Rough Trade Friday: Marvel 1602

If you ever happen to run into me in real life you'll notice two things. Firstly, my striking good looks, secondly, how quickly I can work Neil Gaiman into any conversation. Yes, yes, its hard to believe. It really can be that fast. "Hi, wow, you come here often? Can I buy you a drink?" "I'm good thanks, not as good as Anansi Boys, but good nonetheless," I would reply. "Ana---who?" "Oh its a book by Neil Gaiman..." See, that quick, its uncanny.

Speaking of Uncanny. Gaiman, gives life to one of my favourite what-if adventures in Marvel 1602. The basic premise is standard what-if fare--what if the marvel universe occured in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I? But that is where the similarities end. 1602 is classic Gaiman, deep character development, deconstructing the character and the roles they play in the universe and putting it all back together again in a way that gives deeper understanding and insight. All the classic characters are represented, X-Men, Avengers, Dr Strange, Peter Parker, Nick Fury, etc. But unlike other what-ifs, this story is actually in continuity. I'm not going to give any spoilers, but Gaiman manages to work the story seemlessly into the then current continuity without it feeling awkward or tacked-on.

The story is centered around Virginia Dare, the first child born of the colonists at Roanoke. If you're familiar with Gaiman's penchant for using old fairy tales and legends, this should be your first clue that something is terribly awry. She is being taken to court to be presented to the Queen who is preoccupied by weird happenings around the "witchbreed" (mutants), some of whom are causing havoc. Dare is suspected to be the Forerunner and the cause of everything weird that is going on in the world and Queen would have things set right.

All-in-all this is a fairly quick clever read, with lots of nods to the Marvel universe and many many cameos for fanboys, though not at the expense of the more casual reader. Plus you get to see Angel in bondage...