Customer Reviews

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(24)
2 star:		(19)
1 star:		(20)

 

 

Imagine two of your very good friends taking off for a couple of years and going on all kinds of great adventures, but not bothering to invite you. Eventually they return home and tell you about how great it all was; meanwhile, you're wishing you could have been a part of the adventures as well. Feeling left out?

Welcome to The Black Dossier.

So goes my experience with this entry to the series. While this is reported to be something of an aside rather than the "true" 3rd entry to the series, it reads like an epilogue. Worse, The Black Dossier details numerous adventures of the League in its various incarnations, many of which are quite compelling and engaging, yet this is a book about TELLING the reader of these fantastic adventures, NOT showing them. We read reports about Mina and Allan in American dealing with Cthulhu horrors, or facing off with a rival league in France, but these are presented as rather dull after action debriefings or journals, often just pages of text, perhaps taking the "novel" portion of "graphic novel" too far, and not giving the reader involvement or a stake in these adventures. Even if future volumes were to detail the various exploits mentioned, they would be hamstrung given the publication of the play by play detailed within--terribly disappointing for a series that unlike many other comics, is willing to kill of major characters and surprise the reader.

Regardless, in The Black Dossier, of the original League of volumes 1 and 2, only Mina Harker (now a striking blonde) and Allan Quartermain return for the bulk of the story (both appearing quite young courtesy of a peculiar find in Africa, slyly revealed to the reader while it goes over the heads of British Intelligence), and steal The Black Dossier from a post George Orwell's 1984 England. The overall plot is little more than a straightforward chase (to use the term generously) as Mina and Allan flee England with The Black Dossier, although there is little sense of danger or urgency as the pair leisurely take flight, giving the impression of being on holiday rather than at any real risk. (The main action sequence, which takes place in a "space port", is brief and neither Mina nor Allan is particularly challenged by their opposition).
As usual, Mina (rightfully so) takes the lead, although poor Allan does little other than ask obvious questions so that clumsy exposition dialogue can tumble from Mina's mouth in an effort to explain what is going on and why. Again, the reader is often told rather than shown--a strange choice for this medium--and given the rather "extraordinary" exploits of volume 1 and 2, nothing here even comes close to matching the excitement. The story comes across as rather mundane, more "Jason Bourne" (well, James Bond) than fantastic until the very end--and ending which amounts to little more than a tour, rather than any kind of significant resolution (such as volume 1) or cliffhanger (volume 2). The Mina and Allan of fifty years later seem a bit like shadows of the characters fans of the series came to respect and appreciate in the first two volumes: Allan is largely insignificant and Mina is a mouthpiece for the writers, neither is allowed to flourish as characters or grow.

While I found this volume largely disappointing, there are numerous interesting bits throughout The Black Dossier, although these are individual nuggets here and there. For instance, the character of Orlando is introduced through an eighteen page back story, detailing how the immortal character "Forest Gumps" his (or her) way through 3,000 years of human history while often changing genders--it reads much better than it sounds in this review, yet the character has little to do with the story as a whole, other than a few other intriguing mentions during other League adventures the reader misses out on and what amounts to a cameo appearance at the end. This introduction, as well as the introduction of many numerous other characters (members of the League, rivals) give the feel of a rich and textured world that the reader is only given a sliver or glimpse to enjoy--frustrating when there is clearly much more than could be done with both this text and the series. Other sections of the book are small treasures, such as the "PornSec SexJane PicTell" insert (1984) and the postcards written by the League and sent to British Intelligence over their many adventures.

The literary and fictional references are not only present in this volume as the previous, but the volume is turned up to 11, giving those who enjoy the "Where's Waldo?" aspect of the League plenty to appreciate in this volume. The production values are also amazing.

