Before you read any further, please note that this review may contain spoilers.
It seems I'm having a very Gaiman related year, this being the third of his works so far this year. Apart from his novels, I have also added a few of Gaiman's graphic novels to my read list for the year. The 8 part series of Marvel 1602, illustrated by Andy Kubert, is the one I listed as my book I can finish in a day.
Set in the year 1602, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth the first, Gaiman gives a fantasy twist to the traditional Marvel characters, featuring such favourites as the Fantastic 4, the X-Men and Spiderman.
With blood red skies over London, the unwell Queen questions her trusted intelligence officer, Sir Nicholas Fury, as to whether the world is ending. She also questions her physician, Dr. Stephen Strange, as he enters the room to tend the ailing Queen.
While there, the Queen tells Strange to enlighten Fury on the details of a treasure that is on route to England, to which Strange has been charged with its safety. Fury sets his best agent on the task of meeting the man that carries the treasure bringing them both to England.
Parting from Fury and heading home, pondering the possibilities of what could happen when the Queen dies, Strange searches for answers to this, and that of the unnatural weather phenomena, in his magic mirror. In his visions Strange sees a young maiden and her native American guard aboard a boat bound for England, a man with angels wings and a nun clad in blood red, whom somehow senses his presence and banishes him from her position.
After preventing an attempt on his own life, Fury, with the assistance of Carlos Javier, uncovers a plot which included the assassinations of himself, the queen and the young maiden from Strange's visions, Virginia Dare. The attempt on Virginia Dare was thwarted by her protector, Rojhas, but during her escape Strange discovers her secret, one which he keeps between himself and her loyal protector. While tending to Dare during her recovery, Strange discovers the origins of the strange weather is emanating from the room she is recovering in.
Fury informs the Queen of his discoveries, after the attempt on Dare's life happened while she was in court with the Queen. The Queen brushes the concerns aside, informing Fury that there have been many attempts in the past and he as stopped them all. As he leaves, to question his attacker about his employer, a gift from Count Otto von Doom is presented to the queen...
The artwork is everything I've come to expect from Marvel. Kubert, having worked for both Marvel and DC, is an excellent illustrator. The story lines from Gaiman are, as always, brilliant and twisted. I love his little touches to the spelling of names, and the odd change to their marvel universe roles. The outcome was something I did not expect, though it did answer one of my earlier questions (not telling you what it was to avoid giving away the plot). I love when authors do their research, and indulge us with folk lore, Gaiman's twist on the Virginia Dare story fits well with this version of the Marvel Universe.
Overall there were one or two things I didn't enjoy, but given their plot significance, I'll leave them out of this review.
4/5 stars.
No comments:
Post a Comment