A few weeks ago, I switched to getting "Miracleman" digitally, but it took me a few weeks to realize that "Miracleman" isn't available digitally. As such, I'm two issues behind, so let's get to it.
Issue #11 is...odd. I mean, this entire series is odd, so it's saying a lot when I find myself singling out an issue as "odd." The main story itself is fine. The two mysterious figures from the previous issue (identified as Qys in the text describing the re-worked cover in the extra pages) finally find Moran. He manages to avoid them long enough to turn into Miracleman, but they do a number on him anyway. They read his mind and discover that he has a daughter, so one of the Qys goes to collect her. Thankfully, Miraclewoman has snuck into the Moranses' house and knows a way to injure the Qys, saving Liz and the baby in the process.
Again, the story itself is fine. It's a little unclear how Miraclewoman is able to seemingly kill a Qys without it resurrecting itself in a new shape, as keeps happening to Miracleman, but it's clear that Moore will likely clarify that part in the next issue. The odd part is the framing narration. The story is told as a flashback by Miracleman as he sits in his orbital station above Earth in 1987 and writes his mémoires. He seems to have lost touch with his humanity by this point, seeing himself as a demi-god that can grant wishes and life. (Underscoring that point, he calls the station "Olympus.") The emotional detachment isn't the only odd part; when he does have emotions, they seem odd, like the revelation that he not only keeps a bust of Gargunza, but refers to him as "Father." It seems almost like Kid Miracleman or some other villain has taken over Miracleman's body. If not, Moore is going to have to explain at some point how Miracleman became the oddball that he is here.
Issue #12 is...odder. Again, the story is fine. In fact, we actually start getting somewhere, completing our understanding of Gargunza's activities. Miraclewoman reveals via flashback that Gargunza created her and the remaining Miracleperson, Young Nastyman, as an off-the-books project. He created her to mate with one of the four other Miraclemen, clearly to create the child that he could use as the repository of his mind (as he intended with Winter). We learn that Gargunza repeatedly raped Miraclewoman while she was in her dream state and that he infused Young Nastyman with violent images in his dream state. But, Young Nastyman eventually broke free, and Gargunza allowed Miraclewoman and the Miracleman Family to awaken to go after him. Miraclewoman succeeds in defeating him and absconds. In the meantime, Archer has discovered Gargunza's secret activities and sends the now-awakened Miracleman Family to their deaths at Dragonslayer. (Interestingly, Moore seems to imply that Young Miracleman was in love with Miracleman, something I hope we explore later.) In the present, the Miracles are whisked into space with the Warpsmiths, who arrive to help the surviving Qys heal his dying counterpart.
Like the previous issue, this issue is made difficult to read a a result of Miracleman's almost incomprehensible narration. We learn that Miraclewoman in 1987 seems to be some sort of sexual therapist, though I have to be honest that I'm not 100 percent sure of that. The entire issue is sexually charged, and it's full of odd moments like Miraclewoman revealing that she laughed when she discovered, via video tapes, that Gargunza frequently raped her unconscious self. As such, you not only find yourself reading about Miraclewoman shrugging off the years of horrific sexual abuse that she suffered at Gargunza's hands, but you have to keep re-reading it to make sure that you've actually understood it correctly, given the lack of clarity in the narrative. It's disturbing to say the least.
I have to admit that I'm not 100 percent sure whether I want to keep reading the story that Moore is telling. I believe that Gaiman is taking over the series in a few issues, but, if I have to get through the pages upon pages of turgid prose that I had to endure in these two issues, I'm not sure I can make it four issues. Plus, I'm not really clear on the story that Moore is telling. Originally, we were watching Mike come to grips with his secret past, but now we just seem to be meandering through a twisted version of Saturday morning cartoons. The narrative oddness in these issues makes Miracleman seem vaguely inhuman, undermining your ability to identify with him or the story. Even when we do stumble upon scenarios where we might be able to identify with the characters as humans, the characters' emotions make little sense, as with Miraclewoman's response to learning about her sexual abuse or Miracleman keeping a bust of Gargunza. It's all just...odd.
** (two of five stars)
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