Call number
GRAPH N MOO
Collection
Genres
Publication
Turtleback Books (2002), Edition: Turtleback School & Library ed., 192 pages
Description
The Victorian Era draws to a close and the twentieth century approaches. It is a time of great change and an age of stagnation, a period of chaste order and ignoble chaos. It is an era in need of champions. In this amazingly imaginative tale, literary figures from throughout time and various bodies of work are brought together to face any and all threats to Britain. Allan Quatermain, Mina Murray, Captain Nemo, Dr. Henry Jekyll and Edward Hyde and Hawley Griffin, the Invisible Man, form a remarkable legion of intellectual aptitude and physical prowess: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
Subjects
User reviews
LibraryThing member MeditationesMartini
Well, here we are closing in on two decades of "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen." It's been extraordinarily influential, on comic book culture (steampunk!), the culture at large (bricolage!), and my own sense of what it means to consume culture (the first book even the most compendious
Show More
Victorianist wouldn't dare read without a wi-fi connection at hand). The dialogue is on point, the villains are dastardly, the action is unrolled with immense glee. It's an ambitious narrative art project that works--"what if every book took place in the same world?" The high concept is immaculate, and where I find myself a bit let down is with certain aspects of the execution that are not aging well: O'Neill's art (sometimes evocative, sometimes ugly and dehumanizing), the needless graphic violence (I can't help it, man, I had a kid and my balls fell off and now I don't want to look at people being eviscerated or use "balls" as a metaphor for masculine bloodlust anymore), the non-White characters ("pastiche" and "parody" are certainly the intent, but are too close to "ironic humour," itself too close to "just a bit of fun," for me to feel at ease, though I certainly said things myself in the nineties that I regret in the teens), and most of all the rapes, the rapes--there are like a dozen rapes and attempted rapes over the course of the series, played for drama or as "pastiche" again, of the damsel-in-distress, or in one or two cases, I'm sorry, Alan Moore, just for laffs, and I understand that it sucks when the generational wheel turns and the things that made you outré and intense become the things that align you with oppressive power structures and everything you hate, and I get the temptation to just wrap yourself in your dark majesty and storm offstage, but you're answerable--even as we all are. I for one am glad that the present is improving on the past, in some wise, even if it means it also holds the past to present standards regarding how this stuff is represented. Alan Moore, you also kind of did the same when you ransacked the past for your comic book and let the Martians deathray Trollope's kind reverend and all, to be fair. Maybe once quorum is reached on not using sexual assault as a cheap gimmick we can work on gore too? History gives us so many wonderful stories, after all. Show Less
LibraryThing member Stevil2001
When I first heard about the The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen film, I was excited-- a teamup of all the cool characters of Victorian literature? How could that not be great? I only saw half of it, but it was enough to know that the movie was crap, but I kept an eye out for the comic. Now, I've
Show More
finally read it, but I don't have much to say. It's good for what it is-- excellent for what it is, in fact-- but what it is is essentially a superhero team book for the 1890s. It looks great, the writing is spot-on, the concepts are fantastic, the supplemental text features are entertaining, but I find it hard to get too worked up about it. I was amused at all the right spots, and I certainly enjoyed it, though, so I'll be sure to seek out the later volumes at some point. I just... feel like I should have liked it more than I did. Show Less
LibraryThing member edgeworth
A case of deja vu. Just as the last book I read, Count Zero, was quite good but didn't live up to its groundbreaking predecessor Neuromancer, Alan Moore's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is an excellent comic which (understandably) fails to match his groundbreaking Watchmen.
The League of
The artwork is quite different from Dave Gibbons' in Watchmen; sort of scratchy and cartoony, with as much emphasis and exagerration as possible without actually breaking the boundaries of realistic illustration. The League of Extraordinary Gentleman takes place in an alternate universe in more ways than one, with the British Empire being far more industrially advanced than it was at the time. One early full-page image shows a gargantuan half-completed bridge stretching across the English Channel, and the cityscape of London swarms with cranes, airships, bridges, tunnels and towers.
