Thursday, August 24, 2006

EVill Preview: League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier comes out on October 25th.

This will be the final volume published by DC/Wildstorm after Alan Moore vowed (for at least the third time) to never work for DC again.

Moore is the single greatest writer in the history of the medium. His best work includes Watchmen, Swamp Thing -- and League. The series draws its cast of characters from the classics of Victorian heroic literature, places them in a shared universe, and applies the conventions of the late 20th century superhero team book. So it's like Justice League with Allan Quartermain, Captain Nemo, The Invisible Man, Mina Murray from Dracula, Dr Jeckyll & Mr Hyde, et al. They work for a special branch of Military Intelligence, and have a secret base inside (or beneath) the British Museum.

The first volume focused on Mina's efforts to bring the team together to solve a Conan Doyle style mystery surrounding a secret space race between Britain and France in 1898.

The second was heavily influenced by HG Wells. There's a martian invasion, a la "War of the Worlds," and "Moreau"-like experimentation.

This one apparently deals with efforts to secure a secret dossier which details the history of the League going back centuries--even millennia. Which, to me, suggests that Moore will be incorporating into his shared universe characters and fictions going all the way back to the dawn of heroic literature -- e.g., Beowulf, Gilgamesh, Odysseus. Sounds incredibly cool.

October 25th. Another volume is planned for 2007--which means 2009--and will be released by indie publisher Top Cow.

1 Comments:

Blogger No Milk Please said...

loved the concept of the league, bought all the comics. not sure about this book on whether or not it's just a book of fillers. didja buy it?

10/6/06, 10:46 AM  

Post a Comment

<< Home