Overall, for those readers coming to the series from the "LXG" movie, the graphic novels have nothing in common with the movie other than the shared name. Of the three, The Black Dossier is certainly the worst choice for anyone curious about the series, given it's clearly written for those already familiar with the characters and world. As another volume of the series, I found it was a disappointment, even if judged as a tangent to the "core" series of stories (which seems to beg for a sliding scale that The Black Dossier sorely needs). There definitely are gems here for the dedicated fan of the series (and frankly, those might be enough for the diehard fans), but the generally weak story and "tell, don't show" feel of the book far outweighed positives. If this were published as an epilogue after ten or twelve volumes of the League, I believe I would give it a positive review (under the assumption that the numerous adventures were told about were detailed elsewhere), yet published after the first two volumes The Black Dossier serves as little more than a clumsy tangent or (worse), as a spoiler for what could have been many engaging adventures of the League in its various incarnations.

Moore and O'Neil's latest installment of their now famous League (the hardback in the series), is visually splendorous but inevitably boring and poorly plotted. Moore gets lost in his references very early. As for Kevin O'Neil (the artist behind this adventure): well, he never fails to please as the artist behind LXG, and here is no exception--if you're solely for the art, well, go get this book.

In LXG Volume One, Moore sets his unique, humorous and decidedly adult twists on these pulp characters just as he adeptly links their worlds into a sprawling fictional universe. In LXG Volume Two, our old friends grow into the dangerous risks, possible loves, and superheroic potentials that Moore sets up--and they already seem like old friends by this point, if somewhat terrifying old friends. But where Moore's original Leagues seem like celebrations of old pulps and other fantastical tales, Black Dossier seems less a celebration and more an indulgence into Moore's impractical world views and towering intellect. And although Moore certainly has these former traits in spades, they are not, nor have they ever been the only things that make his work so transcendent, and perhaps more disappointing still: Moore is intelligent enough to know this, and he is neglecting his obligations as a story-teller in this book.

The Black Dossier in some ways is an ultimate reunion for his fans: at the end of Volume II Moore separates his age-defying lovers, Allan Quatermain (from King Solomon's Mines, among others) and Mina Murray (or Mina Harker, from Bram Stoker's Dracula), and here we find them lovers united and stronger in love than ever--but much to the failing of this volume, he leaves this far in the past, and begins with a vague explanation of the dangers that this couple now face. Stealing the Black Dossier, a hidden (if strangely neglected) file filled with Allan and Mina's past exploits, the couple flee from a stable of newly arranged Extraordinary gentlemen, a petulant, misogynistic, gadget-infested James Bond among them. And then Allan and Mina begin reading this Dossier, and when they open this folio so too must the reader, turning the page to find prose, postcards, illustrated books, and many other wonderful little mediums BESIDES comics within. And, as some of loyal Moore readers know, Moore is stuffy and a tad too purple when writing prose. When he writes his comics, these incredibly wordy and descriptive passage fall into his instructions for his artists, but here Moore crams and crams, and he is as dense, if not denser, than any of the mediums (and the popular writers in said mediums whom he emulates) which he works in. In Moore's other volumes he offered his prose as ancillary, if mildly entertaining backstories to his major throughlines. In Black Dossier, these subsections are in the majority, and though most do not exactly serve the plot (but do serve to hash out Moore's new characters, of which we don't care much about, because Moore hasn't properly introduced them to us in his comic), the reader will certainly be clueless unless they pay close attention. More often than not, however, I felt much like Allan Quatermain on first reading these lengthy gender-bending, sex-filled, and satire-filled passages: I fell asleep.

One immediately experiences the overwhelming sense that a host of esoteric penny-dreadful, pulp, and children's lit references are populating this world--a host of references that the average reader will have little knowledge of. And where Moore deftly engages his readers in finding out such things ONLY IF THEY WANT TO in his previous Leagues, here the reader is all but lost if they chose to skip the once optional subsections.

Moore's a master plotter, capable of juggling multiple story-lines and character-developments and twists and turns. We know this because we have read him doing it. And we also know Moore's exhaustive, beautiful implementations of research. But we also know Moore's literary, philosophical, and pomo metafiction tendencies.

