The cover on the second printing is a lot better IMHO. That is a beautiful full-plage panel from the book. I don't buy comic book art (because where would I put it??) but I would buy that if it were a poster!
Comics are often compared to cinema, or it's said by people like Scott McCloud that they use cinematic techniques - but this is the first issue that really struck me as if it were a movie, the first two-three pages had me hooked right away.
Between this and 1602 - hmmm, the age of great empires and global business. With pirates! Parables for our time, perhaps.