Lighter in weight and tone than From Hell or Watchmen, League appears on the surface to be more rompy fan fiction than reinventing the comic. It was while reading the net's wiki 'Notes on League of Gentlemen' that I began to appreciate each panel's detail and 'mass culture references', to quote TMBG. Three words - a friggin' joy. Now, if I could just summon the moxy to delve into 'Lost Girls'.

It seems that each new read of Alan Moore makes me realize once again that D.C. had no idea what they had in Alan Moore. To call him pure genius may be the most accurate way of describing his work. It's not writing -- it's art. In League, I found myself unable to grasp onto the characters at first -- I expected serious and grim and my mind was demanding that feel. I had no idea Moore had such a terrific sense of humor. He's having fun with the material while at the same time evoking the time honored idea "there is no good, just shades of evil".
In this plot a series of literary characters from the Victorian era pop on the screen. If you had to read 20,000 Leagues you know of Jules Verne and Captain Nimo. You might also know of the Invisible Man or Jeckle and Hyde. In short, we have quite a spicy mixture of characters out to stop a takeover plot. There are hints of James Bond with characters such as (James, M, and Bond). We have a reference to Moby Dick and it goes on and on. Moore spins a tale that on the surface seems racist but what he's really trying to show is that our own racism against others is our glass house since we are selves can be far worse through our own inability to not realize our vial flaws.
I loved the book. It's a great read. My only regret was that the main villain was someone far too often used and of course I won't reveal it. Moore could have been more imaginative but so what -- he's still a genius and I stand by that statement.

I very rarely give the first volume of anything a perfect rating, but to give the works of Alan Moore anything less seems more likely of readers who are simply turned off by his dark, grisly style. And my "creased and dog-eared copy" of "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" (illustrated by Kevin O'Neill) tells such a tale, which isn't any less fascinating. Five of the most legendary figures in Victorian literature are assembled to save 1890's England from both external and internal threats. Suffice to say that Moore favors less than reputable characters in his work. From the drug-addicted Allan Quatermain to the anti-social Invisible Man to Dr. Jekyll's murderous alter ego Mr. Hyde, don't expect to find a favorite among these not-so-fab five. What you should expect, however, is an intriguing action story that will put you on an emotional rollercoaster. Moore also throws in the written six-chapter prologue "Allan and the Sundered Veil" while O'Neil adds a gallery of covers from the original graphic novels among other features.

This comic is unrated: Graphic Violence, Nudity, Adult Language, Adult Situations.

Great literary characters have a tendency to outlive their mortal creators, by finding second and third lives in cultures far removed from those which created them. Here, in the first volume of a collection of graphic novels, a quintet of Victorian-era protagonists are enjoyably thrust into the late-20th-century medium of the comic book.

It is 1898. Mina Murray, heroine of "Dracula" with her maiden name reassumed, is charged to assemble a team of social miscreants whose skills are badly needed by the British Empire, confronting a mysterious menace from within. Captain Nemo (Jules Verne's "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea") brings his submarine "Nautilus", while Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Henry Jekyll contributes his unrestrained alter-ego Mr. Hyde. H.G. Wells' "Invisible Man" is somewhere on hand, too, and then there's Allan Quatermain, legendary African explorer from the H. Rider Haggard stories.

One of the most notable aspects of this book, a collection of six sequentially-issued comic books published in 2000, is its treatment of Quatermain, least notable of the main characters, as its central figure. Aged, strung out from drugs, somewhat blinkered in his attitudes, he represents the guiding spirit of the era in all its good and bad ways and something of a pin cushion for writer Alan Moore's modernist barbs. At the same time, underneath the action and bloodshed, it is Quatermain's redemption as a full-blooded hero that propels this story out from the chapbook and comics milieu it cheerfully inhabits.

Between the chapter sections lie warnings of what lies ahead: "Mothers of sensitive or neurasthenic children may wish to examine the contents before passing it on to their little one, removing those pages which they consider to be unsuitable." Moore is described in a brief bio, written in the same tone, as the author of such prior works as "A Child's Garden of Venereal Horrors" and "Cocaine and Rowing: The Sure Way to Health."

There is some truth to the warning regarding sensitive offspring. Though it plays with the idea of being a Boy's Own Adventure, it in fact is a graphic novel in more ways than one. The first two chapters alone contain three rape attempts, and the one that may have been successful (as well as statutory) is played for a devilish laugh. People don't just die in "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen", they are ripped limb from limb, or have their brains bashed out.