The premise is excellent, but the plot is a standard adventure story, with villains and infiltrations and fights and narrow escapes and nothing particularly original. Moore clearly enjoys poking fun at the tropes of the Victorian era - particularly with villainous foreign stereotypes - but this doesn't even begin to compare to Watchmen's masterful deconstruction of the superhero genre.
The League of Extraordinary Gentleman is nonetheless a good, solid graphic novel, which I enjoyed reading, and I didn't hesitate to order the second volume. Just don't expect it to be on par with Moore's much greater Watchmen.
The League of
Show More
Extraordinary Gentlemen is probably shoulder-to-shoulder with V for Vendetta as Alan Moore's most famous creation after Watchmen. The concept is essentially a "Justice League for Victorian England," operating on the premise that famous works of 19th century fiction were real, and their heroes are recruited into the titular League. Beginning with Mina Harker from Dracula and Captain Nemo from 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, the League soon enlists Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, H.G. Wells' Invisible Man, and Allan Quatermain from King Solomon's Mines. Many of the supporting characters, and even minor background figures, are also from famous works of fiction, and spotting them is half the fun. Sherlock Holmes and the Artful Dodger are impossible to miss, but I feel like dozens went right over my head.The artwork is quite different from Dave Gibbons' in Watchmen; sort of scratchy and cartoony, with as much emphasis and exagerration as possible without actually breaking the boundaries of realistic illustration. The League of Extraordinary Gentleman takes place in an alternate universe in more ways than one, with the British Empire being far more industrially advanced than it was at the time. One early full-page image shows a gargantuan half-completed bridge stretching across the English Channel, and the cityscape of London swarms with cranes, airships, bridges, tunnels and towers.
The premise is excellent, but the plot is a standard adventure story, with villains and infiltrations and fights and narrow escapes and nothing particularly original. Moore clearly enjoys poking fun at the tropes of the Victorian era - particularly with villainous foreign stereotypes - but this doesn't even begin to compare to Watchmen's masterful deconstruction of the superhero genre.
The League of Extraordinary Gentleman is nonetheless a good, solid graphic novel, which I enjoyed reading, and I didn't hesitate to order the second volume. Just don't expect it to be on par with Moore's much greater Watchmen.
Show Less
LibraryThing member bcquinnsmom
My first graphic novel but certainly not my last. Oh my! What a treat for the reader. You have a gathering of some of literature's finest: Mina Harker (now Murray) from Bram Stoker's Dracula, the Invisible Man, Dr. Jekyll AND his dark counterpart Mr. Hyde, Allan Quartermain from H. Rider Haggard's
Don't expect any great literary value here, however, it is a GREAT read if you just want something fun and entertaining. Believe it or not, the characterizations are very well drawn and you won't want to stop reading until you've finished. Now, on to Volume 2!
Show More
awesome novel King Solomon's Mines -- who all come together under the direction of a strange character named Campion Bond. It seems that a nefarious underworld gang has stolen a vital propellant which they plan to use to attack London from the air; the British government wants it back. But the job is dangerous, thus our friends come into the picture.Don't expect any great literary value here, however, it is a GREAT read if you just want something fun and entertaining. Believe it or not, the characterizations are very well drawn and you won't want to stop reading until you've finished. Now, on to Volume 2!
Show Less
LibraryThing member Black_samvara
Much more entertaining than the movie and a lot darker.
LibraryThing member selfnoise
The famous characters of Victorian novels, effortlessly translated into retro superheroes by the fabulous Alan Moore. And did I mention that the art is really excellent? Both volumes are highly recommended for the discerning adventure fan.
LibraryThing member Arctic-Stranger
Moore is an extraordinary gentleman himself. Do not judge this by the movie version, which should be exterminated.
