So here's the problem with heavy hype... it builds up high expectations. And when the hype is backed by the anticipation of one of comics' few superstars returning to the medium, those expectations are even higher. So maybe it's no surprise that I'm a little disappointed in 1602, and maybe I'm being harder on it than I would have been if it was just some random new series. Gaiman's way with words is evident in these pages, and his strong execution of the material is what makes this somewhat tired premise appeal to me at all. Certainly this is an intriguing story with a lot of neat characters, based on their modern Marvel counterparts, but I also felt at times like maybe it was all a little bit too cute, a little bit too in-jokey, and I found myself wishing for the kind of thing I disliked in League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, a style that was a little more obtuse and didn't deliver as many of the obvious answers. The upside is, I suspect that Gaiman has more than obvious answers to give, and I'm expecting that in future issues (and especially the collected edition, where I expect 1602 to really read the way it was meant to) I'll come to like the book more.
After much speculation about its premise, the revelation that 1602 is a story about the Marvel characters set in 1602 comes across as, well, played out. Certainly we've seen the notion of these characters in a medieval or pre-industrial society before, one time in recent memory coming to mind as the Busiek/Perez Avengers saga that relaunched the book and another in the Claremont/Romita Jr. "Kulan Gath" issues of X-Men several more years back. And, while it may be just my memory playing tricks on me, I seem to recall being more intrigued by those stories, as they set forth their conflict much earlier. Gaiman, taking advantage of the more modern style of pacing, plays out his story slowly, and the promises that this wasn't an Elseworlds or What If? haven't really borne fruit yet. Indeed, for right now, this is an introduction to the characters and setting, and the plot seems a little by-the-numbers so far.
Fortunately for Marvel, 1602 does have some of the style that Gaiman brings to all of his work. There are some very nifty turns of phrase, particularly as Angel contemplates his fate or as Doctor Strange and Nick Fury verbally spar, trying to determine which of them really has the inside information track on what has the Queen of England worried. Though I found most of the counterpart characters Gaiman introduced a bit too plain in mapping to their modern-day counterparts, I can't deny that I like his take on Nick Fury, as well as the notion of Daredevil as a spy who uses his senses to create a mystique around himself and who spends his days disguised as a blind balladeer. It's a nifty old time take on the character based on his current persona. Just like casting the Captain of an America that doesn't yet exist as a blond-haired, blue-eyed Native American protector. And I will admit that I haven't quite worked out who the girl he's protecting is, which is one of the mysteries that did keep my attention.
Like Origin, another Marvel project that didn't live up to the hype, 1602 enlists the services of Andy Kubert and Richard Isanove to do a digitally-painted style that is very pretty to look at. While the work here is beautiful, it is also somewhat cold and mechanical, the natural consequence of such a computer-aided work, and I found myself wishing for the more naturalistic styles of some of Gaiman's Sandman collaborators instead. Certainly Kubert is to be commended for his detailed work on the backdrops and for very expressive and realistic characters, and Isanove's colors are gorgeous, but the whole thing feels a little antiseptic and shiny to me, and that only helps to keep me from being as drawn into the book as I had hoped.
It may seem as if this review is more negative than the grade above would indicate, but I actually did enjoy the book and I am curious to see what happens next. It's just that the subject matter and approach is not as fresh and new as I would have hoped, given how well Gaiman has captured the imagination with so much of his comics and prose work. So much of what we've seen here, from the foreboding prophecies to the gathering forces to a rescue of a new mutant by a group of X-Men (excuse me, witchbreed), we've seen dozens if not hundreds of times before. It is my hope, and honestly my expectation, that Gaiman will break with these more traditional story elements and with expectations as the book goes along.
