Rating: 
Summary: Interesting approach
Review: In this book, that collects the complete 6-part miniseries, Alan Moore has attempted to blend comic-books with what is considered literature. It worked well and makes for an interesting read.Staged in 1898, a certain 'Cameron Bond' (in order of one code-named "M") is forming himself a team consisting of, to us, well-known literary characters. He first approaches Wilhelmina Murray to be in his team and asks her to go collect the next possible team-member, so together THEY can look for the next ... and so on. Naturally each time they go look for a new member the team has grown one person stronger. The gathering is not without problems though which makes each mini-quest (which mostly stays true to the literature in which the characters originally appeared) an interesting sub-story. Once the team is formed, consisting of Captain Nemo and Allan Quatermain among others, they're given an important task ... for 'the good of the entire world'. An interesting and entertaining story, well worth the while. What makes this book extra fun though, is that all through the story there are little hints to existing books in the artwork. That's also why it's even more enjoyable if you're well-read in "normal" literature (a pro, not a must). You'll get little (non-vital) things that are not explained anywhere in the book. For example, you'll know why Mina insists on wearing her scarf.. Next to it being nowhere predictable that little extra gives it an edge over most 'respectable' Graphic Novels around.
The art-style lies somewhere in between Eddy Campbell's (From Hell), Jason Lutes' (Berlin) and Tim Sale's (The Long Halloween). It's detailed, atmospheric and very well-chosen considering the events are taking place more than a century ago. All in all a high-quality book.
Rating:
Summary: Steampunk by Mad Magazine
Review: The characters are classic Victorian heros, the art is from Mad Magazine (Mort Drucker) and the story is fantastic H. G. Wells on opium. I look forward to more, the closing panel is the Martian cylinders falling upon London.
Rating: 
Summary: A literate delight
Review: As a 19th-century scholar, rather than a graphic novel fan, I was prepared to be picky about how TLOEG portrayed characters from "my" era. Boy, was I in for a pleasant surprise. This is clearly the work of someone who not only loves but understands 19th-century fiction, both its enduring appeal and its sometimes exasperating conventions. The shining example of this series' achievement is the character of Mina Murray, the brilliant heroine of Bram Stoker's Dracula. Here she becomes even stronger and more assured, the clear-eyed, coolly efficient leader of this motley crew of "gentlemen." Yet, appropriately and hilariously, the men in the group (who tend to confound Victorian stereotype by being more emotional than Mina) respond to her assertive intelligence by labelling her a harpy, a shrew, a revoltingly "mannish" creature. As far as I'm concerned, Mina is the real hero--and what a hero! Finally, a woman in a graphic novel I can really admire and empathize with. TLOEG offers many such delicious treats for fans of Victorian fiction or intelligent, witty adventure tales. Dig in and enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Doom Patrol, or: Revenge of the Penny-Dreadful Geriatrics
Review: But is there a "gentleman" among them? Captain Nemo, the diabolical Hindu mariner, kills without hesitation, answers to no one, and still harbors a malignant grudge against the iniquities of colonialist Britain. An aged Allan Quatermain is snatched from his deathbed in the sweltering back-alleys of Cairo, shaken by a lifetime of surreal violence, emaciated by opium withdrawal (Ah, opium! That heathen curse on Christendom!). Hawley Griffin (the Invisible Man) is a serial rapist and sociopath whose penchant for saboteur trickery and guerilla carnage plays counterpoint to his lewd wisecracks. As for Dr. Henry Jekyll, well, you can guess what his problem is.... This motley cadre of pulp-fiction geriatrics were apparently called to service by Mr. Mycroft Holmes, who since the death of his brother at the hands of Moriarty has taken it upon himself to defend Her Majesty's Empire against the Yellow Peril of the East, the Fu-Manchu secret war-machine honing its toothed cogs in the Eurasian underworld. The "steampunk" panorama will be familiar to most, a penny-dreadful blend of *Wild Wild West*, Terry Gilliam's *Brazil*, gaslight Dickensia, and Rudyard Kipling's early experiments in science-fiction, but polished and revised by Moore and O'Neill into a smoothly rendered escapist romp, giddy with pulp nostalgia. *TLoEG* is a bare-bones, totally unpretentious adventure story, but also a satire on 19th-century wish-fulfillments, set against a backdrop of Anglophile xenophobia and the fragmentation of the British Empire. "...We wish you many happy fireside hours in the perusal of the thrills and chuckles here contained, though let us not forget the many serious, morally instructive points there are within this narrative: firstly, women are always going on and making a fuss. Secondly, the Chinese are