Cover Me: Frank Miller Goes Indie

Just a quickie this week (new job, time consuming, etc., etc., etc.), but it doesn't take long to give ya a snapshot of Frank Miller's independent cover artwork from the 1980s. Check it out!


But wait, there's more! Just to make this post a little more filling (tastes great!), here are Frank's Famous Detective centerfolds from Ms. Tree #'s 1, 2, and 4 (still looking for the centerfold from #3...)


IMPORTANT NOTE: BMwC is going to be taking a short hiatus (a week or two) to give me time to get ahead on everything. When BMwC returns, it will be moving to SATURDAYS, by the way. Stay tuned!

Cover Me: Frank Miller at Marvel

Before Frank Miller became Frank Miller, while he was making a name for himself on his first Daredevil run, Marvel Comics utilized Miller's talents on dozens of covers. Aside from those he's most associated with (Daredevil and the various Spider-Man titles), Miller's art did the spinner-rack boogaloo on...

Captain America...


The Incredible Hulk...


Moon Knight...


Power Man and Iron Fist...


ROM... Spider-Woman... Star Trek...


And many other titles--a few of them, I think, will pleasantly surprise you...


But wait! There's more! Miller also dabbled a bit in the indie/direct market arena during the mid-to-late 1980s. Where? Stay tuned!

STOP THE PRESSES: Marvel Comics Owns Marvelman!

That's right. You don't have to call Mike Moran "Miracleman" anymore! Here's the press release from Marvel Comics:
The biggest news of Comic Con International in San Diego was revealed moments ago and jaws are still on the floor-the world-renowned super hero MARVELMAN is now part of the Marvel Comics family! Marvel Comics has purchased the rights to MARVELMAN from creator Mick Anglo and his representatives, finding a home for one of the most sought after heroes in graphic fiction!

"It is an honor to work with Mick Anglo to bring his creation to a larger audience than ever before," said Dan Buckley, CEO & Publisher, Print, Animation & Digital Media, Marvel Entertainment Inc. "Fans are in for something special as they discover just what makes Marvelman such an important character in comic book history."

Originally created in 1954 by Mick Anglo and appearing in some of the most celebrated comic stories of all time, MARVELMAN is Micky Moran, a young reporter gifted with the power to save the world by simply uttering the word "kimota!"

"I did not think it would ever happen," said Mick Anglo. "It's a wonderful thing to see my creation finally back."

MARVELMAN is back and he's found a new home at Marvel Comics! What's next for Mick Anglo's legendary creation? Stay tuned to Marvel.com for all the news on Marvelman and this exciting new addition to the Marvel family!

Here's a link to Marvel's Marvelman page, which includes the full scoop plus your first look at Marvelman merchandise, including tee-shirts and posters.

Why is this such a big deal? Are you wondering, to quote Bugs Bunny, "What's all the hubbub...bub?" Perhaps you need a bit of background, grasshopper. There's a very good summary of the whole Marvelman/Miracleman history at the leylander.org and another at sequart. I'll wait for ya while you read all that (it's really interesting, check it out!)

...

Okay, are ya back? So the upshot is that British publisher Quality's Warrior Magazine brought 1940s British Captain Marvel clone Marvelman back in the early 1980s under the talents of Alan Moore, Garry Leach, and Alan Davis. In 1985, when U.S. publisher Eclipse got the rights to publish Marvelman here in the states, Marvel Comics threatened a lawsuit if they used the Marvelman name, so Eclipse published Marvelman under the name Miracleman. Moore, Leach, and Davis eventually left the strip and other creators, most notably Neil Gaiman, picked up the ball and carried on with the strip until it finally folded in the early 1990s when Eclipse went under.

Since that time, the rights have languished in legal limbo. Image's Todd McFarlane claimed that he had bought the rights; Gaiman had a claim to the rights; creator Mick Anglo felt he'd never been fairly recompensed for the rights and thus still had claim.

Looks like Mick was right, according to the press release.

OR, one has to wonder, does Marvel really have the rights to Marvelman/Miracleman, or does Marvel have the rights to Mick Anglo's Marvelman? Is Marvel going to create a new Marvelman from the whole cloth? Are they going to update him Marvel style and ignore the Warrior/Eclipse years? Or do they have the rights to the whole Marvelman/Miracleman library (the "pixie dust" effect in Joe Quesada's poster give us hope)? And what does Alan Moore have to say about all of this?

Only time will tell! I'll do my best to keep you updated as news is made available.

We'll return to our regularly scheduled Frank Miller/Cover Me feature next week--unless I learn that Marvel has gotten the rights to Garfield or some other "Internet breaking" news.

Cover Me: Frank Miller at DC

When most folks think of Frank Miller in the 1980s, they more than likely think of Daredevil, Wolverine, Ronin, The Dark Knight Returns, Batman: Year One, or Elektra. How many of you remember what Frank did to pass the time while he was working on those ground-breaking masterpieces, though? One thing he did was draw covers for a handful of DC mags. Remember any of these?


No? Yes? What about the hoopla surrounding the fact that Miller was the cover artist for DC's Superman: The Secret Years mini-series?


What other comicbook work did the talented Mr. Miller do during the 80s? Come back next week for the answer!

John Ostrander Needs You!

One of the absolute best writers to come out of the 1980s is none other than John Ostrander. A former Chicago actor who had thought of becoming a Catholic priest, Ostrander showed a facility for writing stories that went a bit deeper than your run-of-the-mill comicbook fare. His insightful characterization, excellent plotting, and naturalistic dialogue kept his comics on my "must read" list for many years.

He co-created and wrote well-remembered characters like Grimjack and Dynamo Joe for First. For DC he plotted Legends (essentially re-booting the entire DC universe after the original Crisis on Infinite Earths), wrote Firestorm, contributed to Wasteland (which helped pave the way for the types of comics DC would produce in its Vertigo line), helped revamp the Suicide Squad and Manhunter, and created such memorable and important characters as Amanda Waller and (along with his late wife, Kim Yale) Barbara Gordon's Oracle persona.

If you didn't read Ostrander comics in the 80s, you just didn't know your comics, dude! Not only did Ostrander write awesome comics, but he stuck with them. He didn't do an "arc" here and there and move on to "put his mark" on every character a company published. He wrote every Grimjack and Dynamo Joe story. He stayed on Firestorm for nearly 50 consecutive issues. Suicide Squad was his baby for its entire 66 issue run. A true talent and a real pro, through and through.

From the 90s on, Ostrander has continued to be an influential and popular comicbook author. His 90s run on The Spectre is legendary and would be enough to keep him in the comicbook hall of fame, but he ain't stoppin', still going on mags like Star Wars: Legacy from Dark Horse (nearing 50 issues on that awesome mag).

John Ostrander has given comics fans tons of enjoyment, it goes without saying. But right now, John really needs our help. John has been battling glaucoma and has undergone very expensive treatments in order to keep his sight. His insurance (no surprise) won't cover all of the costs he's incurring, so fandom is coming to his aid through a group called Comix4Sight. Comix4Sight is holding auctions at various comic-cons and has set up a website with info on how to donate items for auction--along with a link to where you can just plain ol' send money. Please visit the Comix4Sight page and do what you can to help John in his time of need.