1602: Marvel goes retro

Last night, I was going through my collection and came across one of my favorites: the Marvel 1602 series. Written by Neil Gaiman, the story features characters from the X-Men, as well as Captain America, Nick Fury and The Fantastic Four in the Elizabethan Era. Villains like Dr. Doom and Magneto appear as well. 

The plot revolves around the central characters in the year 1602. None of them know how they've come to be there and slowly start realizing that they don't belong in that age. Several stories spin out simultaneously sometimes coming together and then again splitting ways. Nick Fury's avatar, Sir Nicholas, heads the Queen's intelligence bureau and is charged with appropriating the secret treasure/weapon of the Templars. Javier (Charles Xavier) runs a safe home for "the witchbreed", which the Spanish High Inquisitor wants to blame for the sudden strange weather across Europe. A tall man and his young charge come from the Americas to seek the Queen's protection, but have strange abilities that they themselves do not understand. A Count Von Doom, the ruler of Latveria, has been building strange machines. And the Fantastic Four are hapless prisoners in his castle. 

Enough to whet your interest in it? Saying more would reveal the interesting twists in a carefully crafted plot. While the story is a great 1st time read, and may not tempt you to go back for a 2nd read anytime soon, its the artwork that will make you want to frame each page. The night-time lighting in the frames is exceptional. Since the artists didn't have the freedom to presume a well-lit room (with bulbs et al.), they are restricted to working with "torches" that burn on walls near the characters. I was so intrigued by it that I did some research and it turns out that they used a technique called "enhanced pencils" wherein the pencil drawings bypass the inker and go straight to the colorist. Do try and get your hands on this one.