The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 2 
asked by rafit on November 12, 2006 10:33 AM
The inspiration behind the blockbuster movie, THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN once again uses the classic characters from familiar literature to tell a tale of epic proportions in Victorian England. In volume two, when alien invaders from Mars mercilessly attack London, the throne quickly calls upon Allan Quatermain, Mina Harker, Captain Nemo, the Invisible Man, and Dr. Jekyll to protect the empire. Using their various skills and intellect, the League goes about preparing a defense against the invasion but when the Invisible Man joins the Martian's cause, all appears to be lost. Now, as one of the members dies a horrific death, the League turns to the legendary Dr. Moreau as their last desperate hope.
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Moore does it again, let's hope he keeps writing more of the adventures of The League. This series was a bit darker than the first but the mood fit the story well. If you're into comics at all do yourself a favor and read this. Pick up the first series also, it's not neccesary in order to follow the second series but you'll be missing a great read if you don't.
reviewed by success06 on November 19, 2006 11:32 AM
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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...
reviewed by stix on November 20, 2006 9:32 PM
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The league is summoned by Campion Bond to investigate a meteor that has fallen in the countryside. The meteor turns out to be a capsule from Mars and it contains horrible creatures. This set up is straight from Well's WAR OF THE WORLDS. Soon the creatures have built three-legged machines for moving about and the real peril is at hand.
Armed with heat beams the aliens are unstoppable. Campion Bond send Mina and Quartermain of to find and elusive doctor to pick up an item that could win the war for humanity. The rest of the League remains in London. Eventually they all meet up to defeat the aliens and Campion gives the cover story Wells fans are familiar with.
This was a wonderful story and more straightforward that the first as there is no need for origins. The Wells story is twisted slightly and we get to see some of the great heroes of Mars from literature. The aliens are true to the original book. More characters are brought in from literature and tied nicely to the story. The League itself undergoes a number of internal trials as interactions between the members come to a head in different ways. Hyde is a very major player and his character is greatly developed. In the end we have to wonder what might be next for the league.
Armed with heat beams the aliens are unstoppable. Campion Bond send Mina and Quartermain of to find and elusive doctor to pick up an item that could win the war for humanity. The rest of the League remains in London. Eventually they all meet up to defeat the aliens and Campion gives the cover story Wells fans are familiar with.
This was a wonderful story and more straightforward that the first as there is no need for origins. The Wells story is twisted slightly and we get to see some of the great heroes of Mars from literature. The aliens are true to the original book. More characters are brought in from literature and tied nicely to the story. The League itself undergoes a number of internal trials as interactions between the members come to a head in different ways. Hyde is a very major player and his character is greatly developed. In the end we have to wonder what might be next for the league.
reviewed by megafan on November 29, 2006 1:17 AM
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Again revisiting the exploits of those wild and crazy Victorian adventurers, Moore recaptures the magic that made the first volume so memorable: that combustible union of witty irony with deadly serious earnestness, added with a generous dose of first-rate storytelling and gorgeous art. Moore again taps into the essence of Victorian England, what with its priggishness and insistence on decorum even when the centre no longer holds. Moore seems to have as much fun poking fun at stodgy Victorian manners as he does implicating its moral complexities.
The story involves the League's battles with an extraterrestrial invasion (anyone who has seen Spielberg's War of the Worlds should recognize an eerie similarity between the film's alien machines with the ones here). Along the way, romantic relationships, betrayal, graphic violence, human/animal hybrids, and "retired" League members keep the story moving.
Although technically a sequel to the first volume of the League, this can be enjoyed as a stand-alone, as little of the first volume's storyline creeps its way in here. Moore appears particularly focussed on developing the internal dynamics and dysfunctions of the League. The team seems nowhere near as amiable and together as it was in volume I. In this way, this volume is decidedly darker in tone than its predecessor. The laugh-out-loud sequences, though still here, are not as frequent, and tend to have morbid undercurrents to them. Comparing this volume with its predecessor is akin to choosing your favourite child: you love them both the same, although perhaps for different reasons.
The highlight, not just of volume II, but indeed of the entire series, has to be "The New Traveller's Almanac" instalment that concludes the text. Moore's imagination goes into Mach III. Picking from his prodigious knowledge of mythology, literature, cinema, and popular culture, Moore re-invents Earth's geography and history to create fascinatingly unique people, animals and places, (i.e. Torelore, on Italy's west coast, where men enter confinement while their pregnant women are conscripted into the Torelorean army, which resulted in the country's being overrun; "Thermometer Island, where the inhabitants have various forms of non-human genitalia, and a stupefying plethora of others."). It's to Moore's credit that he continues in this vein for dozens of pages; clearly, his creative powers are running on all cylinders. The carnival ride Moore takes us on perfectly demonstrates how easily he can handle humour, horror, and the sublime, and turn the ordinary into the bizarre.
The story involves the League's battles with an extraterrestrial invasion (anyone who has seen Spielberg's War of the Worlds should recognize an eerie similarity between the film's alien machines with the ones here). Along the way, romantic relationships, betrayal, graphic violence, human/animal hybrids, and "retired" League members keep the story moving.
Although technically a sequel to the first volume of the League, this can be enjoyed as a stand-alone, as little of the first volume's storyline creeps its way in here. Moore appears particularly focussed on developing the internal dynamics and dysfunctions of the League. The team seems nowhere near as amiable and together as it was in volume I. In this way, this volume is decidedly darker in tone than its predecessor. The laugh-out-loud sequences, though still here, are not as frequent, and tend to have morbid undercurrents to them. Comparing this volume with its predecessor is akin to choosing your favourite child: you love them both the same, although perhaps for different reasons.
The highlight, not just of volume II, but indeed of the entire series, has to be "The New Traveller's Almanac" instalment that concludes the text. Moore's imagination goes into Mach III. Picking from his prodigious knowledge of mythology, literature, cinema, and popular culture, Moore re-invents Earth's geography and history to create fascinatingly unique people, animals and places, (i.e. Torelore, on Italy's west coast, where men enter confinement while their pregnant women are conscripted into the Torelorean army, which resulted in the country's being overrun; "Thermometer Island, where the inhabitants have various forms of non-human genitalia, and a stupefying plethora of others."). It's to Moore's credit that he continues in this vein for dozens of pages; clearly, his creative powers are running on all cylinders. The carnival ride Moore takes us on perfectly demonstrates how easily he can handle humour, horror, and the sublime, and turn the ordinary into the bizarre.
reviewed by runaway on November 29, 2006 5:31 AM