1602

1602 4-8:

Holy god was that boring.  I dozed off at least 5 times trying to get through the last two issues, and it’ wasn't just because I was sleepy.  I didn’t care about any of the characters, the plot ended up being a “must repair the time stream” deal, and the Watcher was involved, which is never a good sign.  Total snooze fest.

Regret buying?  No

Would buy again? No

Would read again?  No

Rating: Boring

So why don’t I regret buying it?  It’s Neil Gaiman.  It’s hard to regret buying anything that he writes; He deserves my support, if nothing else as retroactive thanks for Sandman.  (Though come to think of it, I do regret buying Norse Mythology.  Man, what a pointless book.)  

Here I’m faced with my first “wouldn’t read again.”  Because I really don’t want to ever go through that experience again.  The pack rat/collector side of me is finding it hard to yank it from my collection.  But why in the world should I keep this waste of space in my house?  Quick ebay search reveals that the issues are worth nothing, so no loss on that front.  

Yeah, I’m pulling it.  I’m hardly going to miss it, especially after this.

Anything else to say about this?  The Andy Kubert art was nice enough.  The Kubert clan art style has usually rated a solid above average in my book (except for Andy’s early X-Men work.  That was pretty shoddy.).  Though I wonder how the comic would have been if the entire thing was done in the woodcut look of the covers (credited to Scott McKowen.  Internet shows that he mostly does covers for books and posters for theatre shows.  Makes sense).

Nice, right?  Give me interior art like this!

Now I’m sitting here with zero interest in writing about 1602 anymore, with Almost Lover by A Final Frenzy running through my head.  Whoaaa, she played the sister in Fantastic Beasts??  That’s...I need a larger vocabulary.  Not amazing, not cool, not crazy, not shocking...To paraphrase Delirium (in honor of Gaiman, since I haven’t been very complimentary of him today), what’s the word for when you realize that two disparate things in your life are connected in a way you could never have imagined?  It’s like finding out your cousin from New York invited the girl you liked a decade ago in middle school in Taiwan to his sister’s wedding in California.  And you didn’t realize you were in the same room as her until after the event.  Talk about having your mind blown.

5 Ronin, 1602

I’m going to have to do this way earlier in the evening.  It’s two in the morning, and I’m pretty tired.  I’m pretty sure it’s detracting from my enjoyment of the stories.  Anyway, on to the comics.

I’m starting with the Marvel books that aren’t on my bookshelves. These are the ones that sit in boxes.  So Marvel Box #1.

5 Ronin 1-5:

I had completely forgotten that this existed.  5 issue miniseries written by Pete Milligan.  Each issue penciled by someone different.  I recognized Gorlan Parlov and Leandro Fernandez for two of them.  Presumably before their work on Ennis’ Punisher, but I can’t be sure.  

Each issue recasts a Marvel character during feudal Japanese times - Wolverine, Hulk, Punisher, Psylocke, and Deadpool.  There’s a loose overarching plot tying them together, but it’s merely serviceable at best; Each of the protagonists is trying to kill the daimyo for one reason or another.  

The reimaginings are pretty solid, but I found the Hulk and Deadpool issues to be the weakest of the bunch.  Psylocke as a geisha with an almost superhuman ability to read the minds of men was a clever take, and the Punisher’s story can be applied to any time period with very little effort.  (Which isn’t a bad thing if it’s done well.  Laurence Campbell’s art had a lot to do with it’s success.  Looking at his list of works, I believe that this is the only thing of his that I’ve read.  A shame, he’s got a style that’s very similar to Michael Lark, and I wouldn’t mind seeing more of it.)

I need to start coming up with a rating system.  I think I’ll add to it as I go and new categories become necessary.  

Regret buying?  No

Would buy again? No

Would read again?  Maybe?

Rating: Fine

1602 1-3:

I remember this being a big deal when it first came out.  I think it was Neil Gaiman’s first foray into the Marvel Universe after his work on Sandman, and I was excited to see what he would come up with.  (It appears that I’m going to be running fast and loose with my history.  There are a ton of facts that I’m probably getting wrong here, and while I would normally care, I’d rather get the words out first.  Also, this laptop is an old piece of crap, and I’m already annoyed at the lag as I type.)

I was disappointed by 1602 when I first read it, and haven’t gone back to it since.  (Starting this project with 2 Marvel Elseworlds stories, by the way.  Interesting, but not really.)  3 issues in, and my opinion hasn’t changed.  Gaiman’s thrown in a ton of winks to the audience (“ooh, look at how clever I am in translating this Marvel character over to Merrie Olde England!”), and it’s constantly distracting from the plot.  

Of course, I also think that Gaiman peaked with Sandman, and everything since then has been a sad disappointment when compared to it.  Which isn’t his fault.  It’s unfair of me to expect him to write something that would change my life for a second time, but I keep hoping for it.

To be continued tomorrow, when I finish 1602.  No rating yet, I’m going to rate by story arc when it makes sense.