Comic Info
Comic Name: League of Extraordinary Gentlemen—Volume II
Publisher: America’s Best Comics
Writer: Alan Moore
Artist: Kevin O’Neill
# of Issues: 6
Release Date: 2003
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume II #1
Reprints The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen—Volume II #1-6 (September 2002-November 2003). The War of the Worlds is here! Mars has invaded and the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen has been summoned again to help save the world. As part of the League battles the invasion Martian tripods on the front, Mina and Quartermain set out on a desperate attempt to contact a Doctor Moreau for help.
Written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Kevin O’Neill, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen—Volume II continues right out of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen which ended with the falling of the first Martian invader pod. It was published by America’s Best Comics which later ended up under DC’s ownership. The series was honored by the Harvey Award for Best Limited Series. It has also been collected in an Omnibus edition.
Like the first League of Extraordinary Gentlemen volume, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen—Volume II continues the League’s tradition of interesting characters. Being able to pluck “the best of” from thousands of titles, opens up the stories for interesting twists and turns (like Kid Eternity…I always wished he had been more like this). Moore’s stylized writing is great for this type of story, but for some reason, he’s always intent on having his characters have pretty graphic sex (here it is Mina and Quartermain in issues #4 and #5). Ok, it might add to the realism, but seriously I hoped that he had gotten it out of his system with Lost Girls.
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume II #5
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen—Volume II is aided by fantastic art by Kevin O’Neill which really brings out the nuances of Alan Moore’s stories. The book is full of little references to other novels and stories, and it really feels that the art and story blend. Each issue had a story and supplemental material in the back which has also been collected.
Although I still enjoy the series, I feel the first series is a bit better. This storyline seems to get a bit sidetracked at moments and issues that seem like they should be more developed are forced to be diminished. I also like when the League works as a team so splitting Quartermain and Mina off on their own adventure prevents that from happening…and the events surrounding Hyde and the Invisible Man prevent their return. It is like losing the League just when you are starting to get to know them.
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen—Volume II is a great follow-up to the first story. It was a shame that the stories didn’t come out on a more regular basis but there were issues with the publishing, and the follow-up “story” was The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier which was actually more of a source book than a real narrative.
Related Links:
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen—Volume I
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier
