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Heroes and Superheroes V1.Indb

Heroes and Superheroes V1.Indb

PUBLISHER’S NOTE

Graphic novels have spawned a body of literary criti- genre, summarizing plots and analyzing the FLVPVLQFHWKHLUHPHUJHQFHDVDVSHFL¿FFDWHJRU\LQWKH works in terms of their literary integrity and overall con- SXEOLVKLQJ¿HOGDWWDLQLQJDOHYHORIUHVSHFWDQGSHUPD- tribution to the landscape. It contains nence in academia previously held by their counterparts works from prominent publishers, as well as leading hero in prose. Salem Press’s Critical Survey of Graphic or superhero titles from alternative and independent pub- Novels series aims to collect the preeminent graphic lishing houses. The entries in this encyclopedic set cover novels and core series that form today’s canon a wide range of periods and trends in the heroes and su- for academic coursework and library collection devel- perheroes genre: from the social relevance of Green Lan- opment, offering clear, concise, and accessible analysis tern/ during the Bronze Age of Comic of not only the historic and current landscape of the in- Books to the grim satire of in the Modern terdisciplinary medium and its consumption, but the Age; from watershed events such as the of Captain wide range of genres, themes, devices, and techniques America to the trudging narrative and complexity of that the graphic novel medium encompasses. Cerebu; and from the caped and costumed who The combination of visual images and text, the em- MXVWO\FRQWHVWHYLOZLWKVXSHUQDWXUDODELOLWLHVWRWKHÀDZHG phasis of art over written description, the coupling of and tragic or the unheroic, brooding vigilante mature themes with the comic form—these elements and their moral struggles and complexity. appeal to the graphic novel enthusiast but remain a In writing these essays, contributors worked from source of reluctance to other readers. Designed for both original sources, providing new criticism and content popular and scholarly arenas and collections, the series aimed at deconstructing the centuries-old heroic story SURYLGHVXQLTXHLQVLJKWDQGDQDO\VLVLQWRWKHPRVWLQÀX- and portraying the graphic novel as literature. To that end, ential and widely-read graphic novels with an emphasis essays look beyond the popular-culture aspects of the on establishing the medium as an important academic medium to show the wide range of literary devices and discipline. We hope researchers and the common reader overarching themes and styles used to convey beliefs and alike will gain a deeper understanding of these works, as FRQÀLFWV )XUWKHUPRUH FULWLFDO DWWHQWLRQ ZDV SDLG WR the literary nature is presented in critical format by originators of the graphic novel and the birth of well- OHDGLQJZULWHUVLQWKH¿HOGRIVWXG\ known characters, as well as panel selection and rele- This volume, Heroes and Superheroes, LVWKH¿UVW YDQF\DQGDSDUWLFXODUZRUN¶VLQÀXHQFHRQWKHFUHDWRUV¶ title in the Critical Survey of Graphic Novels series to careers, other graphic novels, or literature as a whole. be updated. The other volumes in this series: ; 'XHWRWKHWUHPHQGRXVFRPSOH[LW\WKDWGH¿QHVWKH Independents and Underground Classics; and History, JUDSKLFQRYHOV¿HOGZHDFNQRZOHGJHWKDWVRPHLPSRU- Theme, and Technique will be updated in the following tant works and creators have been omitted from this set. months. Heroes and Superheroes collects the heroic In addition, while the series has an international scope, tales of the super-powered crusader and the exploits of attention has been focused on translated works that have the morally ambiguous or derisive anti-hero that have EHHQLQÀXHQWLDOLQWKHGHYHORSPHQWRIDVSHFL¿FJUDSKLF become the seminal classics in the graphic novel land- novel tradition. scape. Whether it is the vigilantism of , the doubts of Spider-Man, or the tales of Norse myth in ORGANIZATION AND FORMAT , the techniques and traditions of literature are per- The essays in Heroes and Superheroes appear alpha- petuated in this medium of heroes and superheroes. Sto- betically and are approximately 4 to 5 pages in length. ries from the Silver Age of comics through the current Each essay is heavily formatted and begins with full day have been compiled and dissected to provide view- ready-reference top matter that includes the primary au- points that are easily missed during initial readings. thor or authors; illustrators and other artists who con- WULEXWHG WR WKH ZRUN DQG WKH ¿UVW VHULDO DQG ERRN SCOPE AND COVERAGE publication. This is followed by the main text, which is With 20 brand new essays, this two-volume set covers divided into “Publication History,” “Plot,” “Volumes,” more than 150 well-regarded works of the hero or “Characters,” “Artistic Style,” “Themes,” and “Impact,”

