Miracle Monday

Happy Miracle Monday!

Do you know what Miracle Monday is? If you’re a fan of Superman you probably do. But if not, allow me to explain.

Miracle Monday paperback coverTo begin with, Miracle Monday is the title of a Superman novel written by Elliot S! Maggin (yes, that’s an exclamation point after his middle initial, and I’m not sure why Warner Books did not use it on the cover) and is probably one of the best novels about the Man of Steel you’ll ever read. It was first published 39 years ago on February 1, 1981 and though it was released in conjunction with the Superman II movie that hit theaters in June of that year AND has Christopher Reeve on the cover, it really has nothing to do with the theatrical version of the character or the movie.

Maggin was and is one of my favorite Superman comic book writers. He had published his first Superman novel, Superman: Last Son of Krypton about 4 years earlier which I enjoyed tremendously, so when I saw this book on the shelves at a bookstore, I snatched it up without a second thought.

By the way I still have both of those novels in their first printings sitting on my shelves at the cabin and it’s been a while since I read either one of them. Since I’ll be spending a couple of weeks up there in a few days, I think I should take the opportunity to re-read them both. What a great idea!

Anyway, the gist of this story, which captures the purity of the Superman mythos so accurately, is that a young woman from the future travels to Metropolis of the past (Superman’s era) to discover the origin of the celebration of Miracle Monday in her time. Along the way, Superman has to battle a demon from hell with the young woman’s life in the balance and what happens next is what causes the annual celebration of Miracle Monday (every third Monday of May) to take place.

Now, there’s a LOT more to the story than that but I don’t want to spoil it any further than I already have. If you have any fondness for the character and have not done so already, you should definitely read this novel by Elliot S! Maggin and enjoy it fully yourself.

Today is that third Monday, and so I wish you a Happy Miracle Monday!

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