At a 'Cup O' Joe' panel at San Diego Comic Con in 2009, Marvel Chief Creative Officer Joe Quesada announced that the publisher had acquired the rights to Marvelman, the character created by Mick Anglo in 1954. A few months later, it was revealed that Marvel would be publishing "Marvelman Classic" reprints, though that would not include the iconic -- and due to their scarce availability, almost mythical -- runs on the character, also known as MiracleMan, from writers Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman. But today, four years after that initial announcement and at another Cup O' Joe panel, Quesada, along with a video message from Gaiman, revealed plans to reprint the Gaiman run with artist Mark Buckingham. Further, it was announced that Gaiman and Buckingham will finally be able to complete their previously unfinished story.

In a video played shortly after Quesada shared the news, Gaiman, who called his work on MiracleMan "the big incomplete book in my life," spoke to the audience about the project:“Miracleman #25 has been sitting in the darkness, nobody’s seen it...I love the idea that it’s finally going to be seen.”

Gaiman and Buckingham came on to the series with issue #17, following Alan Moore's departure, and had planned an 18 issue run, broken into three six issue parts -- "The Golden Age," "The Silver Age" and "The Dark Age," but only made it to issue #24 before Eclipse Comics, the publisher of the series, folded. Issue #25 was completed, though never colored, but never saw print. Rights to the story and the character infamously remained in an unresolved legal battle for years, with fans lamenting not being able to easily access the previously printed material or see the intended conclusion.

Marvel will reprint all eight previously released issues of Gaiman and Buckingham's run, startingin January. That will be followed by the 10 previously never-completed issues, concluding the story. In an interview on Marvel's website, SVP of Publishing David Gabriel discussed the process of restoring the original work:

The Marvel Special Projects team have even been developing some new techniques specifically for this project. These Miracleman issues will receive the most advanced restoration possible to ensure the most authentic reading experience. The art is crisp, clear, and looks as good – if not better than the day it was published! Also, the stories are being completely relettered to meet today’s standards.

Each issue will contain additional material, including new art and creator interviews, and will feature cover art from various creators, including Buckingham, Alan Davis, John Cassaday, Skottie Young, Leinil Francis Yu and more.

[Via CBR]