The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Volume One (Alan Moore)

This is the first graphic novel I have ever reviewed, and in truth my knowledge of the genre is not what it might be. I always want to get into them, but there are so many "traditional" novels out there that somehow it never happens. If you take a look at my bookshelf, then, you'll see a bunch of Conan graphic novels, a Vampirella compilation, some Daniel Clowes, and Alan Moore's seminal 'Watchmen'. So why choose now to buy some more? Well, back in 2003, the Hollywood film adaptation of 'The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' came out. I went to see it, and despite the fact that most see it as a turkey of epic proportions, I actually enjoyed it, for what it was. It's a dumb, camp action movie, and I happen to have rather a tate for those. However, I was well aware, from reading press and so on, that the film was not at all like the graphic novels/comic series it was based on. As is Hollywood's wont, all edge and intelligence is extracted from such adaptations so as to cause audiences the least amount of intellectual stress possible, so although I enjoyed the movie, I always had it in mind to read the graphic novels. But (story of my life) I never got around to it. It was only when E4 repeated the film one lazy Sunday a few weeks ago that the thought resurfaced. I spent a good few hours on Wikipedia reading about the series and the rich background Moore created,  weaving canonical works of literature together to form a metaworld of incredible depth and complexity. As soon as I got paid last week, I got myself on Amazon and ordered the entire series. Let the review of Volume One commence!

For those who are unaware, the basic concept of 'The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' is that British Intelligence has brought together five shadowy and unusual figures to perform a special mission for the crown, all of whom have been "borrowed" by the author from works of Victorian Literature. Mina Murray from 'Dracula', who, in this reality, has divorced Jonathan Harker, is the first to be recruited. She has gained the attribute of mind control from Dracula, who bit her twice before she was rescued. Her first task is to retrieve Allan Quartermain, H.Rider Haggard's adventurer from 'King Solomon's Mines' and 'She', from an opium den. They join with Captain Nemo, the submariner and pirate made famous by 'Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea' by Jules Verne. These three find and apprehend Hawley Griffin, H.G Wells' invisible man, at an Edmonton girls school, and then go on to capture Edward Hyde, who, according to Moore, did not after all die at the end of 'The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'. Both Hyde and Griffin are offered pardons for their crimes for joining the League. For Murray, Nemo and Quartermain, the League offers a kind of respite from their own private demons (rape at the hands of a vampire, the failure of the Indian Mutiny and opium addiction respectively). They are also paid exceptionally well. Their handler is Campion Bond, heavily hinted at as being an ancestor of Ian Fleming's James Bond, but actually himself working for the mysterious 'M'.

In Volume One, the mission involves the members of the League retrieving a mysterious metal named Cavorite from an East End crime syndicate run by a megalomaniacal Chinaman. When harnessed, Cavorite confers the power of flight on any engineered structure it is placed in. However, retrieving this metal is only the beginning, as a twist takes place where their shadowy employer is actually a criminal mastermind hell bent on dominating London, as well as being the Head of British Intelligence. I won't go any further than that with the spoilers- the plot is a rollicking old fashioned adventure and you'll love it. In critically analysing the text, it is sufficient to say that it is the little touches that make it special. It's a minor postmodern masterpiece, with references to so many historical events, literary texts, philosophical and social movements and scientific discoveries that one becomes embroiled in an elaborate game of "spot the reference" which is enormous fun. The narrative itself is completely self-aware, simultaneously paying homage to Victorian literature and parodying it. Victorian moral attitudes and linguistic conceits are sent up through the "coming next time" blurbs which close each chapter, and Moore does not shy away from being realistic about late nineteenth century attitudes to sex, gender and race, confident enough in his reader to be sure that they'll be able to interpret this as necessary contextual colour.

At the end of the novel proper is a traditional prose short story, a companion piece to the main narrative, explaining how Quartermain got embroiled in an unusual time travelling adventure with the Traveller (of H.G Wells' 'The Time Machine' fame) while in an opium induced coma. This is written very consciously in H.Rider Haggard's style, but falls short for me...maybe it's because I'm a big Rider-Haggard fan and know his work well, but I felt this short story to be largely unsuccessful in its aim, though I admired both the ambition and intent behind it.

'The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen': Volume One' is a fantastic achievement and proof positive of the incredible talent Alan Moore possesses, as well as further proof of why all discerning literary types should read graphic novels as well as the more traditional kind. I was so impressed with the wit, excitement and intertextuality of the novel, and straight after finishing this volume, I waded straight into Volume Two...expect a blog post on that very soon after this one. In short, if you have any kind of interest in Victorian Literature and the Fin De Siecle, you should read Alan Moore's 'The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen', and when you do, send me a list of references you spotted and we'll compare notes...