1602

There is a theory that many events must conjoin to make anything worthwhile happen. There is another theory that there are great motifs that repeat themselves over and over.

Comics grew out of a need to fill space in newspapers. There were of course political cartoons, but what we think of as the "Funnies" really started when the paper needed to fill a few inches of space. They increased sales, so they became a regular part of the paper, and eventually, a powerful force in circulation.

During the Great Depression, times were hard. Papers struggled like everything else, and every cent was precious and could not be wasted. When a run of the paper finished, there was always a great deal of ink wasted. It was actually cheaper to keep the presses running than to clean them and restart them. Thus, the comic book was born. Reprinting collections of the funnies from the papers at first, they eventually expanded into titles written and drawn exclusively for these "filler issues."

This is an example of events conjoining to create something; from the Guttenberg Printing Press, to the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand, to the spread of the Spanish Influenza, to the Dust Bowl...all these events has to line up before comic books could become a cultural phenomena.

There are stories and characters that resonate through history and literature. Archetypes, the innocent hero, the magician, the wise mentor, all these images resonate with us. History repeats itself. A cliché in our society, but still a true fact. Our storytellers weave these archetypes and plots together seeking ways to make the familiar new and exciting.

Now, Neil Gaiman, the brilliant author of The Sandman Comics, and many novels, including Good Omens, Star Dust, and American Gods, has turned his hand to an ambitious project.

I can hear the conversation that led to this work; a group of writers, sitting around, swilling coffee and Redbull, and trying to come up with something new...

A: "Hey, guys? What about setting it in history?"

B: "Time travel? We did an arc on that last year."

C: "Stale. It's been done to death."

D: "We should just kill 'em all."

X: "Lame, doofus. Don't you think they would have noticed the X-Men in the Civil War? You are such a 'tard."

A: "No. No, hear me out. We set it in the past, like it happened there."

C: "Alternate Universe? Like Spock with a beard?"

B: "Um, no, that would be more City on the Edge of Forever."

X; "Or that one where Spock jumped that Ice Age chick? She was hot!"

B: "She sells Depends now."

X: "Does not! You're thinking the Cat Woman. Eartha...."

C: "Focus! And Eartha Kit is the black one."

A: "No, dudes, we pick a period of time, Civil War, American Revolution, whatever, and these people are born then, and their story unfolds then...."

X: "There weren't any atom bombs or gamma rays in the Revolution..."

D: (pointing at X) "Can I kill him?"

A: "No, it's all from a meteorite or something. But you know you have a guy with wings, and a girl who can move things with her mind, and a guy with eyebeams...."

X: "A smoking hot redhead who can move things with her mind..."

C: "You may be on to something. But think bigger than just the X-Titles; X-Men, Fantastic Four, Doctor Strange, the Hulk...."

D: "Only if I can kill the green bas..."
A: "Yes! Totally. And the oppressive element instead of Mutants, its witch hunts!"

C: "Good, good, that moves it back to before the mid 1700s"

X: "You set it at the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, when America was available for exploration, but the forces of oppression were alive in Merry Old England; James of Scotland was a bit of a fanatic, and you have the Inquisition in Spain, and all of Europe lining up to kick their Britannic Bums, oh, and you could even use Victor Von Doom as a sovereign unfriendly to England. 1602 would be about right."

A, B, C and D. "......."

X: "What? I read something besides comics."

B: "Umm. Okay. But who is going to write this?"

C: (Chuckling.) "Oh, I got someone in mind. Leave that to me."

D: "Okay, I'm in, provided I get to kill someone."

And thus 1602 was conceived. When it was born, it had Gaiman's genius stamped all over it.

First, it did not try to use everyone. No Hulk, no Wolverine. And each character had its own twist. Matt Murdock is a traveling minstrel and a Spy. He works for Sir Nicholas Fury, the Queen's Intelligencer. His young page is Peter Parquagh. Carlos Javier is a teacher whose Witchborn students include Scotius Summersilse, Robert Trefusis, John Grey, McCoy and Werner. From America come the mysterious Virginia Dare, and her taciturn blonde Indian guardian, Rohjaz. In Spain, The High Inquisitor utilizes the gifts of Sister Wanda and his page Petros as he seeks out the Witchbreed.

Further, the wondrous heroes and villains fit into history, not mold history around them. The events of the year continue, and for all their powers, the Witchbreed and others have remarkably little effect upon them. England does not rise as a world power thanks to an Army of Witchbreed, nor do they invent the cotton gin out of its proper time. Their concerns are also period: the Church was not only relevant, it is pervasive. The concerns of the Church become the concerns of Kings, and of their subjects. It is not just conflict between Mutants and Flatscans, it is Catholic and Protestant.

It is a delicate balancing act, swimming with history, but keeping each characters own personal story recognizable. Not only must they be recognizable, but the changes wrought on them are appropriate to the history. Gaiman is truly gifted.

Adam Kubert is a gifted artist as well. His work helps us remember who we are looking at, who they would be in our time. It's trickier than it looks. Kubert is one of my favorite artists, his style is very realistic. It is proportionate, dynamic, without Manga influence. I particularly love how he draws firelight illuminating face, and how he keeps track of the way the light falls.

Together they create a wonderful world, strange, yet compellingly familiar. Gaiman proves that if the story is strong enough, you can make the events move to suit it. And that is true mastery of the Storyteller's art.