Moore brings together an unlikely batch of characters. The characterization is better than the plot in this one. This is more like an elaborate setup of part two, where the characters
Moore brings together an unlikely batch of characters. The characterization is better than the plot in this one. This is more like an elaborate setup of part two, where the characters
Show More
finally get a good story to run around in. Show Less
LibraryThing member missizicks
Why didn't I like this more? Why did I find it tiresome? The story didn't grab me for a start. Good idea, assembling characters from across Victorian fiction to form an espionage ring to foil the enemies of the state in a steam punk fin de siècle setting. The story whimpered along, though, trying
I got it. Really, I got it. The irony of pneumatically breasted women being mentally stronger than the entitled heroes who couldn't see past the women's cleavages and frilly undergarments. The first Alan Moore I read was Halo Jones. I know Moore isn't a misogynist. I know his tongue is firmly in his cheek when he goes full inflammatory. This felt tedious and trite, though.
There wasn't enough jeopardy in the story. It needed more tension. Perhaps I was disappointed because my expectations after Halo Jones, and the way everyone bloody lives Alan Moore and thinks he can do no wrong, were in the wrong place. I was expecting genius.
It wasn't bad. I didn't hate it. I was bored, though.
In the trade volume I read, there's a back story for Allan Quartermain in which he visits a crumbling stately home, takes some drugs, does a bit of time travelling, fights the Morlocks and witnesses his own physical body, left behind in a drugged stupor, possessed by an alien. He also sees his own future, the future that is the present at the start of the comic. It was okay. I might have enjoyed it more if I'd consumed some drugs myself.
Show More
to be arch but coming across smug.I got it. Really, I got it. The irony of pneumatically breasted women being mentally stronger than the entitled heroes who couldn't see past the women's cleavages and frilly undergarments. The first Alan Moore I read was Halo Jones. I know Moore isn't a misogynist. I know his tongue is firmly in his cheek when he goes full inflammatory. This felt tedious and trite, though.
There wasn't enough jeopardy in the story. It needed more tension. Perhaps I was disappointed because my expectations after Halo Jones, and the way everyone bloody lives Alan Moore and thinks he can do no wrong, were in the wrong place. I was expecting genius.
It wasn't bad. I didn't hate it. I was bored, though.
In the trade volume I read, there's a back story for Allan Quartermain in which he visits a crumbling stately home, takes some drugs, does a bit of time travelling, fights the Morlocks and witnesses his own physical body, left behind in a drugged stupor, possessed by an alien. He also sees his own future, the future that is the present at the start of the comic. It was okay. I might have enjoyed it more if I'd consumed some drugs myself.
Show Less
LibraryThing member JonathanGorman
Not bad. I actually liked the "serial" in the back better than the actual comics. Not a bad story, but it seems sometimes that the backdrops and incidental character references overwhelm the plot or actual character development. On the other hand, just going through the list of characters that
Certainly intended for an older audience, something to keep in mind. But if you like authors like Stroker, Wells, Verne and other folks around the Victorian era, you might like Moore's spin on them.
Show More
seemed to be character references and I didn't recognize will keep me occupied for a while.Certainly intended for an older audience, something to keep in mind. But if you like authors like Stroker, Wells, Verne and other folks around the Victorian era, you might like Moore's spin on them.
Show Less
LibraryThing member aethercowboy
When Alan Moore went out to create the Grand Unified Theory of Literature, he really started something big. So big, in fact, that another author has written at least three books explaining every single reference of Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
If you've only seen the film, immediately
The premise of the first book is this: a world in which all literary characters coexist. Mina Harker (of Dracula) recruits several individuals of the Victorian era of literature: Allan Quatermain, Henry Jekyll, Captain Nemo, and Hawley Griffin (the Invisible Man). They are tasked with preventing a mad doctor, who is a weakly disguised Fu Manchu, from making use of the lighter-than-air element: Cavorite!
Just because these characters are protagonists doesn't mean they're "heroes." Allan has chemical dependencies, Griffin looks out for himself, Nemo is prejudiced, and Jekyll spends a little too much time as Hyde.
No matter, I was hooked, and I'm sure you'll be hooked too, if you're a fan of the literature of that era.