xi PUBLISHER’S NOTE Critical Survey of Graphic Novels

VHFWLRQVZKLFKDUHIXUWKHUGH¿QHGEHORZ$OLVWRI¿OPV the impact of the creation of new characters or series, and or television series based on the work and a user-friendly focuses on the critical reception of the work or series and bibliography complete the essay. Cross-references di- whether it was atypical for its historical period. rect readers to related topics, and further reading sug- Bibliography lists secondary print sources for fur- gestions accompany all articles. ther study and examination, annotated to assist readers Publication History presents an overview of the in evaluating focus and usefulness. work’s and publication chronology. Many graphic QRYHOVZHUH¿UVWVHULDOL]HGLQFRPLFERRNIRUPRIWHQDV APPENDIXES AND OTHER SPECIAL a , and were later collected or republished FEATURES in book format, while other graphic novels were con- Special features help to further distinguish this refer- ceptualized as novelistic works. ence series from other works on graphic novels. This Plot provides an in-depth synopsis of the main story includes: progression and other story arcs. As an aid to students, • Appendixes listing major graphic novel awards this section focuses on the most critically important plot • General bibliography turns in the series or work and why these were important. • 7LPHOLQHGLVFXVVLQJVLJQL¿FDQWHYHQWVDQGLQÀX- Where applicable, Volumes orients the reader or re- ential graphic novel predecessors which spans the searcher to the accepted reading order of the work. For ancient world through the Middle Ages and the series, it lists individual volumes or collections, often Renaissance to the present comprising different story arcs. The year when each col- • Biographical sidebars on an author or illustrator OHFWLRQZDVSXEOLVKHGLVSURYLGHG$OVRLGHQWL¿HGDUH UHODWHGWRWKHZRUNSUR¿OHG the issues that were collected within a volume, a syn- • The two-volume set features nearly 100 photos RSVLVRIWKHYROXPH¶VPDLQIRFXVDQGLWVVLJQL¿FDQFH • Four indexes round out the set: Works by Pub- within the entire collection. lisher; Works by Author; Works by Artist; and Characters present detailed descriptions of major Subject characters in the story, beginning with the main protag- onists and antagonists. The section discusses physical ACKNOWLEDGMENTS GHVFULSWLRQFKDUDFWHUWUDLWVDQGVLJQL¿FDQWFKDUDFWHULV- Many hands went into the creation of this work, and tics, the character’s relationship with others, and the pri- Salem Press is grateful for the effort of all involved. mary role a character plays in advancing the plot of the Names of the original contributors can be found at the work or series. To aid readers, descriptions include “also end of each essay and also in the Contributors List that known as” names and monikers. follows the Introduction. We are indebted to our editors, Artistic Style provides analysis of the work’s visual Bart Beaty, Professor of English at the University of content, especially as it relates to characterization, plot, Calgary, and Stephen Weiner, Director of Maynard and mood; analysis of the illustrative use of color versus Public Library in Maynard, Massachusetts, for their ad- black and white; discussion of any changes in style as vice in selecting works and their writing contributions. the story progresses; and the use of elements and de- %RWKDUHSXEOLVKHGLQWKH¿HOGRIFRPLFVDQGJUDSKLF vices such as dialogue, captions, panels, penciling, novels studies. Beaty is the author of Fredric Wertham inking, and backgrounds. and the Critique of Mass Culture, Unpopular Culture: Themes identify the central themes in the work and Transforming the European in the 1990s, how they are expressed—for example, through plot or and David Cronenberg’s “A History of Violence.” layout—and how they relate to characterization and Weiner is the author or co-author of The 101 Best style. It also discusses, when applicable, whether a Graphic Novels, Faster Than a Speeding Bullet: The major thematic point is a chronicle of the author’s per- Rise of the Graphic Novel, The Companion, sonal development, or a projection of it, and how this The Will Eisner Companion, and Using Graphic Novels may resonate with readers. in the Classroom. Their efforts in making this resource Impact FRYHUVWKHZRUN¶VLQÀXHQFHRQWKHFUHDWRUV¶FD- a comprehensive and indispensible tool for students, reers, publishing houses, the medium of graphic novels researchers, and general readers alike are gratefully itself, and literature in general. The section also analyzes acknowledged. xii L

LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN, THE

Author: Moore, Alan Kevin O’Neill Artist: Kevin O’Neill (illustrator); Ben Dimagmaliw (colorist); (); $QLOOXVWUDWRUZKREHJDQKLVFDUHHULQWKH¶V on British humor titles, Kevin O’Neill made his (letterer) reputation on 2000 AD, where he was a frequent Publisher: DC Comics; Top Shelf Comics cover artist and the co-creator of the story Nemesis First serial publication: 1999- the Warlock with writer . With Mills he First book publication: 2000 also created for , a su- perhero comic book parody featuring extreme vio- Publication History lence and sexuality. O’Neill is probably best The idea for The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen known for his collaboration with writer Alan had been on author ’s mind for several Moore on The League of Extraordinary Gen- years before it was created. Already well known for tlemen, a set of miniseries for America’s Best both British and American comic publications by the Comics, DC Comics, and Top Shelf. O’Neill’s art ODWH ¶V 0RRUH ¿UVW GHYHORSHG WKH LGHD IRU The has varied tremendously over the course of his ca- League of Extraordinary Gentlemen after he had UHHUDQGDOWHUVWRUHÀHFWWKHWKHPHVDQGLGHDVRI each individual project. He is known for a mixture started on Lost Girls (1991-1992). Moore pitched the of high level of detail, period accuracy, and a idea to publisher Kevin Eastman, who had advanced slightly cartoony tone in his League stories, while him money for a future project, and presented artist and earlier work in 2000 AD and Marshal Law re- former colleague Kevin O’Neill with an outline ÀHFWHGDPRUHH[WUHPHOHYHORIFDUWRRQLVKQHVV LQ After leaving DC Comics because of various dis- issue’s inclusion of an advertisement for a nineteenth- putes, Moore worked for other publishers. Jim Lee century feminine hygiene product called the “Marvel convinced Moore to develop comics for his company, Whirling Spray.” During this time, two Bumper Com- WildStorm, and so the America’s Best Comics (ABC) pendium Editions were also published, reprinting the line was born. While the ABC line was forming, Lee ¿UVWWZRDQGVHFRQGWZRLVVXHVVRWKDWWKRVHZKRGLG sold WildStorm to DC. Since titles had been created not get the original issues could catch up. and various contracts signed, Moore agreed to continue $VZLWKWKH¿UVWYROXPHWKHVHFRQGYROXPHRIThe with ABC in order to keep the creators employed, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was a six-issue ZKLOH/HHFUHDWHGD³¿UHZDOO´EHWZHHQ$%&DQG'& OLPLWHG VHULHV DQG WKH ¿UVW WKUHH LVVXHV FDPH RXW Comics proper. promptly in 2003. An original hardcover graphic novel, :KHQWKH¿UVWLVVXHRIThe League of Extraordinary The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dos- Gentlemen appeared in March, 1999, DC’s name was sier, came out in 2008. It was not part of the original QRWRQLW7KRXJKWKH¿UVWWKUHHLVVXHVFDPHRXWTXLFNO\ ideas that Moore had for the series’ stories, and it began WKH ¿QDO WKUHH ZHUH GHOD\HG IRU YDULRXV UHDVRQV WKH DOPRVWDVD³¿OOLQERRN´EHIRUH9ROXPHFRXOGEHJLQ best known being that DC Comics publisher Paul 0RRUHKDGKLV¿QDOEUHDNZLWK'&GXULQJWKHFUH- Levitz ordered issue 5 “pulped,” or destroyed. DC ation of Black Dossier. Besides problems related to a feared that would take offense to that ODZVXLWRYHUWKH¿OPDGDSWDWLRQ0RRUHVD\VWKDWWKHUH