brilliant, but evil. Lastly, laudanum, taken in moderation is good for the eyesight and prevents kidney-stones. With these dictums in mind, allow us to wish [you] many hours of pictorial reading pleasure...." If sassy, Pythonesque, neo-Victorian banter of this sort strikes you as frivolous and jejune, then *TLoEG* is probably not a book for you. Kevin O'Neill's visuals deserve our special deference. His cityscapes in particular are crammed with miniaturist delicacies of interwoven micro-narratives (always a pleasure when comic-artists push the envelope and give us a more articulated viewing experience), a pungent homage to the steampunk metropolis and its aura of semiotic possibilities. Especially rewarding is O'Neill's ability to adapt his lurid set-pieces to Moore's globe-trotting script, from Quatermain's Egypt, to C. Auguste Dupin's Paris, to Fu-Manchu's Limehouse District, to Prof. Moriarty's airships blazing green neon over London, and a whole lot more in between. Alan Moore promises a second volume of *TLoEG* adventures, but I'm skeptical as to his ability (or inclination) to overcome the self-imposed limitations of spinning this sort of tale, lighthearted and unpretentious as it is. The strength of Moore's subtext in works like *Watchmen*, *V for Vendetta*, and *Swamp Thing* lay in his subtle analysis of the antihero figure, the human cost of allowing such exotic personalities to exist and operate, and the extrapolation of a world where such hyperbolical figures are actively desired and produced. Some early scenes in *TLoEG* begin to delaminate the onion-skin of these "extraordinary" wanderers, though whether Moore can follow it up with a novelistic touch, and allow his characters to deepen and change, is anyone's guess. When Captain Nemo remarks to Quatermain, "For my part, if I'm honest, I'm here because I wanted another adventure." "Yes," he responds, "It's hard to just stop, isn't it?" This is quite precious, but Moore is going to have to up the ante if the Nemo-Quatermain dialogue is to fulfill its promise of deepening perspectives and brimming nuance. One of the attractions of pulp fiction, of course, is that "recycled" quality of comforting repetition, knowing what to expect, settling in for that well-honed escapist glee. But I'm always eager to see the old-school pulp archetypes receive a revisionist makeover of novelistic irony, for "postmodern" treatment in the flywheels of satire. For the deepest, most satisfying irony would be to make these outrageous characters "real," something more than a vehicle for potboiler joyrides. At a stretch, Moore's fictions are also important artifacts in "psychoanalyzing" the type of reader who consumes, say, superhero comics, or Sax Rohmer pulps, or even the steampunk phantasmagorias of Neil Gaiman, Paul Di Filippo, China Meville, and their assorted rivals. If *Watchmen* offered a cunningly understated analytic portrait of (how can I put this lightly?) the comic book geek, then future volumes of *The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen* must stare deeper into the lurid heiroglyphs of these pulp celebrities, a populist menagerie of swashbucklers, submarine pirates, secret agents, shape-shifting adventurers, and he-man archaeologists in the catacombs of our collective (hero-worshipping) ego trip.... All in all, this is great stuff, people. Escapist entertainment without the guilt, without the contrite pricklings of sloth. But I want these characters to deepen, to fructify, to grow limbs and walk off the page. Make it real, Moore! Up the ante!
Rating:
Summary: Intelligent and enjoyable
Review: With many visual and textual references to other types of literature, including 19th Century American girls' lit (notably What Katy Did- one of the funniest jokes in there!), this is an immensely enjoyable adventure. Industrialised London is overbearingly Victorian and gothic, India is full of murdering heathens (very un-pc!), and men still feel the need to protect poor little women... It's a gem, but a gem that doesn't take itself too seriously. I'd recommend it to anybody, including those who read extensively in all genres, and those who don't. I read it twice in 24 hours after getting it, picking up on new things each time. When's the next volume out?
Rating: 
Summary: Moore's light-hearted adventure book
Review: When a device capable launching the incredible possibility of an aircraft is stolen from the English in 1898, her majesty assembles a very speacial task force to recover the device before the empire faces the horrors of arial warfare. The team consists of characters Moore borrowed from Victorian literature including Captain Nemo, Alan Quartermain, the Invisible Man, Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde. The book parodies Victorian literature, its bloated languege, its high-flying romaticism, its characters' pollitical incorrectness and obvious sexual hang-ups. While the tale is amusing and somewhat enjoyable, I think it may be too light-hearted to display what a compelling writer Alan Moore can truly be. To discover that, I point you to Watchmen, V for Vendetta or From Hell
Rating:
Summary: It's Fun!!!!
