Poisoned Chalice: The Extremely Long and Incredibly Complex Story of Marvelman (and Miracleman)

The comic character Marvelman (and Miracleman) has a fascinating – and probably unique – history in the field of comics. His extended origin goes all the way back to the very beginnings of the American superhero, and it seems likely that his ongoing story will stretch well into the future. It’s a story of good versus evil, of heroes and villains, and of any number of acts of plagiarism and casual breaches of copyright. Poisoned Chalice wades into one of the strangest and thorniest knots of all of comics: the history of Marvel/Miracleman and still unsolved question of who owns this character. It touches on many of the most remarkable personalities in the comics industry – Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Todd McFarlane, and more. The story of Marvelman hints at the darker places of comics history, springing from the prehistory where greed ruled the day; it’s a complex tale that others have attempted to untangle, but there has never been as thorough or as meticulous a study of it as this book.