If you've only seen the film, immediately
Show More
forget that you saw it. If you read the atrocious novelization of said film, forget you've ever read it. If you want to experience true League, you must be willing to earn it. How do you earn it? Well, by reading a comic book, and occasionally reading blocks of text that, while seemingly unimportant, are chock full of little tidbits and references to great literary works, and even more subtly known works.The premise of the first book is this: a world in which all literary characters coexist. Mina Harker (of Dracula) recruits several individuals of the Victorian era of literature: Allan Quatermain, Henry Jekyll, Captain Nemo, and Hawley Griffin (the Invisible Man). They are tasked with preventing a mad doctor, who is a weakly disguised Fu Manchu, from making use of the lighter-than-air element: Cavorite!
Just because these characters are protagonists doesn't mean they're "heroes." Allan has chemical dependencies, Griffin looks out for himself, Nemo is prejudiced, and Jekyll spends a little too much time as Hyde.
No matter, I was hooked, and I'm sure you'll be hooked too, if you're a fan of the literature of that era.
Show Less
LibraryThing member iftyzaidi
A homage to the great adventure stories of the late nineteenth century, which is streaked through by some of Alan Moore's trademark brilliance, but somewhat spoilt by the racism (evil Arabs & Chinese) and occasional misogyny. Some brilliant touches include the cameos by Oliver Twist, Ishmael (from
Show More
Moby Dick), etc. The art work is also of an outstandingly high quality (though quite gruesome on occasion). I loved picking out lovely little details (for example when they are walking through the British Museum, one of display cases has a skull of a 'yahoo' (from Gulliver's Travels)). Show Less
LibraryThing member bookworm12
Set in 1898 this graphic novel is a delight for literary buffs. The cast includes classic characters like Poe's Detective Dupin, Stoker's Mina Harker, Verne's Captain Nemo, Stevenson's Dr/Jekyll/Mr. Hyde re-imagined as a team of misfits trying to save the British Empire.
I loved that the "heroes"
The plot wasn’t flawless and the illustrations were sometimes geared too much towards teenage boys (think ridiculous busty women with tiny waists), but the premise hooked me. I love revisiting some of these characters in a completely new setting. I will definitely pick up the next volume.
I loved that the "heroes"
Show More
are such deeply flawed individuals: an opium addict, a selfish a man who is out for his own gain, another trapped by his darker subconscious, etc. There aren’t any “good guys,” just people trying to do something good. The plot wasn’t flawless and the illustrations were sometimes geared too much towards teenage boys (think ridiculous busty women with tiny waists), but the premise hooked me. I love revisiting some of these characters in a completely new setting. I will definitely pick up the next volume.
Show Less
LibraryThing member oybon
Having (possibly unfortunately) seen the film first I was expecting an entirely different book, but was more than pleasantly surprised with the differences. The Book is dark, remarkably funny at times and on the whole follows a great narrative of the forming of the League and its first major test.
The film on the other hand is a prime example of what the Hollywood system does to great source material; sanitises, throws in an itinerant American hero (for the all important home market), and mangles the narrative to only portray black and white where the book certainly has shades of grey.
Show More
Packed with in jokes about Victorian London, if you know a bit of the history of the areas involved it add an extra level of humour.The film on the other hand is a prime example of what the Hollywood system does to great source material; sanitises, throws in an itinerant American hero (for the all important home market), and mangles the narrative to only portray black and white where the book certainly has shades of grey.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Girl_Detective
In this graphic novel by Alan Moore, creator of Watchmen, a strong willed woman with a mysterious past, an ex-adventurer with an opium habit, a psychopathic invisible man–all report to a man named Bond, who works for a mysterious “M”.
