Marvel 1602 HC (Marvel Heroes)

First, let me say that Neil Gaiman is easily one of the best writers working today in any prose-based medium. His novels are incredible, his screenplays similar, and his comics are outstanding. There is no current writer today who straddles the fence between reality and fantasy better than Neil Gaiman. And the fact that he works in so many different mediums adds to his "remarkable-ness."

That caveat aside, let's talk about his Marvel miniseries, 1602.

Gaiman does a wonderful job of translating the heroes of the Marvel Universe to an historic setting. And he makes the necessary adjustments: Matt Murdock doesn't become a blind barrister, but rather a blind minstrel/guide, which allows Daredevil the freedom of movement a hero needs in Gaiman's reimagined 1602. Similar adjustments are made for a wide range of Marvel characters.

The story is affecting, and wonderfully rendered in muted tones by the art team, and Gaiman deserves credit for finding room for a lot of the Marvel Universe, and also for not trying to shoehorn every modern hero into the framework of the story.

The story is intellectual and exciting (conspiracy stuff), and the artwork is among the best I've seen in a graphic novel.

The reason for subtracting a star? Simply because, although Gaiman structured his story and introduced his characters so a first-timer can enjoy the story, it's best appreciated through the prism that only a Marvel Universe reader has handy.

But more than worth your time, regardless.

As stated in other reviews I've posted on Amazon, I am a big fan of Marvel's WHAT IF concept, as well as other alternate reality stories, provided that events are presented in a logical fashion. More often than not, however, they aren't, leaving the reader to deal with too many assumptions and unanswered questions. When 1602 was first announced by Marvel, I was under the impression that Neil Gaiman was simply going to take the easy way out: "re-imagining" the heroes and villains of the Silver Age Marvel Universe as existing in England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth. After reading the recently-released hardcover collection, however, I can say that this is definitely not a re-imagining, nor even a "what if" story, but more of a very original mystery with an excellent twist that makes sense. Surprisingly, 1602 can comfortably exist within normal Marvel continuity. As a result, I enjoyed it immensely.

In order to not spoil the plot, I'll be as basic as possible: the Marvel Universe has arisen 360 years early, triggering the possible destruction of the universe. Of course, it's up to the heroes, and a few villains, to try to set things right. You'll see many familiar faces here, especially if you're moderately familiar with Marvel's Silver Age characters. Even if not, it's not too difficult to determine who is who. Gaiman writes a very tight story that moves quickly, and Adam Kubert's art is exceptional, especially when paired with the skilled coloring of Richard Isanove. Scott McKowen provides beautiful woodcut covers for the series and the collection. All contributors to this story complement each other quite well, making 1602 an essential part of any comic library.

...the book jacket and the other reviews tell you everything you need to know before going into this book. Too much, actually. The less you know, the better on this one. Just buy it. Instead of rehashing the plot and pointlessly singing Gaiman's well deserved praises, I'm going to defend him on another front:

A lot of people have bashed this book for not being The Sandman or one of Neil's even more lofty projects, and for daring to feature conventional superheroes, if in a rather unconventional manner. Folks, get over it. Gaiman clearly LIKES superheroes (his occasional use of them in The Sandman and his glowing account of his youth with Marvel's characters in the afterword of this book makes that clear). He likes writing about them and is very good at it. He also likes writing drama, horror, fantasy, science fiction and dabbling into other realms of storytelling that are too hard to pigeonhole, and he's very good at all of it. Don't pillory the man because he wants to work in more than one genre, and because he occasionally condescends to dabble in a genre that most of the rest of the world has written off as juvenile crap. Gaiman has proven that almost any premise--even a premise involving grown men running around in longjohns saving the world--can produce good, moving, thought provoking tales if handled the right way. Lighten up, order this book, and enjoy it for what it is--a damn fine story, superheroes or no.

The tale that famed Sandman creator Neil Gaiman weaves in this eight issue mini-series is something truly magical. Instead of taking the easy way out, such as a previous reviewer stated by implanting the silver age icons in the year 1602 or doing a "What If...?" type story, Gaiman envisions a past world in which the Marvel universe is taking shape almost 400 years too early. Queen Elizabeth's court magician Doctor Stephen Strange senses something that should not be is going on, while her top spy Sir Nicholas Fury fends off an assassination attempt by the winged warriors who are in the service of Otto Von Doom. There are also a band of young people with mysterious and dangerous abilities and powers called "Witchbreed" and are led by the enigmatic Carlos Javier. Just about every character from Marvel's silver age is here, including Peter Parquah who has a fondness for spiders, blind Irishman Matthew Murdoch who has daring abilities of his own, a group called the Fantastick who share strange powers and are prisoners of Doom, a mysterious red-headed widower named Natasha who has plans of her own, and an old man named Donal who carries a stick which transforms him into the Norse God of thunder and lightning. The story comes alive like a fairy tale, and Gaiman's dynamite twist will leave you breathless. The art by the Origin team of penciler Andy Kubert and digital painter Richard Isanove makes this period piece come alive, with amazing art throughout (even though Beast looks a little too much like Wolverine here). Marvel 1602 is undoubtadly one of the best and most creative mini's to come out of the house of ideas in a very long time, and if you missed out on it, this handsome hardcover collection is an absolute must own in every comic fan's library.

