The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen by Alan Moore

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.

Ophelia Joined the Group... by Sarah Schmelling

Title: Ophelia Joined the Group Maidens Who Don't Float: Classic Lit Signs on to Facebook

Author: Sarah Schmelling

Publisher: Plume 2009

Genre: Nonfiction; Humor

Pages: 273

Rating: 5 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Support Your Local Library: A to Z Authors: S

From William Shakespeare's introduction:

The following will not be tolerated here: Slurs, libel, dullness, status updates that inclde the phrase '[Your name here] hates Mondays' or 'Thank God it's Friday.' emoticons used in an effort to mask one's lack of vocabulary, use of exclamation points that give us the impression you've OD'd on cocaine and Pixy Stix, and abuse of texting acronyms.  Unless you are a six-month-old infant or a little girl in a tickle fight, you are not really rolling on the floor laughing. If you are, you need to get up, go outside, and speak to another human being because there's something wron with your sense of humor.

So what exactly happens when litrary characters and authors join Facebook?  The answer... hilarity!  I loved, loved, loved this book.  It's written in the style of Facebook, complete with status updates, comments, pokes, social games, stupid quizzes, profiles, and ads.  Schmelling really knows what she's taking about here.  Each character/author has it's own personality exactly how I imagine them if they lived in the 21st century.

My favorite, of course, was the section on Jane Austen, specifically the section on Pride and Prejudice.  The best exchange in the whole book (and I can completely picture this, by the way):

Mr. Collins and Charlotte Lucas are now married.

Elizabeth: What the?

Mr. Darcy: Hmmm, maybe I should marry you.

Elizabeth threw a sheep at Mr. Darcy.

Alice's confusion over her place in the Wonderland network read just like how I imagined her to be...

Alice is so sorry. She's new here and has been out o sorts sicne falling down the rabiit hole.

Morpheus: We're in the Matrix now. Take this pill, and I'll show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.

Hunter S. Thompson: I've been there. Madness in any directon. Maybe it meant something. Maybe not.

Alice: No, I mean a real rabbit hole. Like a bunny? Oh my.

How about this little exchange between Mina and Lucy on the Dracula news feed:

Lucy wrote on Mina's Wall.

"Dear Mina, why are men so noble and perfect when women are so despicable and worthles?"

Mina wrote on Lucy's Wall.

"I don't know, sweet Lucy! What kind of women are we?"

Lucy wrote on Mina's Wall.

"One-dimensional virginal Victorian women, I think!"

The quizzes were amazingly predictable, just like Facebook.  My favorites:

• Which Circle of Hell are You In? by The Inferno
• If You were a Jane Austen Character, Who Would You Be? (complete with Jane Austen's criticsm and annoyance at everyone getting Elizabeth Bennett)
• Which Dystopia Are You In: 1984, Brave New World, or Social Media?  (I think I'm stuck in Social Media, although it doesn't look any better than the other two)
• Are You a REAL MAN? (Ernest Hemingway only scored a 40% putting him with Ashley Wilkes, Ishmael, Jonathan Swift, and Ron Weasley; he wasn't too happy about it)

For any and all literature buffs or anyone who can actually picture all these old stories.  A true must read!

As an added bit of fish-out-of-water fun, check out one of my favorite movies Lost in Austen or great books Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict and Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler.