Summary: Marvel heroes reimagined in 1602 Elizabethan England.
I love a good reimagined work. I like cover songs. I like re-told fairy tales. I like alternate history. So even though it took me nearly a year to get around to it after a friend gave me the book, I was interested to read Marvel 1602.
Dr Strange is the court physician. Fury is the head spy. Some characters are a bit more vague than others. But the X-men are here as are the Fantastic Four, Dr Doom, Black Widow, Peter Parker, Daredevil and a few others. Something is messing with the weather, there is a plot on the Queen’s life and a great treasure (weapon?) is being smuggled from the Holy Land to England.
Gaiman is known for his Sandman comics series and his novels. He is one of my favorite novelists. But this didn’t quite do it for me. Mutants were considered witches and hunted by the inquisition (that part makes sense.) Political intrigues are hinted at but never really fully embraced as a story line. So much of the book was just establishing the characters in their new setting that the story felt rushed and thin.
There are two more collections that I saw on Scribd that will try to pick up before my subscription there cancels. Maybe those other collections will round out the story more. However, the other collections have a different author so they may not round out anything at all.
I enjoyed Marvel 1602 as something different. And this is a nicely bound and full color collection. Most of the collections I have been reading have been either digital or black and white. So it is nice to read a well done hardback graphic novel. But this is not something I would run out and buy again.
Marvel 1602 by Neil Gaiman and Andy Kubert Purchase Links: Kindle Edition
