Graphic Novel Review – Neil Gaiman – 1602

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2002 – Marvel – Spoiler alerts Neil Gaiman’s masterpiece considers what modern day superheroes might have been like had they been around in the Tudor/Stuart transition period between the reigns of Elizabeth the First & James 1st of England. The X-Men face persecution as witches, while the ailing Elizabeth has Nick Fury & Doctor Strange in the John Dee role) as her military and arcane activity advisors. She faces a risk of a new warring Armada, sent by a Latvian prince, (Doctor) Von Doom. Other heroes appear in support roles, including Black Widow & Daredevil, as well as a young Peter Parker (spelt Parquor), who has yet to develop his powers as Spiderman. Much of the story hinges on strange weather being seen as a portent of ill-omen, due to the emergence of a new witch or mutant, namely, Storm. An ingenious reworking of the whole Marvel cosmology in strange times with characters blending into the period with remarkable attention to period detail. Arthur Chappell