marvel till hasn't announced any reprints of the 80s stuff?
So it seems. I think they are still clearing all the rights for the material before they release them again.
Old 03-24-10, 04:47 AM
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Re: Marvel Comics buys the rights to Miracleman/Marvelman

Originally Posted by JasonF
Am I correct that this is all brand new stuff or fifties stuff, and that Marvel till hasn't announced any reprints of the 80s stuff?
Yeah, everything Marvel is reprinting is all old stuff from the 50s and 60s.

Still haven't announced anything on the Moore/Gaiman issues, or new Gaiman/Buckingham material.
Old 03-24-10, 05:54 AM
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Re: Marvel Comics buys the rights to Miracleman/Marvelman

Anyone know what is going to be in the HC? And is it worth picking up?
Old 03-27-10, 08:16 AM
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Re: Marvel Comics buys the rights to Miracleman/Marvelman

Originally Posted by JasonF
The short version is this: Mick Anglo has always owned all of the rights to pre-Warrior Marvelman. For a long time, people thought that Len Miller had a piece as well, and all of the stuff that Moore and Buckingham and Gaiman and all the rest did in the 80s in Warrior were based on a license from Miller. Likewise, Eclipse's rights (and therefore McFarlane's) were derived from Warrior. Since Miller never had any rights in the first place, neither does McFarlane. This all came to a head when Gaiman sued McFarlane over the rights to Angela. Gaiman considered taking McFarlane's Miracleman rights in exchange for his Angela rights as a settlement, but ultimately concluded that McFarlane had no rights. Only Anglo did, and he has no apparently decided to sell them to Marvel.

However, this doesn't mean that Marvel can reprint the Moore or Gaiman stories. Under UK copyright law, the individual writers and artists own copyright in their work. Anglo only owns copyright in the character and on the stories he personally wrote and drew. So Marvel still needs to negotiate with Moore, Buckingham, Gaiman, Leach, Davis, and all the rest. However, Moore has said in an interview that he believes Marvel will be reprinting some of his Miracleman stuff, which suggests that Marvel has already reached out to him and struck some sort of deal.
A social democrat and a comic nerd. God, you are awesome.

Anyway, McFarlane is probably the biggest douche in the comic world for pulling a stunt like that. He bought Eclipse just so he could run a great character through his shitty action figure, movie, cartoon, videogame tie-in comic company.

The 80s stuff won't be reprinted anytime soon. Moore hasn't made it a secret how much he despises Marvel comics. Not only that, but the characters involved also belong to multiple creators.
Old 03-27-10, 01:30 PM
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Re: Marvel Comics buys the rights to Miracleman/Marvelman

Moore has actually said that he's fine with them reprinting his stories if they leave his name off them and give his share of the money to Mick Angelo. I believe Alan Davis is a much bigger hold up for reprinting, since he was upset about the initial Eclipse reprints, but he also has a pretty good working relationship with Marvel.

That's the big problem. Marvel has to get permission from all the artists who have worked on the series, since they each have a share. And then add in characters like Big Ben, who is owned by Dez Skin and the Warpsmiths, who are owned by Gary Leach.

Last edited by majorjoe23; 03-27-10 at 01:33 PM.
Old 03-27-10, 05:01 PM
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Re: Marvel Comics buys the rights to Miracleman/Marvelman

I always figured that McFarlane tried to buy Miracleman to spite Gaiman.
Old 03-27-10, 06:08 PM
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Re: Marvel Comics buys the rights to Miracleman/Marvelman

Originally Posted by majorjoe23
Moore has actually said that he's fine with them reprinting his stories if they leave his name off them and give his share of the money to Mick Angelo. I believe Alan Davis is a much bigger hold up for reprinting, since he was upset about the initial Eclipse reprints, but he also has a pretty good working relationship with Marvel.

That's the big problem. Marvel has to get permission from all the artists who have worked on the series, since they each have a share. And then add in characters like Big Ben, who is owned by Dez Skin and the Warpsmiths, who are owned by Gary Leach.
From what I understand, they have permission from everyone but they are making sure that there are no legal issues pending or anyone left with a grind to ax regarding the ownership of the character.
Old 03-27-10, 06:11 PM
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Re: Marvel Comics buys the rights to Miracleman/Marvelman

By the way, I wished Marvel released everything in hardcover Omnibus sets, in volumes, like DC did for the Sandman.
Old 08-09-10, 11:11 PM
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Re: Marvel Comics buys the rights to Miracleman/Marvelman

Originally Posted by Graftenberg
Anyone know what is going to be in the HC? And is it worth picking up?
Home > Profile: Marvelman Classic Prem HC Quesada Cover Vol. 01
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Collecting material from MARVELMAN #25-34 in the original black-and-white.
From the looks of it, the Moore/Gaiman stuff apparently is still being sorted out and there is no time frame or hint if Marvel will even be able to release it. The only thing they own now is Mike Anglo's old stuff which is being reprinted in the Marvelman Finest miniseries and this HC release. I wish Marvel would have found a better way to release all these stories, which in truth, are not as interesting as the 80's revamp.
Old 08-10-10, 10:45 AM
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Re: Marvel Comics buys the rights to Miracleman/Marvelman

Originally Posted by Superboy
A social democrat and a comic nerd. God, you are awesome.
How did I miss this post? Anyway, Superboy is right -- I am awesome.

As for Marvelman, I picked up the first issue of the reprint series. It was fun as a historical artifact, but I didn't enjoy it enough to justify picking up the rest of the issues. I'm still holding out hope for reprints of the Moore/Gaiman stuff.
Old 08-10-10, 11:14 AM
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Re: Marvel Comics buys the rights to Miracleman/Marvelman

Moore is a much bigger douche then McFarlane could ever be, with his endless whining and bitching whenever one of his pwecious ittle comic books is "adapted" for a movie and then Moore is shocked, SHOCKED!!!!! to find that things have chancged in the transition from comic book to movie screen. McFarlane is a businessman plain and simple and that seems to run a lot of people the wrong way, for some demented reason.
Old 08-12-10, 06:47 PM
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Re: Marvel Comics buys the rights to Miracleman/Marvelman

First off, I like that Moore gives his honest opinion on how the movie projects turn out, rather than being just saying every project he's associated with is awesome, despite being to the contrary.

However, I don't think he became that critical till he had to give an 8 hour testimony in court where people claimed he stole the idea for League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. That and the studio sarcastically "admitting" that they stole the work in an email, and then later settling out of court soured him on Hollywood.

That said he sounds more consistent with his convictions than McFarlane.
I like McFarlane but he originally was all about creators rights and argued that he should get something for creating Venom, even though he just added a smile to a Rick Leonardi design. Yet, he doesn't think that Gaiman should get something for co-creating Medieval Spawn.

I think McFarlane's arrogant attitude after his departure from Marvel is what turned people against him.

However, back to Miracleman. If Marvel put out a Miracleman Classics monthly out, in color, I would buy it. But shelling out the cash for a Hardcover edition that doesn't include the work that Moore and Gaiman did doesn't seem worth it.

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