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saroz162's review against another edition
4.0
There's two major strikes against The Black Dossier, and neither of them has anything to do with the contents of the book. The first, of course, is that we've been waiting years for this - five years, for many, just to see any new LoEG work; two years since Dossier itself was announced. Expectations therefore peaked at a high, and that never bodes well for something as unusual and experimental as this.
The second is that this really should have been the final volume of LoEG. But more on that in a minute.
Basically, the book has a very thin plot, something any decent reader will notice after just a cursory flip through the pages. It's the almanac section from Volume II writ large - documents, postcards, letters, "extracts" and other errata chronicling the centuries-spanning the League's history, built to engage you more as a puzzle than a narrative, with the occasional bone thrown out in the comics framing story. Fortunately, the Almanac was probably my favorite part of Volume II, so I enjoyed the game - although I was aware that, in simply telling us so much about his creation, Moore is basically robbing us of the potential for those stories in the future. We will never see the battle of Mina Murray's League against their French counterparts, nor the failed replacement League of the post-WWII years, nor the formation of Prospero's Men. It's all here - in prose form. Moore is both flexing the comics medium to its full potential and withholding its more traditional use. Fascinating, but ever so slightly disappointing.
That's why this really should have been the last League story to be published (as I expect it still will be, 'chronologically'). With the foreknowledge that Volume III arrives from Top Shelf in a year, this is less a goodbye to the League and more just a goodbye to the League...at DC Comics. Fair enough, but there are some real meditations here on the changing nature of literary heroes - and, later, on fiction itself - which are going to be completely overlooked because a lot of readers, having been surprised and intimidated by the Black Dossier, will simply put it aside and wait for Volume III without ever giving it a second glance.
I definitely enjoyed The Black Dossier. It wasn't quite what I expected when it was first announced two years ago, but by the time descriptions started to leak online, I suspected something less about one narrative story and more about the act of storytelling. That's pretty much what I got. It's not a total home run - I'll have trouble recommending it to friends, and Moore's casual sexualizing of characters still (and always has) makes me vaguely uncomfortable - but it's overall good stuff, and I'll be holding on to my copy for sure.
The second is that this really should have been the final volume of LoEG. But more on that in a minute.
Basically, the book has a very thin plot, something any decent reader will notice after just a cursory flip through the pages. It's the almanac section from Volume II writ large - documents, postcards, letters, "extracts" and other errata chronicling the centuries-spanning the League's history, built to engage you more as a puzzle than a narrative, with the occasional bone thrown out in the comics framing story. Fortunately, the Almanac was probably my favorite part of Volume II, so I enjoyed the game - although I was aware that, in simply telling us so much about his creation, Moore is basically robbing us of the potential for those stories in the future. We will never see the battle of Mina Murray's League against their French counterparts, nor the failed replacement League of the post-WWII years, nor the formation of Prospero's Men. It's all here - in prose form. Moore is both flexing the comics medium to its full potential and withholding its more traditional use. Fascinating, but ever so slightly disappointing.
That's why this really should have been the last League story to be published (as I expect it still will be, 'chronologically'). With the foreknowledge that Volume III arrives from Top Shelf in a year, this is less a goodbye to the League and more just a goodbye to the League...at DC Comics. Fair enough, but there are some real meditations here on the changing nature of literary heroes - and, later, on fiction itself - which are going to be completely overlooked because a lot of readers, having been surprised and intimidated by the Black Dossier, will simply put it aside and wait for Volume III without ever giving it a second glance.
I definitely enjoyed The Black Dossier. It wasn't quite what I expected when it was first announced two years ago, but by the time descriptions started to leak online, I suspected something less about one narrative story and more about the act of storytelling. That's pretty much what I got. It's not a total home run - I'll have trouble recommending it to friends, and Moore's casual sexualizing of characters still (and always has) makes me vaguely uncomfortable - but it's overall good stuff, and I'll be holding on to my copy for sure.
dantastic's review against another edition
3.0
The comic bits were great with Alan and Mina in 1950 after the fall of big brother. I'm going to read the text pieces over my lunch break and give this a proper review. Or not.
quietdomino's review against another edition
This is a book for insane bibliophilic Victorian futurists. I think it is essentially unrateable. It contains a pair of usable 3D glasses and a facsimile edition of eighteenth-century pornography, plus an intense hatred of James Bond. That should be enough to tell if you want to read it or not.
jkenna1990's review against another edition
2.0
Good god this was so boring compared to the other volumes. This was by far my least favorite of all of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
sara_shortcake's review against another edition
3.0
Didn't like it as much as the first 2. "The Crazy Wide Forever" was torture. The 3D was fun, but I wondered why they bothered coloring those pages, because you couldn't see any of the colors.
ericbuscemi's review against another edition
2.0
In three words: What the fuck!?
To expound: This is not a graphic novel, but it is not not a graphic novel, either. Confused? Yeah, me too. The graphic novel segments were well drawn and interesting, although I feel as if I missed most of the literary references; If I hadn't previously read 1984 I don't think it I would have followed The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier at all. The 'Black Dossier' segments of the book that the graphic novel framed were, for the most part, unreadable. And the finale of the graphic novel was done in 3D, which you needed the included 3D glasses to read. It was utter nonsense, and reminded me of the South Park episode 'Imagination Land', and not in a good way.
To expound: This is not a graphic novel, but it is not not a graphic novel, either. Confused? Yeah, me too. The graphic novel segments were well drawn and interesting, although I feel as if I missed most of the literary references; If I hadn't previously read 1984 I don't think it I would have followed The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier at all. The 'Black Dossier' segments of the book that the graphic novel framed were, for the most part, unreadable. And the finale of the graphic novel was done in 3D, which you needed the included 3D glasses to read. It was utter nonsense, and reminded me of the South Park episode 'Imagination Land', and not in a good way.
coreteneh's review
5.0
I really enjoyed all of the extras that were included in this edition, from the record to the 3d glasses, I thought it was beautifully and thoughtfully laid out. It is not for the faint of heart, there is a lot of prose within this graphic novel and reads exactly how i imagine a dossier would read. So as such people I believe sturggled with the lack of presence of a plot and wished it would go deeper within some of the items presented within the book. But I thought it was a really interesting in depth look at the universe that Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neal have created. And I would love to have more stories from the items that were presented within this book.
ice119's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
fritzh8u's review against another edition
4.0
The most apt description of this volume I've heard is "public domain continuity porn."
The last act was in anaglyph 3D.
Absolutely gorgeous
The last act was in anaglyph 3D.
Absolutely gorgeous