Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by stm314
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 2 by Alan Moore
4.0
Another enjoyable tale of the League. I have yet to read an Alan Moore book which I did not like (so far I’ve read Watchmen, Promethea, and LoEG). I plan to read Black Dossier next, and based on the reviews on here, let’s see if that trend continues.
This book had more truly great artwork from Kevin O’Neill. The art in the first issue alone is worth the price of the book. Gorgeous Martian vistas and all sorts of great character design. I was hoping to see more of Mars in the rest of the book. Maybe it’ll pop up again in one of the later volumes, but unfortunately I get the sense that that will be it.
All in all, it’s a very good take on the War of the Worlds story. However, just like the H.G. Well’s source of inspiration, the story wraps up very suddenly. I did like the nod to the novel as to how the Molluscs were defeated as well. It was also a nice touch that the means to defeat the invaders was made by Dr. Moreau, another one of Wells’ creations. But after the first few issues had such terrific set up, the last issue wrapped Act III of the story too quickly. I would have prefered to have had another issue or two of the comic and maybe less of the Almanac (but more on that in a second).
The final issue did have a showcase scene for Mr. Hyde. Momentarily forgetting what he did to Skinner..., Hyde had an awesome bow out, teaching the invaders what the word “terror” means. I’m not sorry for Hyde or the Invisible Man as they were both truly terrible people, but they both had good character work and scenes in this one, esp. Hyde, vicious monster that he is.
For the other members of the League, Nemo and his Nautilus are cool as ever. Nemo is maybe the coolest and most principled character of the bunch. I hope he returns as he and Mina are the 2 most interesting protagonists in my opinion. I have to say Allan Quartermain regressed in this volume. I really enjoyed the “Allan and the Sundered Veil” short story at the end of the first volume and wish he would have shown more character as then. In this he was reduced to being a symbol of Victorian patriarchy, which although this might be apropos to the times, it made him a one-note, lame duck character. I would have rather seen him use his hunting skills to track down Dr. Moreau in the woods. Instead, all he does is complain and then bed Mina. Speaking of which, it seems people are pretty split here about this. I’m still not sure how I feel about the first scene, but the second one (the quickie in the woods) was totally unnecessary. Mina’s relationship to Quartermain here is somewhat confusing, not because of his age but because it sort of just happens.
Mina Murray is still the smart, courageous, moral center of this series, relationship with Quartermain notwithstanding. I would have preferred that the New Traveller’s Almanac at the end were actually about her post-League adventures or her full journal entries, not just little tidbits of post-volume 2 Mina sprinkled in here and there. How much better would a series of short stories about her correspondece with Sherlock Holmes, or the LoEG 2.0’s run-in with their French counterparts Les Hommes Mysterieux in the sewers of Paris have been? I don’t know any more examples because that’s how far I made it with the Almanac. Not that the Almanac is all bad. There are good bits here and there, like the Alice L. and Bellman Expedition, but mostly it’s just a list. It reads the same way you would read a list, not a story, a list, albeit well-researched. I do have to say that there are good sites online that break down every reference in the Almanac and point towards the books that these stories are from, which is a nice launch pad into mostly Victorian literature, but it’s too dense and too much of a chore to enjoyably get though.
Anyways, on to Black Dossier! (And I also want to get back to more Promethea, which is truly incredible so far). If I had to choose between the LoEG volumes so far, I’d say that I prefer volume one and it’s extra material. Volume 2 is still very good, minus a few things here and there, and I’m still on board with the series as a whole.
This book had more truly great artwork from Kevin O’Neill. The art in the first issue alone is worth the price of the book. Gorgeous Martian vistas and all sorts of great character design. I was hoping to see more of Mars in the rest of the book. Maybe it’ll pop up again in one of the later volumes, but unfortunately I get the sense that that will be it.
All in all, it’s a very good take on the War of the Worlds story. However, just like the H.G. Well’s source of inspiration, the story wraps up very suddenly. I did like the nod to the novel as to how the Molluscs were defeated as well. It was also a nice touch that the means to defeat the invaders was made by Dr. Moreau, another one of Wells’ creations. But after the first few issues had such terrific set up, the last issue wrapped Act III of the story too quickly. I would have prefered to have had another issue or two of the comic and maybe less of the Almanac (but more on that in a second).
The final issue did have a showcase scene for Mr. Hyde. Momentarily forgetting what he did to Skinner..., Hyde had an awesome bow out, teaching the invaders what the word “terror” means. I’m not sorry for Hyde or the Invisible Man as they were both truly terrible people, but they both had good character work and scenes in this one, esp. Hyde, vicious monster that he is.
For the other members of the League, Nemo and his Nautilus are cool as ever. Nemo is maybe the coolest and most principled character of the bunch. I hope he returns as he and Mina are the 2 most interesting protagonists in my opinion. I have to say Allan Quartermain regressed in this volume. I really enjoyed the “Allan and the Sundered Veil” short story at the end of the first volume and wish he would have shown more character as then. In this he was reduced to being a symbol of Victorian patriarchy, which although this might be apropos to the times, it made him a one-note, lame duck character. I would have rather seen him use his hunting skills to track down Dr. Moreau in the woods. Instead, all he does is complain and then bed Mina. Speaking of which, it seems people are pretty split here about this. I’m still not sure how I feel about the first scene, but the second one (the quickie in the woods) was totally unnecessary. Mina’s relationship to Quartermain here is somewhat confusing, not because of his age but because it sort of just happens.
Mina Murray is still the smart, courageous, moral center of this series, relationship with Quartermain notwithstanding. I would have preferred that the New Traveller’s Almanac at the end were actually about her post-League adventures or her full journal entries, not just little tidbits of post-volume 2 Mina sprinkled in here and there. How much better would a series of short stories about her correspondece with Sherlock Holmes, or the LoEG 2.0’s run-in with their French counterparts Les Hommes Mysterieux in the sewers of Paris have been? I don’t know any more examples because that’s how far I made it with the Almanac. Not that the Almanac is all bad. There are good bits here and there, like the Alice L. and Bellman Expedition, but mostly it’s just a list. It reads the same way you would read a list, not a story, a list, albeit well-researched. I do have to say that there are good sites online that break down every reference in the Almanac and point towards the books that these stories are from, which is a nice launch pad into mostly Victorian literature, but it’s too dense and too much of a chore to enjoyably get though.
Anyways, on to Black Dossier! (And I also want to get back to more Promethea, which is truly incredible so far). If I had to choose between the LoEG volumes so far, I’d say that I prefer volume one and it’s extra material. Volume 2 is still very good, minus a few things here and there, and I’m still on board with the series as a whole.