Icky, yes, but Moore and artist Kevin O'Neill earn your indulgence for the intelligent way such R-rated liberties expand and intensify an immersive storyline. More problematic for me was the central conflict, which seems to serve no purpose except to facilitate some corker artwork of London's East End under airship attack.

Still, it is a visual treat, here, there, and everywhere, using the England of 100 years before as a kind of launching pad for trippy phantasmagorias. Moore plays with the conventions of the Victorian era, but he also respects them in a curious way. His combination of historical attentiveness, wit, and (especially in the chapbook supplement "Allan and the Sundered Evil") facility with period language makes for a splendid tale well told. Wells and Stevenson would be impressed.

After reading comics such as Girl Genius and Archie comics, I feel like buying this book was a waste of money. The plot was lacking as well as the artistry. I had high hopes for it because of the movie, but I was sorely disappointed.

Now I'm loving it, but I don't know if I ever would have gotten into the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen except for the fact that a great friend (thanks Mark!) gave my wife a copy of Volume I which he had bought to some fan book signing, and Kevin O'Neil drew a picture of Mina Murray in the frontispiece and inscribed it to my wife, who has also written a novel about the same character. So I just put it in my bag when we went to Chicago and I figured it was either this book, or giving myself up to the sappy movie on the inflight movie channel which happened in this case to be THE ULTIMATE GIFT. I wonder why Moore and O'Neil are so hellbent on keeping the past of Mina Murray such a dark secret. I mean it takes right up until the middle of volume two until you find out (a little) about why she's always wearing that red scarf draped around her neck.

Until then she's just relentlessly brave and svelte, first braving a Cairo dope den to find the neardead body of arch explorer Allan Quartermain, and then taking him to Paris to investigate the case of putains being hacked to death in the Rue Morgue by a gigantic beast who turns out to be--Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde! After that, the league, supervised by toadlike Campion Bond on behalf of Britich Military Intelligence--journeys to a girl's school in England where a series of young ladies are experiencing the miracle of immaculate conception. It's a wild ride, and it culminates in a long drawn out battle in Limehouse during which Dr. Moriarty of the Sherlock Holmes canon, and a mad doctor I guess is supposed to be Fu Manchu battle it out for possession of stolen cavorite, a lighter than air element that England needs for its own secret space program.

All very well and good, but now that I have progressed as far as THE BLACK DOSSIER I would declare Volume II the winner. In retrospect Volume I suffers from the sort of tedious "cavorite, cavorite, who's got the cavorite" plotting, and also from the romance between Mina and Allan--that is to say, the romance is great but it begins in that "meet cute" way which is so predictable and insufferable. As soon as you have a man and a woman who can't stand each other you just know they're eventually going to get together: Moore could have written this love story in a more sophisticated way. He seems so determined to re-write every narratological convention but this "meet cute" business he just decided to feed us wholesale without even an apology, and it's stale meat from some other lesser writer's bag of tricks. That said, I did enjoy seeing them melt their reserve and that iceberg of mutual dislike, and see Mina come to life again after Jonathan Harker and the divorce, not to mention you know who.

I liked Watchmen, so I ordered TLoEG Vol 1 and 2 for my 10 year old son for Christmas. Thankfully, I started reading it before he did as it is very much an adult themed graphic novel, with a couple of rape scenes in the first half of Vol 1 alone. I haven't finished the book yet - just wanted to give a head's up to other parents out there before they made the same mistake I did. With Captain Nemo, et al. it never occurred to me that it would lean in this direction. Fine for me, just NOT AT ALL APPROPRIATE for preteens.

I love Alan Moore and I think he's the best in the business. However, I just was kind of bored by this. I couldn't really get into the story like I usually can with his work. I think there was a lot of potential in it though, and there were definately some hilarious moments in it. I'm to read volume 2 and the black dossier to see what I think of the full series before I totally condemn it though.

Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill have taken several Victorian stories and loosely blended the main characters into a single well-plotted, supremely drawn novel. It is a unique treatment, as far as I know, and way better than the movie. The heroes are actually semi-reformed villains, and the story is richer for that. If you've outgrown the DC and Marvel universe, and wanted something more (or is it Moore?) League is definitely for you. The characters are well-drawn, both literally and literarily. This is an adult graphic novel, not just because of the frank dipictions of sex and violence, but because of the emotions and characterization. Why, some of the main characters are even middle-aged! You will recognize the aura of some classic stories, but even if you don't, "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" is definitely worth the price of admission.