Moore is at his best when checked by his propensity for the telling of a good yarn, and his love for visual storytelling: unfortunately, Moore's intelligence here gets the best of him, and though he throws in a token dose of action and sex for levity, he mainly mires under the crippling weight of trying to keep every single character of pulp fiction linked together, not in the potential for interesting dynamics between characters, or the occasional "low-minded" plot-point that makes most readers turn pages, and keeps most books (and especially comic books), as dynamic and compelling as they are.

Black Dossier has been a long time coming. Plagued by copyright squabbles and endless delays in publication, fans of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen at times despaired of ever seeing the book in print.

It wasn't worth the wait.

Far from the 1890s, in which the first two League adventures were set, Black Dossier takes place in 1958. A pair of World Wars has passed, as well as the Big Brother era set forth in George Orwell's classic 1984. Former Dracula's bride Wilhelmina Murray, now a blonde but still youthful, and adventurer Allan Quatermain, rejuvenated and posing as his own son, are the only remainders of the previous (but not original) League.

But where earlier volumes focused on adventure and conflict, Black Dossier involves simply a book about League history. Mina and Allan want to read it, even though it's largely about them, and certain forces in the British government want to stop them from doing so. That's pretty much it.

Oh sure, I'll give the book credit for incorporating a young James Bond, Emma Peel (nee Night) and Bulldog Drummond among the forces arrayed against them. But, while the literary references that punctuate these books have been a delightful puzzle in the past, many of them in this volume are so obscure as to be tedious.

It's well documented that creator Alan Moore spent much of the creative period for this book in a slap-fight with DC, which owns the America's Best imprint under which the League books to date have been published. And it seems to me Moore -- who has since severed all ties to DC and has promised future League books to Top Shelf -- basically just tossed a bunch of ideas into the Cuisinart to produce this mess.

Artwork by Kevin O'Neill, on the other hand, is as professionally handled as ever, and DC outdid itself in its presentation, which includes a heavier stock of paper for certain sections, a Tijuana Bible insert and fancy 3-D glasses for use in the bewildering conclusion. Sadly, Moore let his readers down. It remains to be seen if he can woo them back with promised future volumes.

by Tom Knapp, Rambles.(net) editor

I have mixed feelings about this book.

Moore has created an extraordinarily rich mythology in which characters from folk lore, literature and legend coexist without contradiction.

Whilst volume 2 included some additional "background reading", detailing additional journeys undertaken by the two main protagonists, the Black Dossier goes further; and reimagines characters and locations from across the entire breadth and history of fiction.

On first reading, a conventional plot would appear to be lacking. The point is however, that the plot is to be inferred; taken from all the various written passages in combination with the conventional comic book.

I'm hardly disappointed. There is so much to enjoy here, from the perfect stylistic period pieces, to the debauched eroticism and psychedelic finale. However, I think volume 2 was more satisfying, striking a perfect balance between the story and the encyclopedic information pertaining to Moore's new universe.

This is a fantastic book. Moore has once again expanded upon the medium of comics, making this collection something well worth buying even in the wonderful world of file sharing. This book is actually printed on several different types of paper, varying based upon which part of the book you're reading (there is actually a book within a book, the titular Black Dossier): one section will be typical glossy graphic novel paper, then one is thicker parchment paper, and another is a finer paper. This may not thrill every reader, but it definitely adds to the experience of reading the book. Additionally, a pair of 3-D glasses are included in the back, for an impressive 3-D section towards the end of the collection.

As far as the story goes, this volume of the League is much more driven by references and in-jokes to Victorian literature, from the obscure to the ridiculously obscure, which any fan of Moore's recent works would expect. There is not necessarily as much in the way of a standard plot as the previous two volumes, but this is more than made up for by the depth that is added to the entire concept of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and in particular, the several different incarnations that have occurred over the years. Characters like Swift's Lemuel Gulliver and Shakespeare's Prospero make appearance, in addition to the old standards Mina Murray and Allan Quatermain. There are also a few more modern references, which make the book a real delight to read.