425 LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN, THE Critical Survey of Graphic Novels

When she is endangered, he snaps out of his stupor to KHOSKHU$VWKH\ÀHHWRWKHGRFNVWKH\DUHUHVFXHGE\ and his submarine, The Nautilus. They next head to Paris, where Inspector Dupin KHOSV0LQDDQG$OODQ¿QGDVWUDQJHPDQZKRKDVEHHQ killing prostitutes: Edward Hyde, the monstrous alter ego of Englishman Henry Jekyl. After Hyde is subdued and captured, the group returns to England. Mina, Allan, and Nemo next visit a girls’ school, where a rash of mysterious pregnancies is being caused E\+DZOH\*ULI¿QWKH,QYLVLEOH0DQZKRLVUDSLQJWKH ROGHUJLUOV7KHWHDPFDSWXUHV*ULI¿QDQGUHWXUQVWRWKH League’s headquarters in their secret annex. +\GHDQG*ULI¿QDUHJUDQWHGSDUGRQVLQUHWXUQIRU joining the League, and the group is sent on its next as- signment: to recover the antigravity element cavorite from the Asian crime lord “Devil Doctor,” who rules London’s East End and who has stolen the cavorite for Comics creator Kevin O’Neill at the Big Apple Summer evil purposes. They recover the substance, but, after Sizzler in Manhattan on June 13, 2009. handing it over to Bond, discover that M is Professor (Courtesy of Luigi Novi via Wikimedia Commons) James Moriarty, Sherlock Holmes’s archenemy, who was more interference from DC on this project. In ad- intends to use the cavorite to launch his own aerial as- dition, because of copyright issues, the release was de- sault on the East End. layed in Canada and the United Kingdom. The members of the League realize they have been Because The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is used and that Moriarty’s attack would kill them; thus, a creator-owned project, Moore brought the third they go on the offensive. While the Devil Doctor’s volume to Top Shelf Comics, with Knockabout Comics IRUFHV DWWDFN 0RULDUW\¶V À\LQJ IRUWUHVV WKH /HDJXH distributing it in the United Kingdom. The third XVHVDEDOORRQWRUHDFKLW:KLOH1HPR*ULI¿QDQG volume consists of three 80-page issues in “bookshelf ” Hyde go after Moriarty’s men, Mina and Allan pursue IRUPDW7KH¿UVW³´FDPHRXWLQZLWKLV- Moriarty, who ends up causing his own doom when the VXHV ³´ DQG ³´ UHOHDVHGLQDQG container for the cavorite is shattered and he grabs it, 2012, respectively. making him “fall” upward into space. The League sur- vives the ensuing crash and, at the request of the new Plot M, Mycroft Holmes (brother of Sherlock), remains to- In the world of The League of Extraordinary Gen- gether. tlemenFKDUDFWHUVIURPYDULRXVZRUNVRI¿FWLRQH[LVW Volume 2 alludes to H. G. Wells’s The War of the WRJHWKHU7KH¿UVWWZRYROXPHVWDNHSODFHLQ(QJODQG Worlds (1898). The volume opens with various races of LQ$WWKHVWDUWRIWKH¿UVWYROXPH&DPSLRQ%RQG Mars, led by earthlings Gullivar Jones and John Carter, of Military Intelligence recruits Mina Murray (recently attacking a destructive mollusk-like race. The mollusks divorced after the events of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, abandon Mars and land in England. As in Wells’s  RQEHKDOIRIKLVVXSHULRU³0´WRJDWKHUDJURXS QRYHOWKHLQYDGHUV¿UVWXVHKHDWUD\VDQGSRLVRQJDV of individuals to defend the British Empire from an im- and then overcome Earth’s heavier gravity by putting minent danger. themselves in giant, heavily armed tripods. 0LQD ¿UVW ORFDWHV DGYHQWXUHU $OODQ 4XDWHUPDLQ %HOLHYLQJWKH³0DUWLDQV´ZLOOEHYLFWRULRXV*ULI¿Q who is in a Cairo opium den, having become an addict. decides to betray humankind and give information to

 Heroes & Superheroes LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN, THE