I love Alan Moore. I think, with the exception of Frank Miller, he's the greatest comic book writer of all time (though Jeph Loeb is fast taking his place with those two). I love the Watchmen. I love his DC work. I love Top Ten. And V for Vendetta is very good. TLOEG is somewhat weaker. He took characters that could be real, I suppose. And put them in this situation. Definitely worth reading if you love comic books, Moore, or the movie.

This is an okay graphic novel. It has some interesting story elements and characters but the story never really engaged me. Not a bad read, but clearly not for everyone. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone who is not a clear fan of comic books.

As one of my first forays into the world of the graphic novel, "LOEG" certainly caught my attention. The book is full of memorable images, strong characters, exotic locates and plenty of action.

The book itself tells the tale of the formation of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen -- a late 19th-century collection of famous and infamous personages known to the reader through novels and films. Though the characters are familiar, their incarnation here can be disorienting and even offensive. The Invisible Man is gruff and homicidal and uses his power to satisfy his personal urges. Captain Nemo is some sort of aloof Indian emir brandishing a machine harpoon gun agaunbst "Mohammedans," and his Nautilus is a squidlike submarine with mechanical tentacles. Dr Jekyll is a small, sweaty man, while his Mr. Hyde persona is an enormous brute who enjoys literally tearing his foes limb from limb. The central characters in the novel is Mina Murray, a lady of an uncertain, yet sullied past, whose courage is matched by her elusiveness. Often sharing the spotlight is Allan Quatermain, a former famous big game hunter (I gathered) languishing in an opium haze in the back streets of Cairo. The characters, once collected, become a sort of crime-fighting collective, their mutual skills offsetting their individual defects. They are called on by mysterious authorities to work on various bizarre super crimes, including a finale that threatens all of London.

The book's conceit is that it *is* a comic from the late 1800s, and its sensibilities (good and bad) reflect that era's prejudices. Bad guys include a horde of expendable Chinese criminals and a devil's den of Arab thugs bent on rapine, characterizations that are normally found offensive in the modern world. Leavening this un-PC environment are clever period touches, such as product advertisements in mock-19th century style. An illustrated prose story at the back of the book provides a prequel that explains Quatermain's opium addiction. This part of the book is a real contrast to the quickly-read material before it. Its hyperbolic imagery, turgid prose and quasi-religious pretensions destroyed the book's fast pace, and could not make up for its lack of clever ideas.

The current volume gathers the 6-edition comic book series into a single edition. The story's narrative starts at the front of the book, followed (rather confusingly, I thought) by the front covers, back covers and special content. The book's style teeters on the edge of exploitation, but retains enough momentum to propel it forward. Some readers might be amused by the book's gathering of so many 19th century fictional heros, some might be confused. The constant stream of literary references (more than I picked up) may amuse you or annoy you. I took it all in good fun, which seems to be the best way to handle it.

If I were to rate LOEG as a film (perfectly appropriate since the book is primarily visual) I would give it a solid "R". The violence is graphic and visceral -- both literally on the page and in figuratively in the reader's imagination. There are few lost oportunities to show bare breasts -- be they on heroic sculptures or on the "Nubian" who graces many pages of the story at the back. Whether this is a good thing or not is in the eye of the beholder. Suffice it to say that LOEG appeals strongly to the mid-adolescent male mind, whatever the age or gender of its owner.

The story of LOEG is compelling, exotic, heart-pounding fun. I can't imagine having had to wait weeks for the next installment, and am glad to have it all between two covers, to be devoured in raw, bloody chunks. Recommended, but for mature readers, perhaps late teens and up.

Moore is a genius of the form. This is ridiculously good, and packed with great stuff. Just gold.

Check out Jess Nevin's guide, for one, and Fantastic Victoriana site if you want to delve further into who is who.

Mina Harker has to retrieve a drug addicted Alan Quatermain, to put together a mission for the British Secret Service. This involves recruiting Nemo, Hyde and the Invisible Man, and locking horns with the Professor and the Devil Doctor.

As an added bonus, there is the prose 'Allan and the Sundered Veil', in which a not as dead as thought Quatermain goes in search of substances to imbibe, and in this state encounters both Randolph and John Carter, the Time Traveller, and a Great Old One. Perhaps, anyway. Even more ahead for him after that.

Horrible. Disconnected, gleefully grotesque and self-indulgent. The only thing Moore proved with this was that he knew the best people to steal from.

It is NOT, I repeat NOT consistent with Victorian writing; at best you could call it a satire of the same. The hallmark of Victorian England was restraint and innuendo, and everything here is blatant and vulgar. How many gay jokes and sexual abuse can we cram into a single volume?

Listen, I'll never claim that such things didn't go on in Victorian England, and in theory I applaud the effort to bring a gritty reality to this fantasy. But ultimately it just feels like the author slinging excrement around and calling it art.

Aside from that, the characters are thinly developed (as is often the case with comics) and the clever asides and moralizing subtexts often swamp the story (Ok, the moralizing part IS actually Victorian).

And did I say story? Only the barest shoestring excuse of a plot on which to thread the disparate parts. Boring, barely motivated, predictable and lacking in suspense. I will never understand why people love this so much, except it invites games of proving who was paying the most attention in high school English class.

This is sadly one of my least favorite Alan Moore stories. The idea of letting characters from various classic literature meet in a conspiracy story just doesn't do the trick for me. It works in moments but ultimately it mostly ends as one reference after another.

But of course, it certainly proves that Moore knows his stuff and he manage to create a decent intensity that just sadly miss the same impact we are used to from his side.

The art by Kevin O'Neill is more interesting and he gives the book an almost abstract touch.

I have seen better. But at least it is superior to the pathetic movie.

Read it, re-read it, can't wait to read volume 2. After seeing the movie adaption and then reading the comic I can say truthfully that the comic runs circles around that movie. I understand they probably had to make the movie with all the comics in mind and not just one particular volume but reading the comic is much much better. Highly recommended.

Though seemingly more shallow than his other classics, Moore's "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" has unique strengths not to be missed. In center stage is the eloquent finesse with which Alan Moore pedals his wares. Each word carefully chosen and arranged so as to HYPNOTIZE the reader into a trance of intrigue and excitement. In this most exotic revision of 19th century literature we see Hero/Adventure comics in their historical setting, and a start to bridging the gap between ancient mythology and the caped crusaders.
This reinvention of classic Adventure helps remind us that though the stories of the genre have been explored through out time, it is the pictures that are of our era. And for that Kevin O'Neil gives us a world of scribbles and wonder perfectly suited to their story and time.
Whether your a desperate addict of comic book literature or a curious enthusiast, "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" will bring out the adolescent in you and leave you with a grin. To believe someone would pedal their own wares for over sixty pages without once blushing or breaking a sweat is beyond comprehension! Alan Moore, we pay tribute. This is amazement you cannot afford to miss!

I had seen the movie first, so thought I knew a little of what to expect. I was still nearly blown away. This was an amazing read, both in the stylized artwork, and the combining of its reference works. The breadth of inclusion, the feel of immersion they accomplished is simply amazing.

I had seen the movie first, so thought I knew a little of what to expect. I was still nearly blown away. This was an amazing read, both in the stylized artwork, and the combining of its reference works. The breadth of inclusion, the feel of immersion they accomplished is simply amazing.

A great fan of such graphic novels as 'Maus' and 'The Rabbi's cat', I wanted to explore others. This one is at its best when its wit (mostly smugly post-modernist) works...some of it made me laugh aloud. BUT it is at its worst when crassly prurient (the schoolgirl suspended in mid-air while the paedophile Invisible Man has his way with her...er, who's the paedophile here exactly? perhaps Mr Moore!)

Buy it as cheap as possible and read it fast, that's my advice...

And Moore does absolute justice to those early days. The writing is strong, the illustrations new with a flair of the Victorian (well suited for Victorian-aged writers and their created characters), the dialogue doesn't mince and the action is fast-paced.

Anyone who enjoys literature like Burroughs' John Carter of Mars, the early Sci-Fi writers like Wells and Verne and Gothic tales of visceral violence like Dracula or even R. E. Howard's Conan would do themselves a favor to read this! it is a definitive homage, imho, to all those who came before as well as a tip-of-the-hat to the early days of pulp and comics.

This is some of the best in the comics industry to date.

