Marvel Comics #1000 features writer Neil Gaiman and artist Mark Buckingham's return to Miracleman, which has experienced significant delays over the years due to rights issues surrounding the character.
The massive issue sees Miracleman reading through a book titled "Marvel Comics," looking back through it and lamenting the "almost dead" genre. "Today I return to comic books," he says, a tongue-in-cheek reference to this page being Miracleman's first appearance in a long time. The date in the lower-left corner reads 2014, which is when Marvel Comics got the rights to Miracleman and began reprinting the old comics.
Also known as Marvelman and Michael Moran, Miracleman was created by Mick Anglo and first appeared in 1954's Marvelman #25. The character possesses flight, super-strength and a bevy of other immensely powerful abilities. Gaiman and Buckingham work on the series was interrupted mid-storyline when publisher Eclipse Comics went bankrupt.
Gaiman has remained optimistic over the years he'd have a chance to finish the series. The team confirmed in June they'd been working on new Miracleman stories. Marvel Editor-in-Chief C.B. Cebulski also confirmed the series would return, though when remains unclear.
Marvel Comics #1000 will start from 1939 and work its way to the present day, with each page correlating to one year in Marvel's history. The book will include work from 80 different creative teams. Along with celebrity contributors are also names from Marvel's storied past -- including George Perez, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Kurt Busiek, Walter Simonson and more. An extra issue, Marvel Comics #1001, promises to reveal more secrets regarding the Eternity Mask, which is central to the story's plot, and its mysterious owner, and will include another star-studded creative lineup.