Absolutely amazing sequel to Marvel 1602 with the introduction of new characters. Brilliant innovation. Highly reco
Mended ( )

After rereading the first volume of Marvel 1602, I turned to the next volume which has the Fantastic Four, ptui, on the cover and a change of artists and writers. In fact, the first half of this trade takes up almost exactly where Gaiman’s series left off – mere days after that, so far as I can tell, though our younger characters seem to have aged seven or eight years (judging from Peter’s face and some, ahem, overhead shots of Ms. Dare). It’s more jokey and silly than Gaiman’s solemn run, but the transition is fairly smooth. I especially liked some of the ways these characters diverge from their present-day incarnations; the Hulk is a great example.

I turned to the second half with some trepidation; in fact, the Fantastic Four arc was readable, though not particularly riveting. I was hoping Dr. Doom would stomp around making megalomaniac speeches and being eeevil, but even he was toned down for once. I’m not sure why the Fantastic Four come out of retirement to pursue him on a fairly simple trip to a semi-mythical country where Doom hopes to restore his cover-boy looks. Yes, he will try to subjugate and corrupt wherever he goes, but they knew that before they retired, and this isn’t much more than an evil trip to the plastic surgeon.

The inclusion of Shakespeare in this arc was annoying. I don’t think writers should drag old Will, or any other historical figures, into their fictions if they don’t have anything to do with them besides crack some weak jokes. Compare Gaiman’s use of Shakespeare in the Sandman series; Gaiman uses the bard’s familiar face and stories to talk about dreams, art, fathers and sons, and renunciation. These themes are central to Sandman. Here, Shakespeare is used for lame comic relief, 'getting his ideas' from travelling around with the Fantastick Four. Groan. ( )