Marvel Comics continues its acclaimed, Quill Award-winning, alternate-universe franchise MARVEL 1602 – but without creator Neil Gaiman – in the five-issue collection MARVEL 1602: NEW WORLD.

The idea behind 1602 is a simple one: What if Marvel superheroes existed back in the early 17th century? The answer, as provided by Gaiman and Co., was worth investigating. For NEW WORLD, writer Greg Pak and THOR artist Greg Tocchini pick up the story where it was left, with Bruce Banner being sent by the corrupt King James to assassinate Sir Nicholas Fury. He didn’t do anything but Hulk out, so the king sends someone to kill Bruce: the metal-plated Lord Iron (aka Iron Man), who looks very cool. Meanwhile, Hulk finds an ally in young Peter Parquah, who begins to learn more about his unusual powers that allow him to jump from tree to tree, and for some reason, there’s a lot of dinosaurs running around.

That’s kind of it storywise, far from the depth that Gaiman provided (and juggling many more characters at that). Because straight superhero stuff is mostly boring, I love revisionist concepts in comics, but Gaiman’s deft touch with the material is missed, shallow as NEW WORLD is. For example, shortly after the midpoint, Peter suddenly has fashioned himself a costume, including a familiar-looking red hood. But how, where and why did Peter choose such an outfit? Couldn’t Pak eliminated maybe a page of rampaging prehistoric creatures to afford us that glimpse?

More problematic is the art, which – although nice and slick starting out – is unforgivably ugly and harsh in the last three issues. Seriously, the inks looks rushed and the whole book suffers for it. I’m interested in seeing the 1602 story carry on, with or without Gaiman, but not like this. This NEW WORLD isn’t exactly bad, but you’ll want to cut your visit short. –Rod Lott

Buy it at Amazon.