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The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

Started by madhair60, March 13, 2019, 08:46:39 AM

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madhair60

Just had a flick through volume 1 of this on the illegals and ooh, it seems rather ruddy sodding cunting good. So I ordered volumes 1, 2 and the Black Dossier. Have I done a good? What do you think of League? Are you reading The Tempest? Did you read Century? Nemo? Watch the film?

Glebe

Big fan, The Tempest is supposedly Moore and O' Neill's LOEG swansong, although I believe he has suggested it may continue in some other format (Moore has of course made a surprize move into independent filmmaking, but I imagine there'd be legal issues with doing some kind of film project). The first two volumes are great, I was a bit disappointed with The Black Dossier at first but it makes for a rewarding reread. Century doesn't quite live up to the earlier books but there's a lot of wacky, clever stuff going on... I found the Nemo trilogy a little unsatisfying... The Tempest is wrapping up things up with a few surprizes (actually #5 should be out now, must keep me eyes peeled for that).

I was quite thrilled to get most of my books signed (up to one of the Century volumes, I think) by Kevin O' Neill a few years ago. The film is pretty crap (aside from some nice set design, The Natillus and that)... there's supposed to be a TV series in the works.

bgmnts

Yeah really good. Havent read the latest one where I think Moore savages more contemporary literary figures but Alan Moore is so good i'd read anything of his.

Glebe

Quote from: bgmnts on March 13, 2019, 12:49:02 PMYeah really good. Haven't read the latest one where I think Moore savages more contemporary literary figures but Alan Moore is so good i'd read anything of his.

I imagine copyright issues make the modern stuff a little trickier... there are some Morris and co. references in Century: 2009, like a poster for Fur Q, and Alan Partridge is namechecked on the cover of a newspaper I think... there's a cameo from Malcolm Tucker with a thank-you to Armando Iannucci in the book credits.

Mister Six

Ha, I can exactly picture how Malcolm looks when drawn by Kevin O'Neill.

I loved the first two and was vaguely amused by Black Dossier, but Century left me cold. Felt increasingly as though he was writing it to occupy Jess Nevins rather than to tell a good story, and I thought Quatermain and Mina became less and less interesting the further they got from the Victorian era.

Agreed. The first two are excellent, but I think it does decline a bit from Black Dossier onwards. I think it's all the meta-textual Blazing World stuff, or just by having immortals as main characters.

kidsick5000

The Black Dossier was a nice coda to LoEG. Multistyle, multiformat. The springboard to let the readers think of the further adventures.
Century lacked the warmth of the first two books. As the references became more contemporary, Moore seemed to be happier being more 'abusive' to them. Tempest feels much more back on track. First two volumes are real works of joy though. And with that, time for a re-read.

Mister Six

Mmm, I think I'll delve back into these soon, but yeah that abusive line feels right. Or less interested in the softer side to their relationships, so that the harsh stuff is less balanced (I mean, he still had Hawley try to rape Mina in vol 1 or 2...) and they come across as rather cold and detached. I'm much more interested in the more vulnerable heroes of Vols 1 and 2 than the eternally youthful, fuck-frenzied author wank fantasies that the Century lot felt like. Chopping it up over disparate decades also made it feel less like a story and more like a bunch of fragmented setpieces.

But I dunno, I've not read it for ages. I should attempt a revisitation.

How many collections are there now, and in what order should they be read?

kidsick5000

Quote from: Mister Six on March 31, 2019, 04:46:47 AM
in what order should they be read?

Now that's a question.

Off the top of my head...

Vol1
Vol2
Century 1910
Nemo: Heart of Ice
Nemo: The Roses of Berlin
Black Dossier
Century 1969
Nemo: River of Ghosts
Century 2009
Tempest

(I think... Does not count the side strips and prose stories)

madhair60

Adorable Viz reference in the latest issue of The Tempest.

kidsick5000

#10
Quote from: madhair60 on April 01, 2019, 11:52:22 AM
Adorable Viz reference in the latest issue of The Tempest.

So many in one panel.
The only other thing to say about Tempest is that I really need to get 3D glasses.

Glebe

It's out? I was looking for it last week... Sid the Sexist pops up in Century.

madhair60

Quote from: kidsick5000 on April 01, 2019, 05:19:31 PM
So many in one panel.
The only other thing to say about Tempest is that I really need to get 3D glasses.

The only one I couldn't figure out was the statue in the background, I'm probably being really thick. The big fat fella.

kidsick5000

Quote from: madhair60 on April 02, 2019, 10:14:48 AM
The only one I couldn't figure out was the statue in the background, I'm probably being really thick. The big fat fella.

I reckon it's just their take on what the Fulchester version of Angel Of The North would look like.
Is it on one of the annual covers?

Mister Six

Quote from: kidsick5000 on March 31, 2019, 09:30:10 AM
Now that's a question.

Off the top of my head...

Vol1
Vol2
Century 1910
Nemo: Heart of Ice
Nemo: The Roses of Berlin
Black Dossier
Century 1969
Nemo: River of Ghosts
Century 2009
Tempest

(I think... Does not count the side strips and prose stories)

Ta. Have all these been collected in trades? I assume all the Nemo stuff is lumped into one volume? Can I read the Nemo stuff separate from Century, or will it make less sense if I do?

Glebe

Just finished The Tempest #5... it's all kicking off! That Viz panel is a hoot... Drunken Bakers! As mentioned before, it's not the first time Viz has been referenced, Sid the Sexist pops up in Century: 2009 and Bulldog Drummond mentions 'Fulchester United' in The Black Dossier, I think. Enjoyed the Flash Avenger pisstake of Batman, and his Beano-style visit to a posh restaurant for a slap-up feed of bangers and mash!

Quote from: kidsick5000 on April 01, 2019, 05:19:31 PMThe only other thing to say about Tempest is that I really need to get 3D glasses.

I think it was issue #3 that came with 3D glasses. Prior to that, The Black Dossier - which was, of course, the first episode to include the 3D Blazing Word - included a pair. There were also a couple of 3D panels in Century: 2009 when Orlando is visited by Prospero (it didn't come with the glasses, though).

bgmnts

I just want to say I fucking love Alan Moore.


kidsick5000

Quote from: Glebe on May 11, 2019, 05:57:29 PM
I think it was issue #3 that came with 3D glasses.

Curses. Sometimes it doesn't pay to buy digital

madhair60

Picked up Tempest in hardback with Xmas money. Christ, it's a gorgeous thing.

Glebe

Yeah, saw it in a comic shop t'other day. Any extra stuff in it?

madhair60

Quote from: Glebe on December 27, 2019, 08:47:11 AM
Yeah, saw it in a comic shop t'other day. Any extra stuff in it?

I'm not sure; it just seems to be the comics (in full, without the "obituary" pages that kicked off each issue).