League of Extraordinary Gentleman, the – Volume Two
Alan Moore, Kevin O’Neill (Illustrator)
Paperback 228 pages (September 1, 2004)
Publisher: DC Comics
ISBN: 1401201180
After fighting off Moriarty, evil China-men and dodgy Hollywood scripts, Alan Moores?19th century assembly of hero? and mal-contents returns for a second volume. H.G. Well? Martian invaders are the key plot-import in this Victorian era ?ut and paste?job, blended alongside other elements from Dr Moreau to Rupert the Bear!!
This is every bit the sequel the first volume deserved, and adult enough in content to wipe away any nasty memories of the family friendly movie hack job. Indeed, the love-scenes between Mina Harker and Alan Quartermain will leave a mental scar for some time to come. The morality of the British government at the time is brought into question and two of the leagues?less noble-minded members are given to chance to be truly as grotesque as originally intended. The sheer fun and love Alan Moore pours into his work shines through on every page. Pulp-fiction fans will appreciate the first chapter, where mars-bound protagonists from multiple works unite to evict the menace of the slug-like Martian invaders.
O?eil? quirky, energetic style is everything that made the first series, and at the same time symptomatic of everything that the movie failed to deliver. The striding Martians look fantastic, and the scenes of whole-sale destruction are on a par with anything from The Authority or The Ultimates series, and all the more shocking due to the artist? unique talents.
The extra content and cover galleries make this a worthwhile purchase for those who have already collected the series. Buy this, buy the originals, get the super-deluxe hardback, just go and buy anything by Alan Moore, one of the literary and creative geniuses of our time. ]]>