Mayhem soon follows. There are more favorite Victorian
Mayhem soon follows. There are more favorite Victorian
Show More
characters here than you can shake a stick at. Not only is it fun to read, but it also makes me want to have another go at the source material. It was this series that first spurred me to tackle Gulliver’s Travels, Wells’ Invisible Man, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, and more. I enjoyed the series, and it made me eager to read more, and to learn more. Not many books can do that, eh? Show Less
LibraryThing member hobbitprincess
I guess this would qualify as a steampunk novel. I thoroughly enjoyed it! I had never read a graphic novel before, but I might have to consider reading more of them. This is definitely a child's comic book! I'm not even sure it belongs in a middle school library because some of the drawings are a
Show More
bit risque. The story's a good one, though. I've not seen the movie, so I can't compare the two. I want to know why Mina wears that scarf all the time, though. Perhaps in another volume? Show Less
LibraryThing member DoubleL
couldn't say enough good things about this series and am very excited to read the newest instalment. anyway it's so creative, great for book nerds, especially of the turn of the twenty-century lit dork set. very clever. funny. weird. dark. lovely all around.
LibraryThing member euang
I've read it more than once.: I've read it more than once. Each time finding something new to enjoy.
First time. I loved the way a bullied Dr. Jekyll would turn into the ultra violent Mr. Hyde, in a hilariously over the top fasion.
Second time. It's a nice James Bond story and that Griffin's
Third. Maybe that Chinese 'Fu Munchi' guy has every right to fight against the english empire. I mean the League arn't entirely hero's are they.
Fourth. Isn't that Oliver Twist?
Fifth. It's a great adevture story and is something going on with Quartermain and that woman from Dracula?
It goes on. By now you must have figured out this is top-notch entertainment.
First time. I loved the way a bullied Dr. Jekyll would turn into the ultra violent Mr. Hyde, in a hilariously over the top fasion.
Second time. It's a nice James Bond story and that Griffin's
Show More
character is dark. Doubtlessly being invisible has drove him insane.Third. Maybe that Chinese 'Fu Munchi' guy has every right to fight against the english empire. I mean the League arn't entirely hero's are they.
Fourth. Isn't that Oliver Twist?
Fifth. It's a great adevture story and is something going on with Quartermain and that woman from Dracula?
It goes on. By now you must have figured out this is top-notch entertainment.
Show Less
LibraryThing member dr_zirk
This is definitely one of the more successful of Alan Moore's ventures, and the icing on the cake this time around is the fact that Kevin O'Neill is a highly capable artist - in so many another context, Moore's interesting narrative ideas are practically sunk by the work of makeweight illustrators.
Show More
Beyond that observation, the main thing to note about The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is the wonderful inventiveness of the tale and the giddy re-appropriation of nineteenth century fictional characters aplenty which provides an excellent platform for some wild adventures and some truly beautiful drawings by O'Neill. There's no doubt about it - when Alan Moore is paired up with an artist who is capable of bringing his visions to life, the results are thoroughly rewarding. Show Less
LibraryThing member ragwaine
Great idea, great characters, intriguing. Abrupt ending.
LibraryThing member coffeesucker
Awesome story! Movie sucked ass, but this is a great read!
LibraryThing member brayzinski
SO MUCH BETTER THAN THE MOVIE!!!!! Really enjoyed the story, graphics and flow. Looking forward to purchasing Vol.2!
LibraryThing member -Eva-
I was a bit wary of this - some Alan Moore I love, and some I just don't get. Also, I've seen the movie based on this and, let's be honest, it's rather painful to watch. Fortunately, I found League quite a fun read. It's not as thought-provoking as Moore's work normally is, more an homage to
Show More
literary heroes, but quite exciting nonetheless. The art really enhances the story and brings places to life. Especially London's underbelly and the English countryside are very well depicted. Show Less
LibraryThing member akmargie
See I saw the movie first and kinda loved it for it's terrible-ness not understanding people's hatred and loathing. After reading this I soon understood why. Two completely different animals. Another great good from Moore.
LibraryThing member aadyer
Excellent, a very original steampunk setting, and much better than the film, which I actually happened to like too! Alan Moore at his glorious, refined, and slightly anarchic best!
LibraryThing member polarbear123
I have to confess that I did not read the stories at the end of this volume. I tried but failed. However the comics are fantastic, well drawn and I like the humour on every single page. Give me more!
Awards
Bram Stoker Award (Nominee — 2000)
International Horror Guild Award (Nominee — 2000)
Squiddy Award (2000)
Pages
192
ISBN
0613912942 / 9780613912945