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shadybanana's review
3.0
I had heard about the movie, but I didn’t know that the comic was the main origin. I read the movie had very bad reviews. I mean we are talking about review worse than Ryan Reynold's 'Green Lantern'. Any way I started reading the comic and believe me, it was freaking awesome. To know that all of my favorite characters, Captain Nemo, Invisible Man, Dr. Jekyll (aka Hyde), James Bond, Sherlock & Mycroft Holmes and that they were all together and see them all together in one story arc is like over dozing on cool-ness. The badass-ery was top-notch. The 5 main heroes were marvelously depicted in the comic. It was like all of there authors had sit together and written this. Epic stuff! The art lacked a bit at some places and was (if I may say) a bit over comical at some places. A general hilarity pervasive in comics was present in adequate amounts. However the character of James Bond was not what I think it should have been. Lastly, the ending was actually not as good as the rest of the comic. Also, the character of Miss Murray has been kept 'contained' for far too much time. Still a 4/4.5 star
Spoiler
James Moriarty (so freaking unbelievable, by the way I hope you didn’t read this spoiler, otherwise you have ruined the comic for yourself)Spoiler
All the part about Moriarty being a shadow fighter and a creation of Millitary Intelligence was difficult to digest and very weird not to mention totally unexpected.flerpi's review
2.0
The more I think about it, the more I dislike this graphic novel. Mina Murray is the character the story mostly follows, which got me excited because hey, she’s a woman! I’m a woman! Hooray strong women!
… but then Mina is nearly raped, dresses as a prostitute to go under cover, gets beaten by Mr. Hyde, and poses as Quatermain’s wife. She is also shown climbing down a ladder and asking Quatermain not to “take advantage” of his lower position to look up her dress, and of course the next picture shows Quatermain looking up at Mina’s Victorian undergarments. Mina usually has a sour or unpleasant expression on her face, which could be the result of the corset she must be wearing to give her the impossibly tiny waist she’s drawn with.
Speaking of drawing, I’m not impressed with the quality/style of the drawing in this book.
Moving on. Mina isn’t the only woman who gets a poor treatment. In fact, Mina gets the best treatment of any woman in the book. The other women that are shown are prostitutes, pregnant “virgin” rape victims, and the sleazy headwoman of what is supposedly some sort of all-girl’s school, but comes across as a whore academy. There is a string of mysterious “virgin” pregnancies at said school, which are revealed to be the work of The Invisible Man. In fact, the comic actually shows a scene where The Invisible Man is raping yet another girl.
So, women get a pretty crappy treatment. Also, I couldn’t get over the fact that one of the League’s members was a serial rapist. Sure, he does some good things later, but that doesn’t come close to making up for the fact the he raped and impregnated multiple young, unwed girls back in the Victorian era.
Finally, a point that’s raised a couple of times is the fact that Mina, a woman, is a member of the League, which otherwise consists of men, most of whom are also somewhat shady or unsavory characters. It’s said she can do this both because she’s already disgraced, and because she can hold her own. I figured this meant that, like in the movie adaptation, Mina was a vampire. After her nearly being raped and not biting the shit out of her would-be rapists, I turned to Google and found that Mina is just a woman. As I am admittedly reading this book because I watched the movie, discovering Mina’s lack of vampire-ass-kicking abilities was disappointing.
Overall, the unimpressive drawing style, the rapist-as-hero, and the poor treatment of women all combine to create quite the turn-off. The only reason I’m giving it two stars instead of one is that I that I already have the second volume and there’s some sort of morbid curiosity in me that means I’ll probably try reading it.
… but then Mina is nearly raped, dresses as a prostitute to go under cover, gets beaten by Mr. Hyde, and poses as Quatermain’s wife. She is also shown climbing down a ladder and asking Quatermain not to “take advantage” of his lower position to look up her dress, and of course the next picture shows Quatermain looking up at Mina’s Victorian undergarments. Mina usually has a sour or unpleasant expression on her face, which could be the result of the corset she must be wearing to give her the impossibly tiny waist she’s drawn with.
Speaking of drawing, I’m not impressed with the quality/style of the drawing in this book.
Moving on. Mina isn’t the only woman who gets a poor treatment. In fact, Mina gets the best treatment of any woman in the book. The other women that are shown are prostitutes, pregnant “virgin” rape victims, and the sleazy headwoman of what is supposedly some sort of all-girl’s school, but comes across as a whore academy. There is a string of mysterious “virgin” pregnancies at said school, which are revealed to be the work of The Invisible Man. In fact, the comic actually shows a scene where The Invisible Man is raping yet another girl.
So, women get a pretty crappy treatment. Also, I couldn’t get over the fact that one of the League’s members was a serial rapist. Sure, he does some good things later, but that doesn’t come close to making up for the fact the he raped and impregnated multiple young, unwed girls back in the Victorian era.
Finally, a point that’s raised a couple of times is the fact that Mina, a woman, is a member of the League, which otherwise consists of men, most of whom are also somewhat shady or unsavory characters. It’s said she can do this both because she’s already disgraced, and because she can hold her own. I figured this meant that, like in the movie adaptation, Mina was a vampire. After her nearly being raped and not biting the shit out of her would-be rapists, I turned to Google and found that Mina is just a woman. As I am admittedly reading this book because I watched the movie, discovering Mina’s lack of vampire-ass-kicking abilities was disappointing.
Overall, the unimpressive drawing style, the rapist-as-hero, and the poor treatment of women all combine to create quite the turn-off. The only reason I’m giving it two stars instead of one is that I that I already have the second volume and there’s some sort of morbid curiosity in me that means I’ll probably try reading it.
draculaura's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I switched another book out for this one at the last minute for a reading challenge and I gotta admit, I kinda regret it. Despite its amazing premise of classic literary "villains" like Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, Captain Nemo, and the Invisible Man forced together to save a steampunk era England, it just wasn't for me. It shines a very focused lens on the colonialist mindset and sexual oppression that runs rampant in a lot of these beloved classics, but the blatant racism, sexism, and multiple instances of sexual assault was just really difficult for me to stomach. I know the movie was disappointing, but at least it didn't have all of that (that I can remember anyway).
katiefrankx's review
4.0
I enjoyed the story greatly (as I did with the film version, which I think I preferred - sorry!) but the art just didn't sit well with me. That's entirely personal preference, still, worth noting.
amreeves's review
3.0
Really loved the characters and the artwork. Loved seeing all these great literary characters together, although I hadn't heard of some- time to brush up on some classics i suppose. I didn't like that there were no footnotes or glossary where they had the other languages translated. I want to know what was said! Will definitely pick up the other volumes to see more adventures!
xsleepyshadows's review
2.0
Imagine famous Victorian era literary characters getting together on a dangerous adventure.
librarian_of_valencia's review
3.0
I enjoyed the story of this book and its many literary allusions and the witty dialogue. I also really enjoyed Mina Murray's character and watching the ways in which the team's dynamic shifted and grew through the book.
I will warn readers that the tone is quite dark, though humorous, and the violence is often quite graphic (As might be expected from Alan Moore). There is also a bit of sexual violence in the work--a rape and an attempted rape. Neither is graphic, but they are still disturbing and could be a trigger.
I will warn readers that the tone is quite dark, though humorous, and the violence is often quite graphic (As might be expected from Alan Moore). There is also a bit of sexual violence in the work--a rape and an attempted rape. Neither is graphic, but they are still disturbing and could be a trigger.