In all manners of arts, there are some certifiable “greatest”. Elvis is the king of Rock. Michael Jackson is the king of Pop. The Beatles ruled over fan-girls everywhere for a long time. Shakespeare mastered the performance play. Van Gogh took care of painting for everyone. So on and so forth.

For years, people debate in comics who is the greatest. There are your definite Stan Lee fans, for his creation of the Marvel Universe proper. Some point to Brian Michael Bendis or Mark Millar for mainstreaming comics for the modern masses with their “Avengers” and “Kick-Ass” books.

Most, though, even against their will, believe in Alan Moore.

Alan Moore, the English author who perhaps single handedly helped define modern American comic books with his deconstructionist view on super heroes and everything they believe in. Sure, others had tried before him, but no one really mastered it. He helped us see what superheroes were reeeeeally like.

Today, I’m not talking about those comics. That would take at least a year. Another writer, Timothy Callahan, a teacher and writer from the East Coast delved a whole year into Moore’s comics work. For good reason: he found a lot to work with. If you like what I talk about over the next few weeks and still want some more….Moore, then head over to his page and see what he’s found. However, that’s not what I’m here to accomplish today. I’m here to look at what it has to offer the casual or new comic book reader.

We start with “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen”.

Written by Moore with his artistic collaborator, Kevin O’Neill, this first volume collects the first six issues of the series. Originally published in 1998, the series was a groundbreaking work of the time. First, it marked Moore’s return to the comic book form. Do any sort of research into Alan Moore’s roots and you’ll find that he has not always had the best time in the industry.

Second, it grew in popularity so much that an unfortunately misguided movie was spawned. After recently re-reading the series, I most definitely find that the movie was in no way a proper adaptation of the book.

Moore received inspiration for the series while bouncing around ideas back in the late 1980s. His thoughts, paraphrased, went something like this: there were all of these wonderful public domain characters from literary fiction just sitting around. Waiting to have adventures.

So, gathering up some of the more recognizable Victorian-era characters, such as Allan Quartermain the safari man; Mina Murray, Dracula-slayer; Captain Nemo, of the Nautilus and 20,000 Leagues under the Sea; Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; and Hawley Griffin, the invisible man.

Moore decided to assemble the team as a sort of “Avengers” of the Victorian age, an era of the late 1800s in England. Now, what makes this comic series, the first volume at least, was that it was so engrossing. Everything from the back page discussing the authors (they describe Moore as the author of ‘A Child’s Garden of Venereal Horrors” {1864} and ‘Cocaine and Rowing: The Sure Way to Health’ {1872} before inheriting a Cumbrian jute mill and, in 1904, expiring of Scorn.) to the credits page in extreme, classic hype, is meant to take you to this time.

The time when the Victorian era ruled.

Our story begins with Campion Bond, grandfather to Jimmy Bond (shaken, not stirred), discussing matters with Mina Murray. Murray has recently changed her last name and is hoping to escape a past of some sorts.

Campion informs her that, with the death of the great detective (one of those Holmes, I imagine), that the enemies of England have been setting in motion a plan to overthrow or conquer them. Without their hero, the empire stand unguarded. He leads her to the location of Allan Quartermain, the great hunter and explorer.

Mina finds him in the worst sorts of opium dens in Egypt. Their escape is not quiet and they are forced to board the underwater submarine, The Nautilus, piloted by none other than Captain Nemo.

This is literally all within the first ten pages or so.

In these first ten pages, Moore and O’Neill paint a time unlike one of today.

Moore’s writing quickly establishes these literary greats, icons of their time, as the characters of their generation. Fortunately, since the first three issues involves many of the characters meeting with each other, he has to make it terse. These are the greats! This is Mina Murray, enemy of Dracula, standing face to face with the Invisible Man.

It’s these exchanges that, I think, made Moore create this series. Delving deep into the mythos and the legacy left by this series leaves so many references and citations and background tidbits. This separates “League” from comics of today, which do have a tendency to focus only on the major characters or the characters of the forefront. Here, in “League” so much is going on in the background that I feel like I could spend a whole month looking at all of the different fictional characters and settings and analogies. It’s ridiculous.

Part of that is O’Neill’s art. Chaotic and less polished than modern comic art, yes. But what it lacks in finesse it makes up for in details. Loads and loads of details. There is so much happening within each page, I don’t know about you, but sometimes it took me minutes to finish just one page because I had to look and see what everyone else was doing. It was that immersive.

So, with the group assembled, they are tasked with discovering the wrongs of the time. A plot is amidst and Quartermain, Murray and the rest are tasked with stopping it. We’re given floating air ships and Steampunk-esque bridges connecting continents. James Bond’s grandfather leads this group against a threat like none other.

Why does this all matter, though?

One thing I have learned from reading Alan Moore lately, tying into what was stated above about his title as the greatest comic writer, is that Moore is a very intelligent man.

Very intelligent.

Hard to like, I’m sure, but he’s very intelligent.

Within each page, he is able to craft a modern take on a characters and plots from hundreds of years ago, when literature was certainly on a different level from now. But, he never lets the stuffiness crowd what this is: an adventure. A classic on par with the characters he writes about.

Yes it’s smart. But it’s fun.

And that’s not a problem at all.

 

What did you find out when you read it? Did you see what I saw? Did you like the movie? Let me know.

Next Week: What would be a great follow up to this? Perhaps another Moore classic. One that inspired a movie character so profound he lives on in fame past the characters death. Next week: “Batman – The Killing Joke”, focusing on our favorite psychopath…The Joker.

In addition to writing for the column “Comic Matters” for the Tucson Citizen, Bobby Acosta is also a 5th Grade Elementary school teacher, employee and frequenter of Heroes & Villains Comics/Game Store, and explorer of the importance of comics. He recommends each and every comic he writes about.

Contact him at comicmatters@gmail.com

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