Scan barcode
A review by flerpi
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 1 by Alan Moore
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.