Posted in: Comics, Recent Updates | Tagged: brian bendis, Comics, marvel, marvelman

So… How Will Marvel Bring Back Marvelman?

Published Wed, 10 Jul 2013 18:00:01 -0500

So yesterday I rather poured cold water on The Beat's claim that Marvel was to revive the Marvelman character with writer Andrew Hope.

But it does raise the question, if not now, when will Marvel revive Marvelman? And how?

The following is based on observation and assumption rather than actual knowledge. An attempt to look at Marvel's usual practice and engage some plain common sense. Dangerous I know, and I'm working without a safety net here.

But at some point, Marvel Comics will republish the Moore/Leach/Davis/Austen/Veitch/Totleben/Gaiman/Buckingham Marvelman/Miracleman comics as Marvelman. They will then continue the series to its conclusion of The Dark Age with Gaiman and Buckingham. Could be next year, could be the year after that. It seems that Garry Leach may finally be on board and may have come to an arrangement regarding his rights as co-writer and designer of the initial chapters. And Marvel don't envisage any other problems with other creators, but they need to be 100% happy with them, the legal issues and the materials. But it will, at some point happen, and in our lifetimes.

They are likely to be published as individual issues, mirroring the Eclipse pagination, with as high production value and price, as Marvel can get away with. Your $4.99 comic? It could start here, with a free digital download of course. Expect them to look to Before Watchmen and Sandman Overture, and learn.

The comics will then be collected into oversize hardcovers. Leather hardcovers. And expensive paperbacks. There will be lots of money to be made.

But that's the old stuff. What about the new?

I would expect a Brian Bendis-written Marvelman series, possibly integrated into the Marvel Universe, even the Ultimate Universe, telling new stories. Possibly initially drawn by Joe Quesada. Rather than waiting for the old series to conclude, I would expect this to run alongside it, and letting Marvel launch two Marvelman series at once.

I have no evidence for any of this, but doesn't it just feel right?

Truthinews!

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