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. (Courtesy of IDW Publishing) them. When Mina discovers him stealing military and meet up with Hyde and Nemo at the north end of plans, he attacks her. London Bridge, the last spot where the Tripods can Soon after, Mina and Allan are sent to the South cross the river. Because the weapon is not yet ready, Downs to locate a scientist who may have something +\GHVDFUL¿FHVKLPVHOIWRGHOD\WKH7ULSRGVGHVWUR\LQJ WKDWZLOOVWRSWKHLQYDGHUV$IWHUDQXQVXFFHVVIXO¿UVW one before he is killed. day, they return to an inn, where they have sex. Allan The weapon is launched and is revealed to be a then discovers the reason that Mina always wears a hybrid virus that destroys the Martians. Nemo is scarf: Her experience with Dracula has left her throat disgusted that he has unknowingly used germ warfare horribly scarred. The next day, various human-animal and quits the League. At the end of book, Mina tells hybrids take the pair to their creator, Dr. Moreau, the Allan that while she loves him, she needs some time scientist for whom Mina and Allan were looking. He alone. gives them the secret weapon they need. (DFKRIWKH¿UVWWZRYROXPHVDOVRFRQWDLQVDWH[W Meanwhile, in London, a Martian weed has clogged VWRU\7KH¿UVWYROXPH¶V³$OODQDQGWKH6XQGHUHG9HLO´ the Thames, disabling The Nautilus, and the Tripods describes an earlier adventure and includes characters are destroying South London. Hyde returns to the created by Wells, Edgar Rice Burroughs, H. P. Love- /HDJXH¶VKHDGTXDUWHUVZKHUHKH¿QGVDQGNLOOV*ULI¿Q craft, and others. The second volume contains “The (whom he has always been able to see), more for what New Traveler’s Almanac,” which provides more infor- he did to Mina than for his betrayal. Mina and Allan mation about the world of the League; most impor- return to London with their package, give it to Bond, tantly, it offers veiled hints that Allan and Mina found a

 LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN, THE Critical Survey of Graphic Novels magic pool that restored Allan’s youth and granted im- • The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black mortality to both. Dossier (2008). Set in 1958, the volume shows The main story of Black Dossier takes place in Allan and Mina stealing a dossier that contains 1958, when the government of “Big Brother” has just historical information about the League. lost power. Still-young Mina and Allan steal the dos- • The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume sier, which contains information on them and other in- 3: Century, 1910 (2009). Features Moonchild carnations of the League. While running from and a cast of other characters. Mina meets with a government agents, they read the information and time traveler who speaks cryptically about eventually escape by being transported to the myste- WZHQW\¿UVWFHQWXU\HYHQWV rious Blazing World, home to earlier and later League members as well as all sorts of other characters. Characters Much of the dossier is text telling the League’s his- • Wilhelmina “Mina” Murray is a character from tory. It contains information about the life of the im- Dracula. Following the events of the novel and mortal, gender-changing Orlando, the formation of her subsequent divorce from Jonathan Harker, “Prospero’s Men,” and “The New Adventures of Fanny she was recruited to form and lead the League. Hill,” a sequel to Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure • is an adventure character cre-  PRUH FRPPRQO\ NQRZQ DV Fanny Hill), fea- ated by H. Rider Haggard in 1885. Though old, turing her adventures with the eighteenth-century he is recruited by the League. He later begins a League. The post-1898 adventures of Mina’s League, romantic relationship with Mina, and after having foreign and future Leagues, a 1930’s adventure as told his youth restored, he fakes his death and poses by Bertram Wooster, and a 1950’s adventure of Allan as his long lost “son,” Allan, Jr. and Mina written in the style of a Jack Kerouac story • Captain Nemo, a.k.a. Prince Dakkar, was intro- are also recounted. duced in Jules Verne’s Vingt mille lieues sous les The third volume, Century, includes the threat of mers  Twenty Thousand Leagues the mystical Moonchild, who may also be the Anti- Under the Sea $6LNKIURP,QGLDKHDLGV christ. Besides featuring Mina and Allan, other charac- WKH/HDJXHLQWKH¿UVWWZRYROXPHVEXWUHVLJQV ters include Orlando, Thomas , and A. J. after the Martian invasion. His death is shown in 5DIÀHVCentury also contains a text story, “Minions of Century. the Moon,” set during various eras of the League’s • Dr. Henry Jekyl, a.k.a. Mr. Edward Hyde, is from world. Robert Lewis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde  DQGLVIRXQGLQ Volumes Paris by Allan and Mina. Over the years, Hyde • The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume has greatly increased in strength and size, tow- 1  &ROOHFWVWKH¿UVWOLPLWHGVHULHVDVZHOO ering over the others; he is also very resistant to as the covers of the Bumper Editions. Features harm. He reluctantly joins the League and is later Mina and Allan’s introductions to the League and killed during the Martian invasion. their subsequent adventures in Victorian • +DZOH\ *ULI¿Q, a.k.a. the Invisible Man, is the England. WLWXODU FKDUDFWHU LQ:HOOV¶V  QRYHO WKRXJK • The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume 0RRUHJDYHKLPWKH¿UVWQDPH $IWHUIDNLQJKLV 2 (2003). Collects the second limited series as death, he hid in a girls’ school, where he was cap- well as The Game of Extraordinary Gentlemen tured by the League, into which he was later in- from America’s Best Comics Sixty-Four Page ducted. Only his physical body is invisible, and Giant. A germ-warfare weapon is launched at the he has to remove his clothes to be fully unseen; Tripods. Mina and Allan become romantically he occasionally wraps his head in bandages or involved. uses greasepaint to allow himself to be partly