If you've never read anything by Neil Gaiman, none of
the chapters of THE SANDMAN, not one page of STARDUST,
here is a place to richly whet your appetite. If you've
not encountered the splendor and depth of AMERICAN GODS,
nor the crystal clarity shock of MURDER MYSTERIES, nor
any of his various works for television or children's
tale, then consider yourself invited to begin your
experiencing of a great writer here.

MARVEL 1602 is Gaiman's landmark first work for Marvel
Comics, now collected as a striking hardcover edition
for all to encounter and enjoy the author's great
take on Marvel mythology sifted through the lens of
one of the most dire transitional periods in Western
History. 1602 focuses upon the British embracing of
the dreaded Spanish Inquisition, and all the hateful,
bigoted practices that it murderously upheld as
holy.
How does Gaiman place the Marvel pantheon within
this time period? That would be telling. Yet it is
how he meticulously uses them to further emphasize
the issues of that day, as well as that day's
chilling parallels to the questions of tolerance
so vital to our own time, which distinguishes what
a consummate storyteller this man is. Full of
pertinence, charged with characterization, loaded
with action, MARVEL 1602 is an outstanding literary
adventure, and a standout achievement.
Those Gaiman acolytes awaiting "another Sandman" not
only waste their time, but miss the mark altogether.
THE SANDMAN is a story about the nature of stories.
MARVEL 1602 is about the inspiration that talespinners
can evoke. In this, Gaiman (with striking illustrations
from Andy Kubert, stunning digital painting by Richard
Isanove, and wondrous engraving-like cover art from
Scott McKowen) evokes staggering time paradoxes as
worthy of DC's Julius Schwartz as they are a hearty
hat tip to the eye-popping wonder and interweaving
plotlines of Marvel's Lee, Kirby, Thomas, and
Ditko.
If anything, too, Gaiman's stress on topical concerns
here strongly riffs upon the Marvel epics of Englehart
and Starlin, Gerber and McGregor some 25 to 30 years
ago, when the company produced its finest, most
consistently challenging work.

So how in the world does a Spider-Man or a Doctor Doom
fit into the Middle Ages, anyway? Would a Nick Fury
even fit? Why would there be a need for a Captain
America?
Read one of the sweetest jigsaw puzzles you will ever
encounter, and find out for yourself.

Neil Gaiman. MARVEL 1602.
Well worth the effort.

Well worth your time.

I'll state it right now, I am not a Marvel fan. The characters are interesting and so are the plots (from what I've gleaned, at least) but I just don't have the time, capital, or drive to collect 'em all.

That said, I still enjoyed Marvel 1602 very much. I may just be a sucker for wonderful art and Gaiman's writing, but the story itself pulled me along with little resistance.

Though I did find myself flipping back through the pages to clear up some points, I found no trouble in being ignorant of the Marvel universe. The characters not instantly recognizable through today's comic-book-movies and Saturday morning cartoons were writen so as to be pretty self-contained. The personalities and motives stood alone well, and the plot itself seems less like something contrived and more like a single episode in an ongoing tale.

I'm sure that I would have enjoyed this even more than I did if I were an avid Marvel reader. Nevertheless, I really liked it, if only on a few levels.

I'm a comic, Neil Gaiman and historical fan. When Marvel 1602 came out I thought I was in heaven. The beginning was great and introduced us to the various variants to future heroes to come. The social commentary, politics and changes to the characters were interesting.

However the ending was aweful. A time travelling muck up with a "time was changed and therefore it never happened," is just a plain horrible way to end the series. A good series with great potential that ultimately self destructs in the end.

I reluctantly give it three stars. I have never seen something that seems to be as well done as this flop so badly in the end. I found the end to be heavy handed, forced, implausible and not alluded to at all.

The first 7 issues of it deserve 5 stars each though. Gaiman brilliantly interprets so many Marvel classics for the Elizabethan era.

If you really want optimal reading pleasure then stop at the end of issue 7.

Yes, I did enjoy this work. I have always admired Neil's ability to take us some where else. The name changes I found were rather silly though. And what fun is spiderman with out the spider. It was very hard for me to become completely entranced with the concept. I think I would have enjoyed it better if I knew nothing of the Marvel universe and read this book first. Hey, I think that is a good idea. I going to give this to someone who does not know comics and see waht they think. Only one problem, I don't know anyone who doesn't know about comics.

I rarely keep up with comic books and graphic novels these days, so I know very little of Gaiman's work with the Sandman series. That said, I think this reinvention of some classic Marvel heroes is strong on creativity and short on a coherent storyline. In this collected series of 8 comic books, Gaiman tells of an Elizabethan England that is threatened both by Count Otto Von Doom's Latveria and by the religiously motivated machinations of James of Scotland, heir to the throne. Familiar characters like Dr. Strange, the Fantastic Four, and Thor show up in altogether unfamiliar places and contexts. Many of the details are thoroughly enjoyable (e.g., Gaiman touches on the spiritual consequences for the Christian who turns into the Norse god Thor), but there are an equal number of plot threads and loose ends that go nowhere.