As reported on Newsarama, the appeals court has sided with Neil Gaiman in his ongoing court case over various characters he created with the reprehensible, and seemingly syphillis-crazed Todd McFarlane.
Which is swell, but ultimately I don’t think anyone is clamoring for Neil Gaiman’s Ultimate Elseworlds Cogliostro. But a more important development, is reported on Gaiman’s blog.
Apparently, Todd McFarlane does not, and seemingly never did, own any of the rights to Miracleman. During the court case over the other characters, the full story came out regarding the character. McFarlane might have some claim to a specific Miracleman logo, but as to the character and the rights to republish it he’s out the door. This is huge and joyous news for good people and comic book fans, as we may get Miracleman reprints during our lifetime.
I remember the one MiracleMan product Todd actually got to market (a planned appearance in an issue of Spawn never materialized.). It was a statue-bulging with muscles, howling with berserk blood-thirsty rage. It was proof McFarlane had no understanding of the character whatsoever.
Miracleman has the physique of a gymnast, not a Pumping Iron era Schwarzenegger. Heck, there’s a whole conversation on just that subject.
Bloodthirsty? I admit I don’t have all the issues. But, I do have one where he passes up the chance to kill Kid MiracleMan when he reverts to young Bates. ('I did it! I beat you! Me! Kid MiracleMan! Oh bugger! MiracleMan is the magic word that changes me back!)
NOTE- NonAmerican Dopers may be a bit confused. The character’s name was changed from MarvelMan to MiracleMan for publication in the US due to IIRC Marvel Comics having a copyright on that name (MarvelBoy briefly went by that name a few decades back.). I learned this in an editorial which ended with the warning that I could one day be reading the same comic retitled as MackerelMan.
I don’t know anything about Todd McFarlane other than that he created Spawn (who’s origin story I’ve heard a bazillion different times, but that’s about it) and that he used to draw Spider-man. Also that his company makes lots of “mature action figures.”
Just wanted to go on a slight tangent and note MiracleMan quickly shed his pacifist ways after the first tussle with Kid Miracle to indulge in death as needed.
You are right, even with this, that Todd didn’t understand the character. The closest he came to justifiable bloodthirst was when he was almost killed by (Garganza? Garganzola? Forgive my incompetence, I cannot remember the damnable scientist’s name) and, more importantly, the life of his wife and child were on the line. Even then, never rage, he seemed above such feelings. He merely killed them all was needed, in an almost detatched manner.