Still one of the all-time great superhero deconstructions. One of the first, by the ultimate author, and it holds up this very day. An exploration of Still one of the all-time great superhero deconstructions. One of the first, by the ultimate author, and it holds up this very day. An exploration of the terrifying implications of what superhumans would be in real life, ending with a hauntingly dark utopia poetically scribed as only the original writer could......more
This hardcover collection of the final League of Extraordinary Gentlemen volume is absolutely gorgeous. It even comThat was very much worth the wait.
This hardcover collection of the final League of Extraordinary Gentlemen volume is absolutely gorgeous. It even comes with 3D glasses!
Alan Moore fans will love it, but this series is certainly not for the timid reader. Each LoEG gets more ambitious than the last, to the point of an insane amount of literary references. This one is a lot of fun if you're into that sort of thing. Mostly taking place in the modern 21st century, join Mina along with Orlando and Emma Night versus Jimmy Bond. There are many superhero references throughout, with repetitive moral lesson theme by Moore of how the world has been worsened by this big new Hollywood genre.
The plot is complicated, but also it's not about the plot. It's about looking up the references online which will take about twice as long as reading the main work (I recommend panelwiseblog.wordpress.com). While most is contemporary with film and TV subtle takes on copyrighted material, there's also the 1960s backstory of the 'Seven Stars' superhero team full of terrible public domain British heroes. The satire is quite biting.
And somehow it all comes together as only the mind of Mr. Moore could pull off. Time travel, alien invasions, social criticism, as well as the literary nostalgia. Well, maybe anti-nostalgia is a better way to put it. The mocking of the pop culture is often hilarious.
Kevin O'Neill's art is excellent as always, sometimes more rounded and cartoonier than his earlier more jagged work, but he consistently excels at illustrating the tone of any given scene no matter the era being depicted. The alternating styles are fascinating, as Al and Kev shift gears and continue the story as if suddenly there's completely different publishers from long-lost decades peppered in throughout.
Unless you happen to be the world's greatest trivial genius, you'll learn a lot from reading The Tempest--so long as you do the work to look up who all those background characters are. And that's the thing about the League, it takes work. This isn't normal passive entertainment.
This book is certainly not recommended for novices. Go back and read or even re-read the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen from the beginning. Even the Nemo books. Read a bunch of Alan Moore interviews too. It's the only way to prepare for the nonstop overwhelming barrage that is the conclusion to this ultimate meta-story, in which every work of fiction in humanity's canon all "counts."
So Alan claims to have retired from comics and this may be his last one ever. Although he has said that before. I'm fine with this being the end. Not sure if my brain could handle any more... ...more
Nobody can make Nazis as funny as Alan Moore and at the same time make you feel smart for getting the jokes!
I'm just sad there probably won't be anothNobody can make Nazis as funny as Alan Moore and at the same time make you feel smart for getting the jokes!
I'm just sad there probably won't be another League for several years.
Another perfect tome, although no prose section at the end was slightly disappointing.
I will however get many hours of fun out of River of Ghosts, in that I must reread about ten times over to catch every single literary references; the point of League. Jess Nevins and Wikipedia here I come. ...more
Loading...