I hadn't seen the movie but had heard poor reviews, so wasn't keen to read this - until I read some reviews and lists here on Amazon. Glad I did. Alan Moore is a wonderfully creative writer of intricate stories that always ring true to me. I loved his reign at "Saga of the Swamp Thing" a while back. Kevin O'Neill's illustrations gibe well with the tale and add an interesting eye on turn-of-the-century reality. Am considering also purchasing the second volume.

i've read most of moore's stuff, and loeg might just be the best of the bunch. loeg 1 is better than loeg 2, but it has its moments as well. not to be missed.

One of Alan Moore's most celebrated comic masterpieces, the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is a treat for comic fans and literary buffs alike. In 1898, the mysterious M recruits adventurer Allan Quartermain, Miss Mina Murray, Captain Nemo, Invisible Man Hawley Griffin, and cowardly Dr. Henry Jekyll, and of course, his devilish alter ego, the Hulk-ish Mr. Hyde. Moore's love of classic, English literature is so apparent throughout this first volume, with his deep and rich characterizations and twisting storyline. Kevin O'Neil's artwork is masterful as well, and his vivid drawings bring Moore's lush world to life that hasn't done his work justice since David Lloyd and Dave Gibbons. If there's any real nitpicking that can be done with this book, it's that Mr. Hyde isn't so much brutish as he is much like an insane Hulk, which is nice for a change of pace for the character, but seems like a bit of a predictable idea for Moore. That aside, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is a masterwork of comic and literary fiction, and believe it or not, it only gets better from this point on.

Really enjoyed this book. The storyline is so very original and the use of the well known characters from literature in a comic book format is great. I enjoyed the movie for what it was but if you've only seen the movie you owe it to yourself to read this. There is so much more detail and character development in this book that is impossible to put in a movie, especially when the book is written by Mr. Moore. If you like comics or read graphic novels this is a "must read"

Warning to all parents purchasing this for a child. Both vol 1 and 2 contain nudity and may not be suitable for children. Guess that's the difference between a comic book and a graphic novel...

The book was great! I thoroughly enjoyed both the artwork and the writing. This comic takes historical fiction to a new level, both writing fiction in a historical context, and drawing from characters and events in fiction from the past. I particularly liked the references to Sherlock Holmes, as well as Jekyll and Hyde, Capt. Nemo, et. al.

The story is very good, but this is not a book for children. Adults and teens will love it.

I thought this was awsome. I saw the movie before I read this and was dissapointed at what I saw as a lot of squandered potential. This Comic, on the other hand, totally lives up to its potential. A great read.

I've only recently started to recognize the great value of the graphic novel. Since I'm just beginning to get into the genre, I've particularly enjoyed Alan Moore's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Even though I'm new to the graphic novel, I'm not at all new to the adventure novel. I'm quite familiar with the characters here. I've known Jekyll & Hyde and Nemo since elementary school, and Quartermain and Griffin I met in junior high. This was something I could get a handle on, and I loved it.

It's really brilliant how Moore develops these characters. His story, simply by using these older characters, is nostalgic, but the pleasure goes well beyond this. There's plenty psychological nuance here as Moore resurrects the classic figures and makes them new. Similarly, Moore's plot brilliantly recalls archetypal themes from adventure literature, even as he is again remaking them. It's a thrilling plot. The supplemental material at the end was wonderful as well.

Really, this was a fascinating read. I can't wait for the next installment of the series.

Alan Moore's terrific 19th century adventure story. Cast is a collection of various fictional heroes all brought together in an alternate 1898 London. Mina Murray from Bram Stoker's "Dracula," Captain Nemo from Jules Verne's "20,000 Leagues Beneath the Sea," Alan Quartermain from H. Rider Haggard's "King Solomon's Mines," Robert Louis Stevenson's "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," and H. G. Wells' "The Invisible Man." The League is directed by a man named M, who may be the brother of Sherlock Holmes, Mycroft.

The adventures are fun (Hyde's outbursts are not unlike Ultimate Hulk), but the character interaction really puts this book over the edge. Excellent dialogue sprinkled with plenty of dry, British wit.

Borrowing characters from literature is nothing new in comics. Mr. Hyde has popped up from time to time in the Marvel Universe, and both Marvel and DC have used Greek and Norse gods in their stories. What makes the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen unique is two things. First, it collects many of these popular literary characters, including Mina Harker, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Captain Nemo, Sherlock Holmes, and C. Auguste Dupin, among others. Second, Alan Moore wields the history behind all of these characters incredibly well. He's done his research and nails down even obscure details about the characters in establishing the setting. Did you know that Edward Hyde was initially smaller than Henry Jekyll? Moore does, and he explains why Hyde is now a large monstrous creature instead of the small ape-like man in the original story. The characters are treated as though they came right out of their respective source material. Very few inaccuracies can be found, making the group very enjoyable to those who have a particular love for any of the original stories written by H.G. Wells, Bram Stoker, and others.

