The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 1 by Alan Moore

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume 1 by Alan Moore

2000, America's Best Comics

Series: Book 1 of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

Goodreads / Amazon

Rating

Synopsis: London, 1898. 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.

The Good: The premise is amazing. Tailor made for a movie. Which was then made, totally eclipsing the book.

The Bad: I loved the movie. I know, people aren't supposed to admit that, but I say it loud and often. So what if it made Sean Connery quit acting, it entertained me. Having said that, this graphic novels was not good. The artwork was unappealing. That's the best way to describe it. You know what's going on - it's not unclear or anything - but it's not pleasant to look at. It made me want to put the book down. I found it disagreeable to my eyes. The characters are awful people, and not in the fun movie way. Mina whines incessantly (strange as she is in charge now, apparently that's how Moore believes women lead). Quartermain is a drug addict who seems to be getting a his hate lust up way too much for the significantly younger Mina. The invisible man is a serial rapist, and we're supposed to find this acceptable behavior just because. No Tom Sawyer. No Dorian Gray. No fun, at all.