The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier | Alan Moore

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier | Alan Moore | Not the Author's Best Work

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The League of Extr...

	The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier Alan Moore Wildstorm, 2007 - 208 pages average customer review:based on 86 reviews view larger image
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England in the mid 1950s is not the same as it was. The powers that be have instituted...some changes. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen have been disbanded and disavowed, and the country is under the control of an iron-fisted regime. Now, after many years, the still youthful Mina Murray and a rejuvenated Allan Quatermain return and are in search of some answers. Answers that can only be found in a book buried deep in the vaults of their old headquarters, a book that holds the key to the hidden history of the League throughout the ages: The Black Dossier. As Allan and Mina delve into the details of their precursors, some dating back centuries, they must elude their dangerous pursuers who are Hell-bent on retrieving the lost manuscript... and ending the League once and for all.

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Excellent follow-up.

Not just a comic book, this is, for the most part, the titular Black Dossier. Not a place for anyone who hasn't read a League book before to start with the series, but a truly exciting follow-up for fans. Alan Moore mimics everything from Shakespeare to Kerouac in a book that changes styles every few pages and keeps the reader on their toes, to say the least. Definitely my favourite of the three so far, and am looking forward to "Century" next year.
If you didn't like the back-ups in the last two volumes (Allan and the Sundered Veil & the New Traveller's Almanac) then this may not be your cup of tea.

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Not the Author's Best Work

This did not live up to the high standard set by the previous 2 volumes in the series. In fact, it doesn't seem like Alan Moore even tried very hard. This is not so much a story as it is a bunch of loosely connected ephemera that was probably a lot of fun to create.

Don't get me wrong - there are some real gems in here. Short stories that are more or less self-contained which will delight anyone familiar with literature of the 1920's and '30's (the crossover of P.G. Wodehouse and H.P. Lovecraft was brilliant). It's not a worthless volume, just not much of a plot overall and it is in no way a satisfying sequel to the second volume.

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Yawn!

Compared to the first two installments of this series, Black Dossier is an extrodinary letdown to fans everywhere. The "tell rather than show" review is absolutely accurate. This book is dense and sometimes very boring. Dispite all the layers and layers of information and background, Black Dossier manages to accomplish nothing. Alan Moore is a rare genius, but unfortunately, his intellect and imagination prevent him from focusing on one specific direction/storyline in this installment. This may very well be required reading for League fans when the Century Series hits stores; however, until then, I'd suggest you get your action-pulp-fix by reading some Verne, Burrows, or Lovecraft.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

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