Once the group comes together, seeing them interact is more fun than reading about their actual mission. Hyde and the Invisible Man are both monsters who are barely kept in line by Mina's leadership. Captain Nemo from Jules Verne's tales is even more frightening once a fight begins. The delicate balance of the group is very intriguing and sets the stage for a blowup that is certain to occur in future volumes. For now, however, the misfit band of literary characters battles to save England while getting to know one another.

The story is very enjoyable but not overly deep in this volume; the collection of issues gives just enough time to get to know the group before the adventure ends. The art style is unique and takes a bit of getting used to, but ultimately lends a unique perspective to the bizarre version of 19th century Britain. Ultimately, this volume of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is a fun read and a good introduction to build on in the group's future adventures.

Personaly, I am not a big reader, which presnets a delima when it is a requirement for me to be reading something in lit class. So i choose LXG because of the fact that it is a great movie and the book is a graphic novel. Once I started reading this book i could not put it down due to the great illustrations and the very interesting plot.
This is a great book which definalty meets my high expections for it (because of the movie). I would definatly recomend this this book to any kind of aduience that enjoys science fiction and/or history. I give this book five stars because it surpasses what is expected of it and provides a fun read.

I'm one of those people who saw the film version of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen long before I ever read the comic books. I once thought the film was awesome, but after having the read the original stories, I now realize the movie could have been so much more! What's so extraordinary about this league? I'm glad you asked...

Let me catch you up to speed if you're not familiar with The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. The stories take place in England in the late 1890's. The characters are icons of literature such as the Invisible Man, Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde, Captain Nemo, Mina Harker, and Alan Quartermain. The government of England assembles them to battle extraordinary circumstances within its borders. The first volume deals with a famous villain who shall remain nameless, and the second volume deals with a Martian invasion, ala the famous tale by H.G. Wells. Both volumes are rife with literary allusions, so an old literature nerd like myself was flying high throughout.

The author of these volumes is the eccentric but highly respected creator by the name of Alan Moore. He's brought us many classics, but he is most widely known for his masterpiece, the mid-eighties magnum opus known as the Watchmen, which is largely responsible for moving comics out of the "comics are for kiddies" paradigm. He is obviously a connoisseur of the literary classics, for he has so many references to works of literature throughout these volumes that two companion pieces have been produced explaining the dozens of nuances found within (think of it like Breaking the Da Vinci Code for Dan Brown's ultra-popular novel). Although his writing is at times disturbing, Moore is an expert at what he does and his stories are always captivating. The further characterization of such classical characters and bringing them together in such odd situations and having them interact, well, it's completely delightful.

The artist is a man named Kevin O'Neill, and I was largely unfamiliar with any of his previous work. However, his style is perfect for this type of story, and his careful attention to nineteenth century architecture and dress is phenomenal. Again, like the author, some of his drawings are quite provoking, but they are all magnetic in their execution.

I would completely recommend these two volumes for a reader wishing to break into only the best of comics in their trade paperback form. Be mindful, however, these comics were not released as mainstream works, so they don't play by mainstream rules. Very gory scenes, matched with the first and only actual sex scene I've ever seen in a comic book, requires an open-minded and tolerant reader. You won't be disappointed in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, I'm quite certain of that.

(Visit author S. William Foley at www.swilliamfoley.com)

I'm one of those people who saw the film version of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen long before I ever read the comic books. I once thought the film was awesome, but after having the read the original stories, I now realize the movie could have been so much more! What's so extraordinary about this league? I'm glad you asked...

Let me catch you up to speed if you're not familiar with The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. The stories take place in England in the late 1890's. The characters are icons of literature such as the Invisible Man, Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde, Captain Nemo, Mina Harker, and Alan Quartermain. The government of England assembles them to battle extraordinary circumstances within its borders. The first volume deals with a famous villain who shall remain nameless, and the second volume deals with a Martian invasion, ala the famous tale by H.G. Wells. Both volumes are rife with literary allusions, so an old literature nerd like myself was flying high throughout.

