I've never reviewed a comic book before. I'm not sure I know how. Bear with me.

1602 is the latest brainchild of Neil Gaiman. So already, with his history with Sandman, I have high expectations.

God Save the Queen
The story takes our typical X-Men, Professor Xavier and all, back to the year 1602. Queen Elizabeth is dying and Europe is in the grip of the Spanish Inquisition, which threatens to affect England the minute the Queen dies. Of course, the story is rife with court intrigue and plots to hasten the queen's date with death. Nick Fury is recast as the Queen's Intelligence, with a pre-teen Peter Parker as his assistant, and Dr. Strange as the Queen's Physician - very cool.

Burn the Witch
England is in a fit of strange, unnatural weather. The common populace believes the world is ending, further spurring on the fervor of the Inquisition and its supporters. All of whom would like to see a new, Catholic face on the throne of England.

Mutants, or any with inhuman powers, have been labeled witchbreed. They are being hunted by leaders of the Inquisition (I'm sure you can guess who that is) and burned at the stake on a regular basis. Professor Xavier, renamed Javier to fit in with the times of the story, has started a school to provide safe-haven to witchbreed. So far, except for name tweaks, nothing new here.

Nick Fury and Raiders of the Lost...
Nick Fury and Dr. Strange have both heard rumors of an archaic weapon that every powerful, European nation is clamoring to get their hands on and that is protected by the Knight's Templar. Queen Elizabeth assigns Nick Fury to retrieve this weapon. The weapon is on its way to England with the leader of the Knights Templar and is drawn as a large, ornate box. (I'm sure you can guess what this "weapon" is, too.)

Whatever Happened to Baby Roanoke?
Oh yeah, to top everything off, a young girl - the first child born in the New World Colony of Roanoke - has just arrived to present herself to the Queen of England. Psychotic zealots (other than Spanish High Inquisitors) are determined to kill her before she meets the Queen. And yeah, she's a mutant, too.

Inconclusive Conclusion
So, so - so far. There's nothing new here story-wise. BUT, it is only the first two installments of a comic book. I think it has strong potential. There are a lot of threads being woven together in the pattern and it's much too soon to say what the picture on the tapestry will be. I think the story needs more time to unfold before a true critique of the comic can be written. Maybe Gaiman will take the X-Men in a new and exciting direction; it's possible.