I don't do this because I think that League is the best graphic novel series ever, although I think it's very good, especially the first two volumes. I do this because whenever I read the graphic novel series, the ever-expanding world gets me excited in a way that few other, even better series do. Not only are the combinations often interesting in themselves but they make you want to discover more, read more, explore more and maybe even, as the text section of Vol. 2, "The World Traveller's Almanac" suggests, make your own. The setting is not only the landscape of great imagination but of all imagination.
I created this blog to discuss those books I have read, both on their own merits and how they reflect upon Moore and O'Neill's series. This blog is not meant to be a substitute for the astounding and indispensable work of longtime League annotator Jess Nevins, who I think we all couldn't even read the series at this point without. I don't mean to explain who everyone is in the series, but explore where they came from, read, and enjoy.
A few ground rules:
I won't be going in any order. I'll be starting with Dracula by Bram Stoker, the book in which main character Mina Murray appears, but that doesn't mean the first few entries will be all about the first team. (I plan to discuss characters that pop up in 1969 sooner rather than later.)
While I may occasionally venture outside of these bounds, most of the literature/films/music I consume will be ones that involve League team members, significant villains and significant allies. It's not that I'm against watching Doctor Who and I have plenty of opinions on Lady Chatterly's Lover, but they're a bit outside the scope of the discussion.
Spoilers will abound for both the graphic novels and the books I've read, but I'll try to warn if they're particularly egregious.
While I understand that racism/sexism/Anti-Semitism, etc. abounds in this literature written in time periods that thought and lived differently and that to expect them to be otherwise is unfair, I'm not going to pretend it doesn't bother me and will wrestle with it rather than dismiss it. That being said, I will also make efforts not just to outright dismiss these works because of these attitudes.
I am an Amazon.com affiliate my posts will have Amazon.com links, because I need a little money. If you're interested in anything I talk about, please click.
Finally, I don't think I'll be talking about that movie which we do not speak of, but who knows? Maybe for a particularly rowdy April Fool's Day.
I love classic literature, and I love the chance this series gives for me to read and discover it. I hope you do, too.
For further reading:
- The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 1
- The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 2
- The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier
- The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume 3: Century #1 1910
- The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume 3: Century #2 1969
- Heroes & Monsters: The Unofficial Companion to the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
- A Blazing World: The Unofficial Companion to the Second League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
- Impossible Territories: An Unofficial Companion to The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Next Post: Stop # 1: Dracula