Review: Alan Moore's graphic novels (the Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and his tenures as writer of Miracleman/Marvelman and Swamp Thing) are among the most critically acclaimed dramas appearing in comics in the last 30 years. Moore's more recent creator-owned work, the DC Wildstorm "America's Best Comics" Line is simply great fun, and for my money, "the League, 1898" is the best of the lot (Top 10, coming in second): The League is an adventure for the literate, a romp for the well read - there hasnt been anything quite like it since Mike Baron and Steve Rude's creator-owned "Nexus" came out in the 1980's (Nexus is also well worth looking up and collecting). Kevin O'Neils (ABC Warriours for the Fleetway UK's 2000 AD) work here is wonderful, a great pleasure to peruse, and the colourist, Benedict Digmagmaliv (sp?) deserves special mention for his bold protrayal of the look of warm yellow ncadescent light at this, the beginning of the high industrial era.
Rating:
Summary: Keep that upper lip stiff, lads
Review: Moore and O'Neill have created a near-perfect blend of the old and the new. From the hugely funny credits (rendered as a turn-of-the-century music-hall programme) to the last page this is enormously entertaining. O'Neill proves himself a worthy successor to Willie Elder and Mort Drucker (of MAD magazine) by packing little asides and in-jokes into as many panels as he can manage, and his version of the NAUTILUS is simply breathtaking. His rendering of facial characterization (especially of Jekyll and Mina Murray-nee-Harker) is particularly apt, and his art is aided by a rich, lush coloring job. Moore's script is by turns adventurous and comic, with occasional turns into the grotesque (the Invisible Man passing himself off as the Holy Ghost, for one) with hardly a misstep. One such misstep is the use (or lack of same) of the "Devil Doctor," one of literature's great villains created by Sax Rohmer (I'll be as coy as Mr. Moore here and refuse to mention his name), who hardly has anything to do. Another is Mina's unfailingly unpleasant characterization. She's not the Stoker heroine you remember; now she's a whining "They won't respect me because I'm 'merely a woman'" harpy. She's rather like Judi Dench as "M." But this is a minor cavil (and the only reason that I withhold a fifth star). Alan Moore's comic Muse seldom falters. He peppers his story with Victorian versions of modern superheroes (my favorite is Jekyll/Hyde in the Bruce Banner/Hulk role[s]). And read the brief bios of the author/artist on the back flap to get the full effect of Moore's mordant wit. Hopefully there will be a LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN VOLUME II.
Rating:
Summary: Victorian heroes unite!
Review: Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill combine for an exciting ride with Allan Quartermain, Jekyll and Hyde, Mina Murray(Harker), the Invisible man, and Captain Nemo. With guest appearances by Sherlock Holmes, Auguste Dupin, the Artful Dodger and a few of literatures great villains this book is fun journey through "what if?" territory with incredible visuals by O'Neill of an England that never was but might have been. The storyline is a bit predictable but overall Moore makes these characters come alive again in a format that appeals to today's readers. I look forward to a return of this group and maybe a visit with the earlier team that seems to have contained such members as Natty Bumpo and Dr. Syn. The only thing missing as mentioned in another review is the Victorian ads that were in the original comics, some were priceless!
Rating:
Summary: Victorian "superteam" of known characters
Review: I said in my review of Top 10 volume 1 that that was Alan Moore's first super-hero team since WildCATS. I was forgetting this, the very wonderful League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. The idea is simple: during the late Victorian and Edwardian periods, tales of heroic fiction were popular. In this series, characters from those tales are brought together for a shared adventure. In this volume, you can see Miss Mina Murray (from Bram Stoker's 'Dracula') leading a group consisting of Captain Nemo ("20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" and "Mysterious Island", Jules Verne), Allan Quartermain ("King Solomon's Mines" and lots of others, H. Rider Haggard), Dr. Hawley Griffin ("The Invisible Man", H.G. Wells) and Dr. Henry Jekyll and Mr. Edward Hyde ("The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde", Robert Louis Stevenson). These characters are such classics that even the most casual of readers will have heard of some of them, and if you are interested in the fiction of that period, it may well be a wonderful treat. Asd well as these characters, the book is liberally peppered with characters from various Victorian sources, up to and including pornography! Mr. Moore has certainly researched this one closely before applying his wonderful imagination. Having said that, the art by Kevin O'Neill is certainly not completely in character with the art illustrating stories of the period, but Mr. O'Neill has toned down the style he often uses to better suit the content. But wait, there's more: the volume concludes with a text story of Allan Quartermain, which features him in conjunction with Randolph Carter, John Carter and the Time Traveller (created by H.P. Lovecraft, Edgar Rice Burroughs and H.G. Wells respectively) which ties in, at least in part, with the main story. I'd like to reveal the villains of the piece, but that would be telling given that the revelation is part of the story's plot! Good choices, though. And a very enjoyable read.
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