2005 Quill Award for Best Graphic Novel

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?

In Marvel 1602, award-winning writer Neil Gaiman and artist Andy Kubert present a unique vision of the Marvel Universe set four hundred years in the past. Classic Marvel icons such as the X-Men, Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, and Daredevil appear in this intriguing world of 17th-century science and sorcery, instantly familiar to readers, yet subtly different in this new time. Marvel 1602 combines classic Marvel action and adventure with the historically accurate setting of Queen Elizabeth's reign to create a unique series unlike any other published by Marvel Comics.

"The always inventive Gaiman has concocted an unlikely — but fantastically successful — superhero comic that transfers Marvel's classic characters to the Elizabethan period. Nick Fury is still a lethal government operative, but now he's an adviser to Queen Elizabeth. Her Majesty is equally reliant on magician and doctor Stephen Strange. X-Men mentor Charles Xavier still shepherds a band of mutant teens, only now he's called Carlos Javier, and the mutants are known, and mistrusted, as 'witchbreed.' Carlos's mysterious nemesis has taken on a new job: grand inquisitor of the Spanish Inquisition. Peter Parker (here 'Parquah') is still a confused but well-meaning teenager who has yet to be bitten by a radioactive spider. Placed in a period landscape (rendered in rich, painterly panels by illustrator Kubert and digital painter Richard Isanove), these familiar characters must grapple with the issues of the day, chief among them the machinations of the evil King James of Scotland. And, in classic superhero style, they must save the world. The improbable combination works remarkably well, as the superheroes' strange abilities adapt to Elizabethan culture. This glorious adventure is peppered with Scott McKowen's gorgeous, moody cover-art woodcuts. Forecast: Gaiman's dedicated following will flock to this; script pages and detailed notes and sketches in the back make it an even more attractive package." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"Rendered rich and dark by artists Andy Kubert and Richard Isanove, and accessible to those who don't know X-Men from eczema, 1602 is a triumph. The Marvel universe hasn't been this engrossing in ages. (Grade: A)" Entertainment Weekly

"[W]hile 1602 is not without its flaws, it's full of the kind of comic book magic we have come to expect from Gaiman....Visually, the series is breathtaking....[S]ome of the most stunning images in comics today..." Matej Novak, Green Man Review

"Is 1602 good? Yes, it's damn good. Is it revolutionary or even ground breaking? No....Neil Gaiman knows how to write comics...and the proof is in these pages." Cody Dolan, Silver Bullet Comic Books

All's not well in the Marvel Universe in the year 1602. Strange storms are brewing and strange new powers are emerging. As the world begins to enter a new age, Neil Gaiman weaves a thrilling mystery about how Marvel stars begin appearing nearly 400 years before they're supposed to.

Collecting the New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman's engrossing comic book series. This hardcover also includes:

• Neil Gaiman's complete script to Part 1
• Reproductions of Andy Kubert's pencils and preliminary character sketches
• Cover process with Scott McKowen

As the creator of The Sandman for DC Comics, writer Neil Gaiman has won every major award in the comics industry, as well as the prestigious 1991 World Fantasy Award for Best Short Story, the only comic-book writer ever to be awarded this literary honor. In addition to his comics work, Gaiman is an accomplished novelist — both American Gods and his children's book Coraline have garnered New York Times bestselling status and international acclaim including the Hugo, Nebula, and Bram Stoker Awards. Born in Portchester, England, Gaiman lives outside Minneapolis with his wife, Mary, and their three children.

The youngest son of famed illustrator Joe Kubert, Andy Kubert has followed in his father's footsteps to become an established comic-book artist in his own right. He has contributed his talents to Origin — the long-anticipated series finally revealing the secret beginnings of Wolverine — as well as Captain America, Thor, X-Men, and Ultimate X-Men. In addition, Kubert is an instructor at the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon Comic Book Art in Dover, New Jersey.