Title: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (Vol. 1, Vol. 2, Black Dossier) 

Author: Alan Moore

Genre: Graphic Novel

Rating: Vol. 1 4/ 5 stars, Vol. 2 4/5 stars Black Dossier 2/5 stars

Movie Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Page to Screen; Support Your Local Library; Steampunk

I picked these three volumes up from the library.  A group of literary heroes/villains brought together until shadowy circumstances to "aid" England against threats, what better idea?  I was intrigued.  J convinced me to read them.  He said I would like them.  And I did.  Each character not quite a hero even with their actions.  The art was amazing. If you ever read it, make sure to really look at each panel, especially the backgrounds.  There's a lot of details drawn into the background.  While the dialogue was good and plot interesting, I really liked finding the surprises in the backgrounds.  And of course, I really enjoyed the allusions to other literary characters and historical events.

Volume one consisted mostly of setting up the universe and characters.  The storyline was intriguing though somewhat predictable.  Volume two was an interesting take on War of the Worlds.  I liked the Martian invasion and inclusion of Dr. Moreau and other shadowy secrets.  Unfortunately, the Black Dossier was a real let down.  Set in 1958, it attempted to pick up the continuation of the League but was much too confusing for me.  I only half-heartedly finished the volume.  It just really didn't grab my attention like the other two volumes.

A few years back I had seen the movie version of The Leagues of Extraordinary Gentlemen and was very disappointed.  I revisited the movie to see if it had grown on me.  Alas, it was as bad as I remembered.  Unfortunately, most of the characters fell flat. the plot boring and predictable, and the dialogue cheesy.  There were moments when the movie shined, but they were few and far between.  Of all the characters in the movie, I thought Mina Harker and Dorian Grey were the only interesting ones.  And even their story could have been expanded and more interesting.  The allusions to their history could have set up a much more complicated relationship.  Unfortunately the entire movie tried to play it safe and ended up being boring instead.  Not the worst movie I've ever seen, but definitely not one I am going to seek out to rewatch.