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Neil Gaiman's Marvel 1602
review (focusing on issue 2) by Mike Baron
Lemme just take a guess here. Sixteen oh two is entirely Neil Gaiman's idea. I'm guessing Marvel said
to him, "Neil, what do you want to do? Anything's good." And Gaiman, being a Master Planner as well as a
consummate story-teller, elected to junk five hundred years of continuity and start at the beginning. It's more
clever than that. By placing the Marvel universe in 1602 and fitting them into preexisting historical conditions
and attitudes, he's revitalized the entire Marvel universe. Never has the dictum that strict discipline imparts the
greatest freedom been more apt.
1602 #2, © 2003 Marvel Comics
Sixteen oh two number one was sold out locally within days. It's always been my contention that you should be able
to pick up any issue of any comic and be entertained. If the entertainment pay-off depends on slogging through
nine issues of joyless sludge, the creators have not succeeded. Needless to say, this succeeds, and succeeds
well. However, it is not Watchmen, nor even American Gods. These comics won't change your life. A brilliant
concept plus competent writing-voila! The story concerns Sir Nichols Fury in the new world, paying a visit on
the crippled Carlos Xavier who runs a school for gifted children. Or are they witches and warlocks? The
Inquisition stands in for today's mutant intolerance. That idea just smacks you in the face with aptitude.
Gaiman also gets the language right, including an hilarious opening monologue by the Beast.
Daredevil, Spiderman, and many others troll through these twenty-two pages which seem far from crowded.
The art is a wonderful blend of Kubert's fine drawing ability and painterly coloring by Richard Isanove. The
covers, by theater poster designer Scott McKowen, are unlike anything you've seen on a comic before, but
extremely appropriate and attractive. I will be doing a feature on McKowen for James (Starchild) Owen's
International Studio. For those wondering what happened to Mr. Owen, go to Coppervale.com and take a look.
In the meantime, 1602 stands head and shoulders above most of the superhero fare these days.
The Architect
I lived most of my life in Madison, Wisconsin. Frank Lloyd Wright territory. My father managed the men's
department in a large department store called Baron Brothers, owned by my uncles. Frank Lloyd Wright was a
regular customer. He always wore a snappy hat and carried a cane. Sometimes he wore a cape. When my
father was planning his first house, Mr. Wright approached him.
"Lee, I understand you're planning on building. I'd be pleased to be your architect."
My father was a wise man, and familiar with Mr. Wright's building history. "I appreciate that very much,
Mr. Wright, but I'm afraid we can't afford you."
Wright was prepared to argue the subject. He was always hungry for commissions. I'm fascinated by
his life and philosophy. For years, I struggled to write a mammoth horror tale out of Wright's life. (His life does
indeed contain elements of horror. I urge readers to see out a biography and see what inspired me.)
AIT/PlanetLar will publish The Architect sometime in 2004. My artist, Andie Tong, lives in
Western Australia and can only work on the project in his spare time. Nevertheless, Andie has managed to
bring my vision to startling life. Herewith, one of Andie's pages.
Mike Baron is the creator of the award winning comic book Nexus and
during his career has written an enormous variety of comics from The Flash to The Punisher. His first novel, Witchblade Demons has just been published and he is currently writing an Escapist story for Dark Horse Comics.
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