Lost Girls Hardcover – July 28, 2009

This book means a lot to me if only because of the extreme personal circumstances under which I nearly lost it to the Chinese government and the lengths I went to in order to keep it, and other books they deemed inappropriate. If you add my legal fees to the already steep cover price, it's by far the most expensive book I own. I don't regret it for a moment. The stories it tells are fascinating, and represent a truly imaginative, often disturbing twist on the classic stories of Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz. The idea of having three characters experience sexual awakening in different ways and meet each other in their adulthood is truly unique and original. I enjoyed the illustrations that accompanied the story and my enjoyment wasn't mere base pleasure in something "pornographic" (though that's hard to avoid). It was in the way the stories overlap, the way the women change throughout the years, the way their modern stories and the looking glass contrast with their childhood recollections, and the way World War I looms over everything as a malignant spectre. This book now also perfectly represents to me what it means to be free -- free to take classic characters and change them, free to express art through sensuality, and free to read what you want to read without fear of reprisals and without the need to explain yourself to a bunch of Chinese customs inspectors. I grant this book 5 stars for its incredible power to defy the censors and to inspire me to fight for what's right.

This book is probably one of the most provocative things I've ever read! Alan Moore has such a mastery of the form, the way the images betray the words, the words betray the imagery. Such a beautiful look at the origins of prudishness, and the privilege Capitalism affords the rich to ignore society. The artwork is stunning, shifting from fin-de-siecle decadence to Tijuana Bible with the turn of a page. I'm a big fan of Moore's work, and often thought this to be a lark of his, but it's actually quite thematically hefty, with a lot to "say" (however you want to interpret that). This book made me uncomfortable. And I liked how it made me feel uncomfortable. And on top of that it's such a supremely enjoyable read. Really great. Strangely moving. I can't recommend it highly enough.

Ok, yes, I guess this could technically be listed as an "erotica" novel. But it's so much more. The envisioning of our old favorite fairy tales through the lens of feminine sexuality is very clever. It plays upon the Jungian idea that many fairy tales (little red riding hood, etc) ARE about seuxal awakening. This book works on many, many levels. I could see scholarly essays being written about it in the future.

Great book. Illustrations are awesome...

I am going to say Lost Girls was an oddly wonderful graphic novel. For those who want to call it porn, go right ahead. In my opinion, I think those who call it porn are degrading this book. I think of this more as erotica or a work of art. Yes, there is a ton of sex within the pages of this book and yes, it gets very graphic at times, but I think calling this porn is totally missing the point of the book. If you think this is porn then it sure has a lot going on for a simple sex story. It is actually smart if you read between the lines.

I will be honestly I was afraid to read this comic book with all the sex. It has been on my list for a long time though. I love Alan Moore and the things he creates. The weirder the comic, the better I like it I find. Lost Girls had a ring of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and his Promethean. The biggest reason I wanted to read this book was the fact used the stories of Alice in Wonderland, the Wizard of Oz, Peter Pan. Like the LXG comic books. It is like Promethean in the fact the art changes in each chapter, making it seem like there is several artist when there is only one.

The plot of the book is a “what if” type of story. What if Alice, Dorothy, and Wendy meet each other for the first time? Alice is now an elderly woman who serves as the wisdom for the group, Wendy is a middle-aged woman and married to a prudish man, and Dorothy is now a young adult out exploring the world. They are no longer children trapped in fantasy worlds, but women with deeper desires and questions. It is the start of the First World War, they meet in Austria at a hotel where they tell stories of their past while exploring there sexual needs. It is all fun and games until the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie are shot.

I love how Alan Moore a Melinda Gebbie work together on Lost Girls. For Moore, this book is fairly easy to follow, unless you go down the rabbit hole and focus only on the sex. It is interesting how Moore writes women in his stories too. Usually there are very few, but they are usually the strongest compared to the men. Look at Mina form LXG or Silk Spectre from Watchmen for example. Unlike his other books, I did noticed a slight feminist side to Moore's writing, especially towards the end where the women were praising Alice for not having enough men in her life. I do wonder if Moore did this because he was working with his wife.

The other thing about this book that surprised me was how it was intellectual. All I kept hearing about was the sex and controversy behind this book. No one bothered to go into the style of the book or how this was not just a story about sex. It rather shows me that the world still shames anything that involves sex or they put it down. Yet, when people like me read this kind stuff, I also see that it is about religious and moral questionings, social class, literature, the arts, history, realism, insanity, and loss of childhood innocence.

The other part I liked about this book was how Moore wrote each character form each story using a non-fanatical element to them. In the Alice in Wonderland parts Alice is at a boarding school and her schoolmates have names of flowers. She is sexually harassed by her PE teacher who is is the counterpart of the Queen of Heart and the Red Queen. In the Wizard of Oz parts, Dorothy is at her farm with three farm helpers (similar to the MGM movie). She as an attraction to her Uncle Henry who is also the Wizard and she fears her Aunt Em who is also the Wicked Witch. With the Peter Pan, parts Wendy and her brothers are playing in a park and meet a boy named Peter. She fears a Captain who tries to rape her, but he fails.

I just love the artwork in this book too. Melinda Gebbie does a wonderful job with her paints and colors. Some of the pages in this book should be framed and hung somewhere. Sometimes nudity and sex can bother me in a comic book. Mainly when the artist draws it as something dark and shameful to look at, but not with this book. Yes, some of the acts are horrific in real life, but as Monsieur Rougeur says, you have to decide that what is real and that which is fake. If you think like that, this book will not bother you as much.

Honestly if you are a fan of Alan Moore and like his dark twisted mind, I highly recommend this book.

First off, this book has been called pornography by some, and I just don't see it that way. I feel it falls more under the heading of erotica.

That said it is very well written, and well drawn. The style of the art very much matches the style of writing, and changes slightly depending on the character perspective.

As with other Alan Moore books, this one has a constant undercurrent that eventually becomes a larger part of the story. Very much worth the asking price, and certainly a fine read.

Wonderful story and artwork. I love the concept of this book, using your most classic children's characters and having them shown in a new light.

A different take on the traditional stories of Alice, Dorothy and Wendy, although the sexual nature of the book is not for the under-aged or those of prudish minds. I really liked some of the major illustrations throughout the story that showed the parallel of the original story and Moore's version. An interesting (and titillating!) read.