Paperback, 192 pages
English language
Published Oct. 4, 2000 by America's Best Comics.
In an alternate England in 1958, Mina Murray and Allan Quatermain seek the Black Dossier, which contains the history of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen through the centuries, while fleeing from deadly secret agents.
What a lovely little romp through Victorian literature. With plenty of steampunk to boot. And violence. We mustn't forget the violence. Oh, and some racism just for added flavour. What can I say, ups and downs.
Boring and full of gimmicks. Not Moore's best work.
Compared to the previous League works, this was at times way overdone. While a lot of readers seem to lavish Moore with praise, in a way, this was reminiscent of the creative extension assignment I used to give my high school students when we read 1984 in class; that often had mixed results. It reminded me due to the various pastiches, collages, and various formats Moore employed, and all that had mixed results for my reading experience. Very well developed, yet at times it is clear Moore is going over the edge, so to say. I did an initial reading, and it is clear I will go back again and read it more closely. So in that sense, in that it lends itself to multiple readings, this is a very good work. It does help to have read the other two, and if you have done some other literary reading, …
Compared to the previous League works, this was at times way overdone. While a lot of readers seem to lavish Moore with praise, in a way, this was reminiscent of the creative extension assignment I used to give my high school students when we read 1984 in class; that often had mixed results. It reminded me due to the various pastiches, collages, and various formats Moore employed, and all that had mixed results for my reading experience. Very well developed, yet at times it is clear Moore is going over the edge, so to say. I did an initial reading, and it is clear I will go back again and read it more closely. So in that sense, in that it lends itself to multiple readings, this is a very good work. It does help to have read the other two, and if you have done some other literary reading, it helps as well. In a way, this is very much like reading Watchmen. However, I think that, unlike Watchmen, Moore may have been trying a bit too hard with this one. The whole 3D thing at the end, while neat, did seem a bit excessive. It was the excess that made me give the three stars; I liked it. That's good enough.
And I will still look forward to the next volume.
I am actually re-reading the series in preparation to read Black Dossier. I can't believe I did not add this volume before; I have the second volume added in here. So, I am going to reread it and then write my impressions from the second time around. I did like it the first time, so looking forward to revisiting.
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Now that I am done with it for a second time, I certainly recall one of the things I liked about it, and that was the Victorian feel it has. Yes, I know it is set in the Victoria era, but what I mean is that Moore captures the feel of that era very well in this tale. Add the steampunk elements, and you have a very good and entertaining reading experience. The premise of bringing these characters together is pretty good, and the art is well done, enhancing …
I am actually re-reading the series in preparation to read Black Dossier. I can't believe I did not add this volume before; I have the second volume added in here. So, I am going to reread it and then write my impressions from the second time around. I did like it the first time, so looking forward to revisiting.
*
Now that I am done with it for a second time, I certainly recall one of the things I liked about it, and that was the Victorian feel it has. Yes, I know it is set in the Victoria era, but what I mean is that Moore captures the feel of that era very well in this tale. Add the steampunk elements, and you have a very good and entertaining reading experience. The premise of bringing these characters together is pretty good, and the art is well done, enhancing the story. This is a work that leaves the reader wanting more. And as a word of warning, if you watched the movie, but did not read this, you are missing a lot. The movie, entertaining as it may be (or not depending on your view), is very different. They barely took the premise, and they created a very different product. Overall, this is one I highly recommend.
See my blog post on it:
http://gypsylibrarian.blogspot.com/2005/11/booknote-league-of-extraordinary.html
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Reread it on 3/14/09. Still very good overall.
