Volume 2 of the Miracleman stories, The Red King Syndrome
opens by showing the couple we met in the first batch of Miracleman stories
Things have gotten quieter, and yet more difficult for them.
Michael Moran and his wife now know how he became Miracleman and what made him lose his memory.
Moran’s also trying to adjust to the fact his wife is expecting a child.
This would be wonderful, except that his Miracleman persona fathered the child. So, his wife’s pregnancy only seems to show one more thing Moran can’t do but his superhero alter ego can do fine.
In the midst of all these troubles, someone returns from Miracleman’s past. Someone cold and vicious who knows the full story about Miracleman’s origins.
Moore excels at upping the ante in these stories. In the previous volume, Miracleman recovered all his memories about his past and then discovered a little later that everything he believed about his past was a lie. This is one superhero who really has to go through a trial by fire, and the trial only gets harder in this volume.
The personal stakes get higher, the fight scenes become more graphic, and Miracleman’s world gets stranger every minute.
In short, Moore manages to top what he accomplished in Miracleman Book 1, which is certainly not an easy task.
RATING: 4 out of 5 stars.
Content WARNING: viscous battle scenes, including a graphic scene of a woman giving birth.
Article text copyright 2018 by Gabriel Connor Slater. Feel free to share and quote, but use proper attribution.