The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century1910
Written by Alan Moore
Art by Kevin O'Neill
2009
Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century1969
Written by Alan Moore
Art by Kevin O'Neill
2011
Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/
2009
Written by Alan Moore
Art by Kevin O'Neill
2012
Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/
The Third Volume of Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill's equal parts praise-worthy to befuddling epic League of Extraordinary Gentlemen series. Beginning relatively simplistically with Vols 1 and 2 before taking a detour into ever more esoteric territories with The Black Dossier (which was set in 1958 placing it in-between the adventures of 1910 and 1969 - but which should be read before both - got that?) this is a comic series that began as a high concept rip-roaring boys own adventure type thing before steadily transforming into an aloof byzantium of ever increasing complexity featuring a multitude of characters drawn from across the whole of the 20th (and early 21st) Century popular culture (thus the title).
These are books that I have struggled (and still struggle) very much to enjoy. Totally not the sort of thing that you can dip in-and-out - but rather the sort of work that needs careful and diligent attention paid in order to suss out: so far it's been the sort of thing that I've enjoyed more reading about than actually reading.
It's at this point that I'd like to draw your attention to a few sites linked below. Practically every single panel in this comic has a reference to someone or other - and unless you're a super-brain who's spent every waking second watching and reading everything that's ever been made - you're going to get slightly lost at some point. Help comes in two very distinct flavours: first off is Jess Nevins with a very dry and academic annotations page that lists all the references like butterflies pinned under glass - it's very easy to use: but does make it feel that you're just reading a book of "spot the references." The second is the more complex, much longer - but for me much more satisfying annotations by good folks at The Mindless Ones: which is a thoughtful and in-depth examination of the reasons behind the references and the connotations and thoughts and feelings they invoke. Or (the third way): there's the Newsarama's Cheat Sheet - which is mercifully brief and to-the-point. I don't know whether to recommend that you read the books first without trying to check out the links - or to try and read them side-by-side as I did (which takes away a lot of the fun): but I guess whatever feels good - do that.
There is really is nothing else in the world like this - and nothing else that feels (thanks to it's canny use of other sources) so almost unimaginably vast.
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Links: Jess Nevin's 1910 Annotations, The Mindless Ones 1910 Annotations, Jess Nevin's 1969 Annotations, The Mindless Ones 1969 Annotations Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4, Comics Alliance 1969 Review, Also Sprach Fletchathustra 1969 Review, Newsarama 1969 Cheat Sheet, Newsarama Interview with Alan Moore Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4, The Comics Journal 1969 Review 1, The Comics Journal 1969 Review 2.
Further reading: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier, The Unwritten, Neonomicon.
Profiles: Alan Moore.
All comments welcome.
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