superheroes

Books I’ve read this week include (but are not limited to):

Marvel: 1602 – Neil Gaiman: “Here are the best things about it: It takes Marvel characters and imagines what they would have been like in 1602.”
Audrey (cow) – Dan Bar-el: “The illustrations in this book are lovely and a perfect fit for the story. Audrey oozes sweetness and the animals look the way they “sound” (if that makes sense).”
The Replacement – Brenna Yovanoff: “I wanted to like this book so much. The cover. The synopsis. The Edward Scissorhands comparison. The COVER. The super creepy excerpt on the back of the jacket. THE COVER (seriously, this cover gives me chills).”

Can’t wait to see what next week holds!

Marvel 1602 – Neil Gaiman, art by Andy Kubert

Neil Gaiman’s vision of the Marvel Universe in the year 1602! The year is 1602, and strange things are stirring in England. In the service of Queen Elizabeth, court magician Dr. Stephen Strange senses that the bizarre weather plaguing the skies above is not of natural origin. Her majesty’s premier spy, Sir Nicholas Fury, fends off an assassination attempt on the Queen by winged warriors rumored to be in service to a mad despot named Doom. News is spreading of “witchbreed” sightings – young men bearing fantastic superhuman powers and abilities. And in the center of the rising chaos is Virginia Dare, a young girl newly arrived from the New World, guarded by a towering Indian warrior. Can Fury and his allies find a connection to these unusual happenings before the whole world ends?

I actually read this about a week ago but I forgot.

I’ve mentioned before that I don’t really read a lot of comics, so critiquing them is not my forte.

This, however, is the type of comic I would so totally read. I love the Elizabethan era, and though this takes place right before her death, it was still a fascinating time.

Here are the best things about it:

It takes Marvel characters and imagines what they would have been like in 1602.

That’s it.

If you need more recommendation than that, I don’t know what to tell you.

Most of the “big” names show up: the original X-men, the Hulk, Captain America (in the craziest twist ever!), and, my personal favourite superhero, Spiderman.

Fantastic Four and Dr. Strange mythology has never been my strong suit, but I knew enough to recognize them. And while the majority of my X-men knowledge comes from one of those DK reference books that I read many years ago, I was still pretty pleased to figure out most of the allusions.

Plus it’s Neil Flippin’ Gaiman and he can do no wrong in my eyes, so we all know I was going to love this, even if it hadn’t been set in my favourite time period.

Also, the art is really nice: detailed but not “busy”, dark colours that match the tone, etc. Good job, Andy Kubert!