428 Heroes & Superheroes LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN, THE

visible. After betraying Earth to the Martians and literary works. Besides researching books and minor attacking Mina, he is killed by Hyde. characters, O’Neill went to the actual locations where • Professor James Moriarty, a.k.a. M, is the arch- certain scenes occurred, sometimes adapting them for enemy of Sherlock Holmes. Believed dead, he is how they may have looked at the time of the story. One both the leader of a criminal empire and the head interesting design choice was that Allan Quatermain of Military Intelligence who forms the League. ZDVSDUWO\EDVHGRQVRPH¿OPUROHVSOD\HGE\6HDQ He is killed at the end of Volume 1. &RQQHU\ ZKR ZRXOG ODWHU WDNH WKH UROH LQ WKH ¿OP • Campion Bond is one of the few wholly original adaptation. characters in the series (though he is intended to The most artistic diversity in the series is found in EHWKHJUDQGIDWKHURI,DQ)OHPLQJ¶V¿FWLRQDOVS\ Black Dossier. Besides incorporating the style of the James Bond). He works for “M” (both versions) previous volumes, O’Neill provided different types of as the “handler” of the League. art in the various text stories, often attempting to match • The Devil Doctor is the unnamed leader of the the era in which they take place. “The Life of Orlando” Chinese criminal gangs in London and a rival of is done in a more “cartoony” style as it was supposed to Moriarty. While not explicitly stated, he is most have been told in “comic cuts” of a magazine; phony likely based on Sax Rohmer’s Dr. Fu Manchu. turn-of-the-century postcards are “reprinted,” and • The Martians are the version from The War of the there is even an eight-page pornographic comic in the Worlds and, as in the novel, travel around Earth style of the old Tijuana bibles. The most interesting art- in tripods and use heat beams as a weapon. How- work in Black Dossier is near the end of the book, ever, Volume 2 hints that they are not native to which is done in 3-D for the Blazing World scenes; on Mars and instead were using that planet as a base. a few pages, one image can be seen by looking through • Orlando is the gender-switching immortal from the red lens, and others can be seen in the same spot by several literary sources, most notably the 1928 looking through the green one. Virginia Woolf novel Orlando: A Biography. Or- Some interesting techniques were used for the let- lando was a member of several Leagues, in- tering. Not only are the styles of the word balloons dif- cluding Mina’s second one. ferent for various characters, but non-English dialogue, • $-5DIÀHV is the “gentleman thief ” from E. W. including Martian, is also left untranslated. While the Hornung’s stories. He was a member of Mina’s Martian lettering was contrived, there is a correspon- second League until his death in World War I. dence to what Moore had in the script in English. (All • Thomas Carnacki is the occult detective “Ghost real foreign languages were also written in English and Finder” created by William Hope Hodgson. He ODWHUWUDQVODWHGIRUWKH¿QLVKHGZRUN was a member of Mina’s second League for sev- eral decades. Themes • The Moonchild is a magically created being who One of the major themes, or ideas, of the League titles may be the Antichrist. is the concept of the “,” in which two or more characters from different, and sometimes totally unre- Artistic Style ODWHG ZRUNV RI ¿FWLRQ LQWHUDFW ,Q FRPLFV WKLV WHFK- Moore’s scripts for The League of Extraordinary Gen- nique dates at least to the 1940’s Justice Society, in tlemen were extremely detailed, giving O’Neill page- which characters from various comic titles teamed up, by-page and panel-by-panel descriptions, ranging from DQGEHJLQQLQJLQWKH¶VFKDUDFWHUVZKRDUHVXS- the number of panels to the position of individuals in a posed to be in different “universes,” such as particular panel. Moore occasionally let O’Neill draw and Spider-Man, have interacted. it differently and allowed him to choose some of the While many of the main characters in the League Easter eggs, objects found in the backgrounds of the DUH H[DPSOHV RI YDULRXV ¿FWLRQDO DUFKHW\SHV 0RRUH League’s headquarters and elsewhere that refer to other enjoys including lesser-known characters. For

