Marvel 1602 [Hardcover]

Neil Gaiman (Author), Andy Kubert (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 23, 2009

Neil Gaiman's vision of the Marvel Universe in the year 1602! The year is 1602, and strange things are stirring in England. In the service of Queen Elizabeth, court magician Dr. Stephen Strange senses that the bizarre weather plaguing the skies above is not of natural origin. Her majesty's premier spy, Sir Nicholas Fury, fends off an assassination attempt on the Queen by winged warriors rumored to be in service to a mad despot named Doom. News is spreading of "witchbreed" sightings - young men bearing fantastic superhuman powers and abilities. And in the center of the rising chaos is Virginia Dare, a young girl newly arrived from the New World, guarded by a towering Indian warrior. Can Fury and his allies find a connection to these unusual happenings before the whole world ends? Collects Marvel 1602 #1-8.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 248 pages
• Publisher: Marvel (September 23, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785141359
• ISBN-13: 978-0785141358
• Product Dimensions: 1 x 1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,003,804 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good for Gaiman Fans, May 2, 2010

By 

Lisa M. Mims (Austin, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Marvel 1602 (Hardcover)

When I started reading this, not knowing what it was, I thought I had found a fictionalization of 17th century British history. It reads like that, anyway, at the beginning.

Then, the supernatural creatures start to appear, and the reader realizes, that she's in a different kind of story entirely.

Speaking as someone who doesn't usually read graphic novels, I didn't know that this was a "superhero" book. There are winged people, pterodactyls, and random e.t.'s throughout the book, seemingly for no reason at all. However, the words are so engrossing; the titles, and many of the bits of dialogue are the sort of Gaiman-esque-"wow, can I put that on a poster" sorts of sayings that are one of the main reason anyone reads Gaiman.

This is very weird, but very worth reading.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A New World, January 14, 2010

By 

J. Sherman "The Critic" (New York, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Marvel 1602 (Hardcover)

In one of Neil Gaiman's more unique entries in the Marvel Universe, we find Marvel's superheroes in 17th century Europe, just before the death of Queen Elizabeth I. As the god-fearing James I seizes power, the heroes escape to America on a mission to save pretty much everything there is. It's Marvel like you've never seen it before, as Gaiman and artist Andy Kubert reinvent Dr. Strange, Nick Fury, Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, legendary American figure Virginia Dare, and the list goes on. Fortunately it was a list that was nicely incorporated into a multilayered storyline from which many ideas about the superhero mythos can be derived. Included with the comic is a boatload of extras including an introduction and afterward by Gaiman, sketch galleries, and some pages from the original comic script.

This comic is unrated: Violence, Adult Language.

4.0 out of 5 stars A fine way to pass an evening, November 11, 2010

By 

J. Edgar Mihelic "Iconoclast" (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Marvel 1602 (Hardcover)

I have to admit that I picked this up from my local library more because I am a Neil Gaiman complet-est than because of any interest I have in the Marvel universe. The fact that I had a second though about whether or not to capitalize that last phrase should tell you where I stand w.r.t. comic culture. The book it an interesting take on the characters and the history that the book covers.

My limited knowledge of the bulk of the characters comes from the movies put out by Hollywood and I could smile at the re-figuration of the myths surrounding the characters and Gaiman handled the melding of the actual historical fact of the comics with the created history in an interesting manner.

A small problem in basic understanding might arise if you have little familiarity with English history of the period or the history of the Church in Europe and Asia, but the acts of the plot are not entirely dependent on this knowledge. Overall, a fine way to pass an evening.