The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Written by Alan Moore, Artwork by Kevin O'Neill

Aren't we lucky to have writers like Alan Moore out there? Writers willing to take a few risks once and a while, to indulge in their own interests and share them with us? Moore's enjoyment of Victorian history and literature is evident in these books, but you don't have to know a lot about Victorian history to enjoy them. You just have to be open to a certain (in my opinion, often hilarious) quaintness of style and tone.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (and one Gentlewoman!) is comprised of Mina Murray, recently divorced from Jonathan Harker after some mysterious unpleasantness (yes, that whole Dracula incident), Captain Nemo, whose ship, the Nautilus, in all it's squidlike glory, provides a base of operations for the League, Allan Quartermain, former hero of the Realm and now an opium addict, Dr. Henry Jekyll (and, by association, Mr. Edward Hyde), Hawley Griffin, whose invisibility has warped his mind irrevocably, and Auguste Dupin, the detective who solved the horrible Rue Morgue murders. They are brought together by Campion Bond, employee of the mysterious "M", to perform a mission of utmost importance to the British government.

Yes, I realize this review is starting to suffer from some quaintness of style itself, but it's impossible to discuss these books without it. Everything from the credits, to the advertisements, to the letters to the editor, is rendered in a period style, but done tongue in cheek. It's truly charming and a hoot to read. (See, I said "a hoot" -- at least I didn't go nuts and say it's a "demmed fine read" or something)

The League's first mission is to find the stolen "cavorite," a weightless material from the stars, which also happens to be the key to flight. It was taken by the "Doctor", a shady Asian crime-lord who plans on using it to build a flying war-machine to take over London. They must get it back and return it to the British government immediately, before all is lost. For Crown and Country! But, all is not as it seems...

Before they can even set forth, this group must learn how to work together, and this is where the real fun is. Ms. Murray elects herself leader, and her first step is to detox Quartermain. She then has to try to get Griffin in line. He's been living in Rosa Coote's school for girls, famous for it's recent spate of "virgin" births, and all he really wants to do is get paid for this job and get back to his invisible cavorting. He is truly a psychopath, with no remorse for anything he does (he'll murder just to get clothing to disguise himself). But his invisibility is just too great an asset to the League to keep him uninvolved in the mission. And don't let me forget poor Jekyll. He tried to keep Hyde a secret, but Hyde has grown so powerful that any sort of stress invokes the transformation. Hyde is so out of control that, every time he appears, he just goes into "berserker mode" and starts ripping everyone he sees into pieces. Only Mina's icy correctness can keep him from attacking the League.

Mina is the first character I've ever seen who can keep her team in check and running relatively smoothly through manners alone. This leads to some of the best parts of the book, as she literally shames team members into doing the right thing. After she slaps Jekyll to invoke Hyde, Hyde, huge and slobbering and really quite terrifying, grabs her arm and yells at her to stop hitting him. Quartermain and Nemo threaten him with grievous bodily harm to let her go, but she says calmly, "That will not be necessary gentlemen. Mr. Hyde, you are hurting my hand and sir, I will not allow that. I should be grateful if you would release me. Thank you." There is one panel of her just staring into his eyes waiting, and he drops her arm just like that. And then he goes and tears apart some villains.

It's wonderful how this rather restrained prose goes so well with the fantastic and lurid art. London is squalid and the panels are filled edge to edge with hordes of people on the city streets. Blood pours in the battle scenes (did I mention that Hyde is truly terrifying?). And everything is rendered in fantastical excess. The panels are beautifully composed and colored, giving you enough story information but also adding to the dialogue in many ways. I especially liked a page in book 3, where Mina is discussing a plan in text boxes at the top of each frame, while Griffin sits in front of a mirror putting on grease paint and a wig. Think Hollow Man and you have an idea. It was just a nice choice, instead of just showing her face with her dialogue.

The League's adventure is nicely done, replete with plenty of action, but the true joy of this book comes from Moore's love of these characters and their interactions with each other. The series is fun and clever, and I recommend it highly to any reader of picture publications who is in the mood for something a little different. This limited series stands alone, but hopefully we'll see more of the League in the future.

-- Amy Lawrence

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, published by DC Comics, is currently available only through comic retailers.

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