The author of these volumes is the eccentric but highly respected creator by the name of Alan Moore. He's brought us many classics, but he is most widely known for his masterpiece, the mid-eighties magnum opus known as the Watchmen, which is largely responsible for moving comics out of the "comics are for kiddies" paradigm. He is obviously a connoisseur of the literary classics, for he has so many references to works of literature throughout these volumes that two companion pieces have been produced explaining the dozens of nuances found within (think of it like Breaking the Da Vinci Code for Dan Brown's ultra-popular novel). Although his writing is at times disturbing, Moore is an expert at what he does and his stories are always captivating. The further characterization of such classical characters and bringing them together in such odd situations and having them interact, well, it's completely delightful.

The artist is a man named Kevin O'Neill, and I was largely unfamiliar with any of his previous work. However, his style is perfect for this type of story, and his careful attention to nineteenth century architecture and dress is phenomenal. Again, like the author, some of his drawings are quite provoking, but they are all magnetic in their execution.

I would completely recommend these two volumes for a reader wishing to break into only the best of comics in their trade paperback form. Be mindful, however, these comics were not released as mainstream works, so they don't play by mainstream rules. Very gory scenes, matched with the first and only actual sex scene I've ever seen in a comic book, requires an open-minded and tolerant reader. You won't be disappointed in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, I'm quite certain of that.

Wow! Did I really say that? Yes! I did.

First my bias: I am an avid reader and value the story value above all other attributes. On this measure, LEG vol. 1&2 both let me down. The story value just isn't there. The movie did a much better job. How often do you hear of that happening?

I also used to love my comic books. I read and reread them as a young teen. I loved the stories, artwork and the flights of what-if imagination that some of the art/stories took me on and the combination of story and art really drew me into the experience. I loved it.

On this measure, LEG vol. 1 & 2 also let me down. Moore does a good job, I guess, of following the current dark flat-ish style of drawing that seems so pervasive. Sorry, but this uninspiring style is part of what drove me away from graphic novels and killed most of the pleasure of reading the work. In a word, the style is depressing.

Finally, I was hoping to use these graphic novels to introduce my children to one of the reading experiences I so enjoyed as a teen. I bought both the novels and the companion books, read them once and am now looking for a buyer. Not only do I not want my kids reading LEG, I don't even want to own the works. There is plenty of good stuff to read without driving my teens to the darker side of life that runs so thick in the story and art of the LEG works.

If you absolutely want to try the LEG experience, go see the movie and stop there. The basic theme is there and is well done. If the graphic novel is a must for you - try only vol. 1. The sex and graphic immorality level was barely tolerable in vol. 1 and rises painfully in vol. 2. Volume 2 meets the pornographic and offensive standards.

I know that I'm a minority opinion here, but I'm sorry I bought this set. No need for you to make the same mistake.

I really enjoyed reading this trade paperback. Having all 6 issues in one book was much easier than trying to find the individual issues. And cheaper, too!

So, what do you do when there is trouble in Victorian times? Have Mina Murray gather up Alan Quartermain, Dr. Henry Jekyl, the Invisible Man and off you go. Great story.

If you're a fan of Victorian genre literature and have any interest in comics, this will very probably appeal to you. I'm a very casual comics reader, never buying any but borrowing anything that's at the library except for manga or pure superhero fare. As for 19th-century genre lit, when I was a child, I read some Stoker, H.G. Wells, Robert Louis Stevenson, and the like. All that said, this is a highly entertaining work, probably the most purely enjoyable trade comic volume I've encountered.

The concept is pretty outstanding: Moore's taken public-domain "heroes" of the 19th-century and remixed them into a classic superhero team in the spirit of Justice League, X-Men, etc. They are tossed into a steampunk version of Victorian London to do battle with a nefarious villain from the same era of genre-lit. In this volume, the head of the British Secret Service orders his minion (Campion Bond), to assemble a team for a secret mission. He starts with Ms. Murray (the widowed wife of Mr. Harker from Dracula), who drags the gaunt former adventurer Allan Quartermain (the intrepid explorer of H. Rider Haggard's stories) from the depths of a Cairo opium den. They are spirited to safety by H.G. Wells' incomparable stern Sikh pirate, Captain Nemo, in his magnificent submarine technological wonder The Nautilus. Next stop, the backstreets of Paris, where a beast is terrorizing the prostitutes of the Rue Morgue. This ends up being the terrifying Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, whom they barely manage to subdue. The final stop is to the "Rosa Cootes' Correctional Academy for Wayward Gentlewomen", where a mysterious spirit has been "possessing" some of the boarders. This bizarre combination of boarding school and S&M academy is where we meet Hawley Griffin, aka The Invisible Man.

