The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 1 (original 2003; edition 2001)

STORYLINE: Miss Murray, Captain Nemo, Mr. Quartermain, Dr. Jekyll/Hyde, and the Invisible Man form an elite Victorian English espionage ring. The group are gathered together and sent on missions a la Mission Impossible.

ART: Dark colours, tinted greenish. Drawings are sharp, edgy, and stylized. The larger panels are detail rich requiring studying to discover all the intricacies. ( )

This novel brings together several fictional characters - Mina Harker, Captain Nemo, Allan Quatermain, Dr. Jekyl, and the Invisible Man - to solve mysteries in an alternate universe London. The tone of the book is dark and the characters are highly-flawed and untrustworthy. Moore unsettling writes in style that reflects the racist and jingoistic attitudes of the time. On the other hand Mina is a strong female lead, and although the other characters grumble about her, they still follow her lead. I'll definitely read more in this series. ( )

extraordinary! ok...bad pun aside, this graphic novel is nothing like the movie (thank goodness)!

the art is simply beautiful. Dark, stark, and not at all cartoon-ish. the entire comic is packaged like something out of the pulp magazine era (or at least how i imagine the pulp magazine era to be). the plot itself is simple, well contained, and astounding.

of course, reading about some of literature's most iconic characters, interacting and moving in the same world, is thrilling enough for a bibliophile! ms. murray was from my favorite childhood book. henry and edward are again figures from my teen years. captain nemo is a more recent acquaintance. quatermain i only know from that old movie i remember watching on a late night when i was very young. i have yet to read the works that featured mr. griffin and msr. dupin, but they are famous enough for me to recognize from which novels they came from. And of course, who doesn't know m? (i know...these characters' characters have been mangled by the comic...but i don't care too much...it's a comic after all!)

i now understand why this is ranked as one of mr. moore's best works. i already own the second volume. i'm currently hunting for the third :) ( )

Best part for me was the story at the end of the graphics, part horror, part fantasy, and entertaining. ( )

Early steampunk? Campy and violent but with Victorian characters and an assumed understanding of who some of them are. ( )