This is, admittedly, an English major's opinion, but I can definitely say that this is my favorite of the three volumes of the League that Moore has produced so far. You also have to give credit to O'Neill for his art -- it not only propels the story, but it also does a great deal of the effort towards easing the reader into a book that is unconventional, to say the least. People who enjoyed the previous volumes will not be disappointed, this is Moore, O' Neill, and the League at the top of their respective games. You won't regret buying this book.

Well, after what seems like a lifetime of delays, copyright issues, publishing battles and general waiting, I finally have my hands on Black Dossier. and it's fantastic. The book is definately worth the money as it's chock full of all kinds of extra goodies including a Shakespeare folio, a sequel to Fanny Hill, a pornographic comic and of course the truly EPIC 3d section which closes the book (do NOT miss this bit!)

The story itself is probably more easily compared to volume 1 of the League than volume 2, as it involves several powers revolving around one item. However, Moore and O'Neill's storytelling seems like a natural progression from volume 2 ie. More sex, violence, nudity and swearing are included, in particular the swearing, which to be honest seems overused in some parts of the book. The nudity however is all tastefully done and does not detract from the quality of the story at all.

The book is basically arranged as follows:
It starts with Allan and Mina trying to obtain the Dossier... when they obtain it the first half of the Dossier itself is shown. This contains many different artistic and literary styles and is incredibly well made, even using different kinds of paper in parts! Then the story returns to Allan and Mina, and after that the second half of the Dossier is shown before the book's conclusion. This layout for the plot may sound confusing but it progresses very smoothly and works very well in detailing parts of the plot.

overall, this book is hugely successful and as a huge fan of the series my expectations were very high. I was not disappointed in the slightest and can therefore recommend this to any comics/League/literature fan as an incredible reading experience

Others have already commented on the lack of a simple linear plot as compared to the first two LoEG volumes. Others have also commented on the elaborate layout and production, involving changes in style, paper, etc.

I think in many ways the core of the book is the last section with Prospero's speech, which (to me, at least) reveals the authors' true love and sense of gratitude for the adventure literature of their youth.

That alone was enough to make me smile and reminisce about my own childhood and the hours of enjoyment and escapism that all the characters featured in the LoEG universe gave and still give me. I am blind in one eye and could not enjoy the 3-D effects, but still enjoyed the last section very much. What better way to reinforce the 'reality' of these fictional characters than to make them three dimensional?

If you are looking for straight action, stick to Marvel or DC. If yuo want something to chew on and think about, this makes a great addition to the LoEG canon.

If you like the literary detective work found here, you may enjoy Silverlock by John Myers Myers available in pb as Silverlock or with an excellent readers guide and other useful material from the NESFA as Silverlock: Including the Silverlock Companion (Nesfa's Choice, 26) which treats classic literature in much the same way.

Imagine you are a civilian, who has known nothing more than reality as you have seen it so far. Perhaps you have read some interesting stories, if any of these stories have survived or if you've been privy to them. Now, imagine someone hands you a book. It is hard-bound, but not heavy at all. There is a long cloth strip of a bookmark in it. It appears to be some kind of log, or journal.

You open this black-covered book and find yourself sifting through a whole variety of ephemera -- from the 1600s all the way to the late 1940s or 50s. In it, you find accounts from various "unpersons," or "fictional characters" or beings and people with special abilities do simply do not exist. You know that this information, and everything in there is top secret and was meant to be only viewed by a select few. Even the writing on the margins of the articles is not meant for "prole" eyes.

And yet this is being shared with you. Everything is being shared with you -- from journal accounts of sorcerers and paramours, to designs, to reports on strange eldritch activities all the way to a "lost" first folio of Shakespeare and even a Beatnik narrative. There is a wide gamut of narratives in different forms which all seem to say the same thing: that there has been a group that has done extraordinary things, and extraordinary things are therefore revealed about them.

The narratives revealed are not simply "told," as opposed to "shown" -- that is an old fallacy that must always be questioned and never taken for granted with regards to creative writing. You as the reader are included in this world that Moore creates, let in on some very fabulous secret that temporal powers want to be kept. And what is this secret? Without spoiling the particulars for you, the secret is that these figures and fiction inspire us, are no less real than our personas and will live as long as the human imagination.

