Despite this issue dealing with inter-stellar politics, it's actually easier to digest than the last two issues. Moore not only solidifies our understanding of the nature of the Miraclepersons, but also manages to bring some emotion back to the series.
We learn that the aliens that crashed on Earth and served as the basis for the Miraclepersons were the Qys, thanks to their natural ability to change bodies (leaving them in infra- or under-space). It actually makes a lot of sense, no matter how fantastic it sounds here. Moreover, we learn that the birth of Winter, essentially a child of the Qys, has brought Earth into the "intelligent space" that the Qys and the Warpsmiths divide, leading to both sides agreeing to keep the planet neutral for now. (Miraclewoman at some point suggested that the two sides have sex to resolve their differences, and I think one of the goals of the monitoring system that the two sides establish is to determine whether Earth would be a suitable place for that act to happen.) With the conclusion of this inter-stellar summit, Mike returns home and a freaked out Liz flees for her sister's, leaving Winter to talk to Mike for the first time.
Although Moore uses some of the difficult narration from the previous two issues, he scales it back significantly so that it doesn't really get in the way of the story that he's telling (as it did in those issues). Moreover, he addresses my complaint from last issue, that we functionally no longer have anyone capable of exhibiting emotions in this series. Moore actually uses Liz's breakdown as a way to underline that point, showing Miracleman as increasingly removed from his humanity. (In fact, I realized that Miracleman hasn't assumed Mike's body in a while.) If the message still wasn't clear that Miracleman is increasingly not human, Moore has him observing a race that he created and keeps in a terranium like a distant god. (The story closes with Mike talking about a word that this race coined for "the sorrow that is felt on realising sorrow is a thing one can no longer truly feel.") Moore seems to be setting up a moment where Mike will decide to leave behind his humanity, and the series is easier to read now that it's clear that we're moving to this decision point.
Of note, Moore really does anticipate the Information Age in this issue. Although in this world the communications revolution seems due to gifts from the aliens, Moore really does predict a world where distance has no meaning, similar to the Warpsmith's reality. "No cities, concentrating jobs and lives into one crammed environment, when screens can take the office home. No borders in the electronic state, where jokes in Aberdeen raise laughter in Japan." Written in 1987, it's interesting to see how Moore predicts where we find ourselves now.
*** (three of five stars)
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