The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 2 |
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List Price: $14.99
Our Price: $10.19
Your Save: $ 4.80 ( 32% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Wildstorm
Average Customer Rating:  
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PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 741.5941
EAN: 9781401201180
ISBN: 1401201180
Label: Wildstorm
Manufacturer: Wildstorm
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 228
Publication Date: 2004-09-01
Publisher: Wildstorm
Release Date: 2004-09-01
Studio: Wildstorm
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Editorial Reviews:
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The inspiration behind the blockbuster movie, THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN once again uses the classic characters from familiar literature to tell a tale of epic proportions in Victorian England.In volume two, when alien invaders from Mars mercilessly attack London, the throne quickly calls upon Allan Quatermain, Mina Harker, Captain Nemo, the Invisible Man, and Dr. Jekyll to protect the empire.Using their various skills and intellect, the League goes about preparing a defense against the invasion but when the Invisible Man joins the Martian's cause, all appears to be lost.Now, as one of the members dies a horrific death, the League turns to the legendary Dr. Moreau as their last desperate hope.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: the league of mediocre gentlmen
Comment: The commic book part is great, however; the end story is really wordy and kind of boring. It does have some clever points but not enough to keep you interested. I was impressed to see that Speilburg (sp? I'm a bad speller) copied the tripods from this story and used them in "War of the Worlds" remake.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable, but lacks the punch of Volume 1
Comment: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume 2 continues the exploits of Murray, Quatermain, Nemo, Hyde, and Griffin--but does it without the fascinating and incredulous elements featured in Volume 1. Volume 2 chronicles the team's fight against invading Martian forces, even as the team crumbles apart. The story-line, however, isn't developed enough to fill the entire volume and thus the book is hampered by superfluous inclusions. The first several pages occur on Mars--it's semi-interesting material but has next-to-nothing to do with anything else in the graphic novel; the prose travelogue section that finishes out the volume is slightly enjoyable, but it's simply too much for what it is and it collapses under its own length.
The Martians are a fearsome opponent but singularly uninteresting as "bad guys" who want to burn things. Bond returns as the ever-sweating team liaison, but this time he's far too competent and informed to be enjoyable. Likewise, the supremely executed Volume 1 sexual tension between Murray and Quatermain entirely collapses into boring sexual intercourse. And to make it worse, the artwork of their sexual encounters is substandard: Murray looks fabulous dressed, but slack and big-nosed in the buff. I admit that Quatermain's scarred and withered body was well-executed--but who really wants to see a nude septuagenarian adventurer? The introduction of Moreau is nearly pointless and his various beast-men look like Sunday comics renderings, except for that rabbit at the train station--the one being eaten by wild fox.
The highlight was surely Hyde's complete escape from Jekyll and his self-analysis of the process, but even though perfectly executed it was so conventional a psychological process that it lacked any lasting punch. Yes, yes, Griffin's visible blood, Hyde's death-monologue, and Nemo's comment about Englishmen are all excellent. Yet these are the highlights of Volume 2, and not the moment-per-page type of event encountered in Volume 1. So much for damning with faint praise--the good news is that Volume 2 is still fun to read, unlike the train-wreck disaster of the Black Dossier.
Customer Rating:
Summary: The Blazing World
Comment: Allan Moore and Kevin O'Neill are at it again with the second installment of "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen." When giant canisters from Mars crash land all over England, they release creatures so powerful that even the League can't seem to stop them. Worse yet--though not so surprising--one member of the League decides to switch sides. The remaining Gentlemen warm up to each other, while getting the reader fired up for their latest adventure.
Vol. 2 gathers a wealth of references and characters from fictional literary works, most notably H.G. Wells' "War of the Worlds." The reader also gets to know more about the main characters, an appropriate move for all the surprises that lie ahead. Since this hasn't been mentioned for Vol. 1, O'Neill's artwork shows every graphic detail of the world of the imagination that inspired the series; something to think about the next time you sleep through your high school English class. Extra material includes "The New Traveller's Almanac," which features the exploits of Mina Murray, and a cover gallery.
This comic is unrated: Graphic Violence, Nudity, Adult Language, Adult Situations, Strong Sexual Content.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Definitely Disappointing
Comment: Alan Moore's first "League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen" installment sold itself more on mood, brooding but lighthearted, than it did on story, which I think had something to do with Chinese people in London; six months later I'm not exactly sure. But it was a very quick, devilishly deep read.
"Vol. 2" represents a rather dispirited return to the well, with the League very quickly in tatters and a main storyline, regarding Martians in London now, introduced with some of Kevin O'Neill's horrifically vivid illustrations and then passed over so we can watch the two principal characters in an R-rated sex scene. It didn't really grab me as a story, and as a mood piece put me off to the extent I had any sentimental attachment in the characters at all.
The 2004 comic book is clearly aimed at a cynical 20-something audience looking for something visually stimulating to go with their marijuana. I think that was the thinking behind the book, sort of like what the people behind the Pink Floyd records must have been thinking in the late 1960s, though without the latter's evidently more disciplined thinking. "Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun" was just a song to Floyd; for both the League creators, and some of its characters, it's a mantra.
There are a lot of surprises for those familiar with Volume 1, but they are almost uniformly of the nasty kind. The best involves the evolution of Mr. Hyde's character, though it raises an unanswered question as to what became of his alter ego Dr. Jekyll. The worst involve everyone else.
The action doesn't make much sense this time. What the Martians are after is not established. There seems an attempt by Moore to introduce the Edgar Rice Burroughs character John Carter, who was famously bounding around Mars at the time this story is set. But after a brief introduction, he is quickly forgotten as the story moves on two tracks. In one, the Martians lay waste to 1898 London while Capt. Nemo, no Brit-lover he, does what he can to fight them on the Thames. In the other, Allan Quartermain and Mina Murray go off to meet Dr. Moreau, who has something in a small box designed to make an impactful difference on the creatures. Piano-playing midget, perchance?
It finally is brought together in a haphazard way. I like the title of another review here: "Nothing. Happens." Couldn't say it better myself. Worse follows with a long prose piece, "The New Traveler's Almanac", that reveals the depth of Moore's scholarship of chapbook literature, and extends it up through the end of the 20th century. Sometimes clever, this was a bit too much in the end like reading that part of the Bible where "Azub begat Nerab, and Nerab begat Neshaw etc.".
Moore likes making his comic books this way; no doubt Vol. 2 is far closer to the version of "League" he originally wanted to do in the first place, dark in tone, nasty in spirit, and full of rapes. I'll give it an extra star for Hyde and for O'Neill's still-arresting artwork, but I think I'll pass on future League activities from here on out.
Customer Rating:
Summary: More epic than vol 1 and Better than the movie
Comment: This tale adds several new characters including John Carter and Dr. Moreau, who are not members of the League. In a play on the classic HG Wells story, Earth is attacked by Mars and it looks like the League is Earth's only hope.
The Martians are as deadly as Wells imagined them. Earth's weapons are no match, and the Martians have so many war machines that even the Nautilus cannot defeat them all.
This time there is treachery and intrigue within the League. Much of it revolves around the strong yet mysterious Mina as her relationships with the various characters change. Readers learn much about Mr. Hyde in a dining room scene that shows how effectively a graphic novel can tell a story.
This story is not for children. Filled with violence and peppered with sex, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Vol 2 is a thrilling action / adventure story that any adult should enjoy.
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