Just picked up the last issue of Neil Gaiman’s 1602 comicmini-series. It was quite nice. It’s clear that Gaiman enjoyed some of the weirder Marvel titles from the sixties and seventies. Alternate universe stories are so easy to botch. Marvel’s own What If? title is proof enough of this. Also see DC’s Crisis on Infinite Earths. Gaiman managed to landed this series solidly, but not masterfully. The way he paced the story, the way it all ramped up to the last issue, was masterful. It’s been a while since I so eagerly awaited a final issue of any serialized story (Miller’s Dark Knight 2 was a bit disappointing).

1602: not your average Marvel wankathon, but a warm tribute from an old fan. Good fun.

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