These initial adventures do a very good job of both establishing the marvelous setting and the individual nature of the five heroes. Each is a formerly respected, now somewhat fallen member of society. When a storyteller assembles such a team of flawed misfits, the result is usually either slapstick comedy or some form of redemption. In this case redemption is the order of the day, as the team is assigned to recover a stolen container of "cavorite", a mysterious compound which makes flight possible. It seems an evil Chinese East End triad leader named Fu Manchu has stolen it in order to build a superweapon. The remaining 2/3 of the book details their attempt to infiltrate his Bond-villainesque secret base and recover the material. A major plot twist halfway through reveals yet another literary criminal mastermind at work, one that many readers will have guessed at early on. Things build to a climactic and chaotic aerial battle above London's East End, with crazy fighting kites, firebombs, and plenty of wild action.

There's a lot to like in the book, notably an attention to detail that is head and shoulders above most graphic adventures. When Arabic and Chinese speaking characters are encountered, their dialogue is rendered in the actual script. The story and visuals are packed with 19th-century literary inside jokes that will reward repeated reading and the curious who seek out their meaning. (Alternatively, you can pick up Jess Nevins outstanding Unofficial Companion to The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, which decodes the inside jokes and tells you where everything came from.) This is not to imply that the book is stuffy or dull, because the writing is actually quite witty and arch -- providing you like puns, double-entendres, and other such wordplay. The artwork perfectly supports the story, as O'Neil's techno-gaslight London vibrates with energy and activity. The paneling is traditional and straightforward, as befits a retro-romp such as this, and full-page pieces teem with background activity and wit. There's a lot to look at in these pages, such as pickpockets and thieves operating in the background, or more amorous silhouettes... And when things get violent, they get very violent, as we are shown limbs getting ripped asunder, heads getting blown off, and soforth.

This is an outstanding work, although definitely not for younger children. Without being overly sensitive, one has to also keep in mind that in keeping with the setting and origin of the characters, one of the villains is a pretty vile stereotype of an evil "Oriental". Perhaps more disturbingly, the serial rape committed by the Invisible Man is treated as a subject of humor. This latter is slightly counterbalanced by having the team led by Ms. Murray, a setup which seems improbable for the setting. However, minor caveats aside, this is a splendid work of escapist adventure that is much better than the movie made from it. There is a second volume, which finds the team battling a Martian invasion.

Having heard that LXG was based off a comic book, made me want to go to the literature and see what it was made of. After reading Volumes 1 and 2, I was amazed at all the classic literature references and how Moore uses different classic stories to tell his. I am excited for Volume 3 to come out. I would reccomend this book for someone who likes to be entertained and who likes the old classics as well.

Being not a great fan of Moore, I was told by a friend this was his best work. He was right! This is the best Moore work I've EVER READ! I think it even surpasses Watchmen. Its better than Vol. 2, and is really action packed, funny and exciting!
A Moore classic!
Despite being so good, I warn you it is quite adult. Although not being as "romantically" graphic as Vol. 2, it is EXTREMELY gory, spraying guts, flying heads and all, and is a tad fruity-languaged in some parts. Still, its an excellent piece of work, and a great read.

First I have to comment on the artwork in this book. It is probably the best I have seen since reading graphic novels as an adult. Oftentimes I found myself lost in the artwork just looking at everything going on in the panel and losing the dialog. That may not sound like a good thing, but it really allows you to enjoy the book in a much deeper way than you normally would. You are really able to dive into the setting. You are seeing an ultra-industrial world with loose morals set at the end of victorian times, and you can see all the details of what that means in the artwork.

Of course, add on top of that the excellent writing of Alan Moore and you have yet another level of enjoyment. The plot is actually not very special. It's sort of a "put together the superteam - do a mission - realize you were betrayed" type deal. However, doing that story in a different era with a set of characters many folks my age have forgotten, as well as the interesting details when moving between those plot points more than makes up for the simple plot. The subtle humor adds to the story and is integrated with the artwork well. Quartermain's eyes bulging had me chuckling each time I saw it.

I saw the movie version of the league a while ago and thought it was an ok popcorn flick... I didn't realize how pitiful the movie really was until I read the source material. The movie captures none of the world created in the artwork, settings and language used in these books.