This is what The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier means to me as a reader -- something participatory, novel and fun. All I will add to this statement is please, look at the title of the work, read it, and then come to your conclusion. You are looking at a "secret book" that really isn't and shouldn't be one.

That is what a Black Dossier is to me.

There's an old adage about jokes: if they have to be explained, they're not funny. What does that say about gags with references so esoteric that they have to be Googled?

Such references (not always humorous) abound in The League of Extraordinary Gentleman: The Black Dossier, the latest volume in writer Alan Moore and artists Kevin O'Neill's graphic novel series about literary heroes and villains. In previous installments, Mina Murray, the heroine of Dracula, led a Victorian Era espionage team also consisting of Allan Quartermain, Mr. Hyde, the Invisible Man, and Captain Nemo to face such challenges as Fu Manchu and The War of the Worlds' Martians. This time, for a story mostly set in 1958, Mina and Allan rub elbows with characters of films and television as well as literature.

How necessary is it for readers to recognize the many characters, ranging from The Seven Against Thebes to Prospero, from the Scarlet Pimpernel to Jeeves and Wooster, from Big Brother to Captain Edmund Blackadder? Not very, if the reader is content to enjoy a fanciful escapist adventure story with stunning visuals. Still, most readers should have no trouble recognizing "Jimmy", a lecherous secret agent. "...[I]s this what it's come to? The British adventure hero? Pathetic," Allan says of Jimmy. (Infer what you will about Moore's view of heroes.)

Some may be disturbed by the presence of Golliwog, a nineteenth century children's literature character who looks like a blackface minstrel performer. Others might be uncomfortable with the sexual content, sometimes used for broad humor.

The scope of the Black Dossier is nothing if not ambitious. Between incidents of the frame story are a comic strip about Orlando's millenia-spanning life, the first act of a lost Shakespeare play, a nearly unreadable parody of Kerouac, and a sample of the sort of pornography allowed in Airstrip One (if you don't know what Airstrip One is, then I recommend reading 1984 as soon as possible). The Black Dossier even comes with 3D glasses, helpful for enjoying the fanciful conclusion in which Moore channels Shakespeare in praise of fictional characters.

Researching the figures in the book does require some work, but it is a reasonable price to pay for the ability to enjoy a unique reading experience on multiple levels.

I have very mixed feelings about Moore and O'Neill's _Black Dossier_. The story is concerned with Mina Harker and Allan Quartermain stealing the Black Dossier - a file that chronicles the various incarnations (and imitations) of The LoEG from the Elizabethan period to the 1940's. The story line itself was a bit thin, but more on that in a moment.

First, the story's strengths: the art work (and variety of it) is fantastic - the detail is simply sublime. The literary references are almost too abundant, even stretching beyond period pieces (The Phantom of the Opera, for example) into film ("Adnoid Hyster" from Chaplin's _The Dictator_ immeadiately comes to mind, although I got a laugh at the reference to _Metropolis_, a 1930's dystopian film similar in feel to _1984_ which is also heavily referenced here and _The Thin Man_, given the "noir" mood of the plot.) I also liked the variety of story materials that are a part of the "Dossier": a play written in Shakespearean style, dystopian comics, political humor from the Georgian era, a parody of _Gulliver's Travels_. The humor and stylistic imitation were very well done, in my opinion. As an aside, look for Marry Poppins ... a wonderful and surprising allusion.

However - and this is why I gave it three stars (and struggled with the book as a whole) - I wish Moore did more "showing" and less "telling." Much of the _Dossier_ is what the Black Dossier contained: files and letters and narratives rather than a graphic showing of the action. I didn't mind the writing so much as I minded the fact that I had expected - even hoped for - a graphic novel. Similarly, I though much of the information presented in the Dossier would have been marvelous material for Moore to show his stuff. I felt it was a bit of a letdown.

Of the three LoEG novels, this is my least favorite for the reasons cited above. Nonetheless, there is much that the latest installment has going for it, which is sure to please fans of Moore's work. With reservations I recommend it.