429 LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN, THE Critical Survey of Graphic Novels example, a character from Victorian erotica runs the Allan (Sean Connery), Nemo (Naseeruddin Shah), JLUOV¶VFKRROLQZKLFK*ULI¿QLVKLGLQJDQGWKHVWXGHQWV and Jekyll/Hyde (Jason Flemyng) are close to their have ties to Pollyanna (1913), The Bostonians   comic book counterparts, Mina (Peta Wilson) has and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1903). vampiric powers, and the Invisible Man is Rodney The stories also have an element of satire about 6NLQQHU 7RQ\ &XUDQ  D WKLHI ZKR VWROH *ULI¿Q¶V WKHP WKH ¿UVW VWRULHV SDUWO\ VDWLUL]H ZKDW DXWKRU formula. Also added are Dorian Gray (Stuart Douglas Wolk referred to as “the terror of Victorian Townsend), who cannot be killed, and Tom Sawyer culture that were expressed ... in its cheapest literature: (Shane West), a young American secret service the dangerous allure of the British Empire’s exotic agent. M (Richard Roxburgh) sends them to deal fringes, uprisings by ‘Mohammadans’ and ‘Chinamen,’ with the mysterious Fantom, ultimately revealed to science gone amok, [and] sexual libertinism.” The be M (who, as in the comic, is also Moriarty). This short story “Allan and the Sundered Veil” was written loose adaptation garnered poor reviews and became in the style of a penny dreadful (a type of early pulp the subject of a lawsuit by writers who claimed that ¿FWLRQQRYHO DQGPDQ\WH[WSLHFHVLQBlack Dossier it plagiarized a script that they had submitted in the parody a particular author’s or period’s style. ¶V/LNHDOO¿OPDGDSWDWLRQVRIKLVZRUNLWZDV disavowed by Alan Moore. Impact The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen has had a Further Reading great impact on readers, both scholars and the general Edginton, Ian, et al. Victorian Undead (2009-2010). SXEOLF:KHQWKH¿UVWLVVXHVRULJLQDOO\FDPHRXWWKH\ Ellis, Warren, and John Cassaday. (1998-2009). were the impetus for discussions about the sources of Moore, Alan, and . Lost Girls the characters; some readers even questioned how (1991-1992). much literary knowledge was necessary to follow the series. Librarian Nevins began to annotate the var- Bibliography ious issues, occasionally with the help of other readers. Khoury, George. The Extraordinary Works of Alan This led Nevins to publish his annotations in several Moore. Raleigh, N.C.: TwoMorrows, 2003. books. Nevins, Jess. $ %OD]LQJ :RUOG 7KH 8QRI¿FLDO &RP- Moore has heard from readers of all ages in the panion to “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, United States who began reading the books referenced Volume 2.” Austin, Tex.: MonkeyBrain Books, 2004. in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, including ______. +HURHVDQG0RQVWHUV7KH8QRI¿FLDO&RP- some of the lesser-known titles. Moore has said that he panion to “The League of Extraordinary Gen- was “favorably surprised” that even the most obscure tlemen.” Austin, Tex.: MonkeyBrain Books, 2003. references got an enthusiastic response from the Amer- ______. ,PSRVVLEOH7HUULWRULHV$Q8QRI¿FLDO&RP- ican audiences and that it “warms his heart” that this panion to “The League of Extraordinary Gen- very “English” story is popular with American readers. tlemen: The Black Dossier.” Austin, Tex.: David S. Serchay MonkeyBrain Books, 2008.

Films See also: Planetary; Batman: The Killing Joke; Pro- The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Directed by methea; Watchmen Stephen Norrington. Angry Films, 2003. While

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