Thursday, December 1, 2011

Darkness Visible

Got hold of a copy of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier the other day. Since I had no idea the volume had been published the acquisition came as a pleasant surprise. It's obviously handsomely produced promising hours of not so innocent fun.

But I must say I'm taken aback at just how many layers of narrative Alan Moore plays around with. Fortunately I like this kind of thing, so it's more than okay with me. But a glance at some reviews on amazon suggests I'm in a minority. Which fills me with a kind of delight - that Messers Moore & O'Neill get away with this.

I can't imagine the Hollywood execs will consider a movie of this one, so we are guaranteed safety in that direction.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

I would never have thought of you as the type of person to peruse graphic novels sir. Then again, I was more than a little surprised (and very much impressed) when I heard of your taste in music as well.

Trebuchet said...

Ooh, naughty Encik Connor. But have you read the latest ones, Books 1 and 2 of LoEG Part III: Century? I've obtained these; they're titled Century:1910 (working title: 'What Keeps Mankind Alive') and Century:1969 (working title: 'Paint It Black').

You can imagine my response to the latter: I had to read it several times just to extract all the references to what I fondly think of as 'my era', and which my parents contend was really theirs, as I was only a wee lad then.

Brian Connor said...

In truth Joel I only discovered the riches available in graphic novels/comics about ten years ago when someone leant me the first volume of The Sandman series. I think before that I'd sort of looked down on the genre, though I don't think I'm a particularly snobbish person. However, I have learnt that it's useful to never look down on any form of creative activity (or, at least, try not to.)

Fortunately I've always been pretty open in my musical tastes so I've generally avoided underestimating anything in that line. As a teenager I discovered that anything that was loud and upset my parents was probably interesting and worth listening to, and I pass that on as useful advice for the discerning audient.

Brian Connor said...

As is usually the case you're way ahead of me on the various publications relating to the League, Trebucet. I did get hold of the Century 1910 comic on a visit to the UK some time back, but I struggled with that one. I've found Black Dossier more accessible though, so I'm going to give the 1910 issue another go when we get back to KL (where it now resides on the shelves.)

The Paint It Black issue sounds very exciting for someone of my generation (being a bit more than just a wee lad at the time, I suppose.)

It is all rather naughty, isn't it? - but in an oddly innocent sort of way. There's something gleefully, rather wonderfully, adolescent about Moore's work, despite its apparent sophistication. He makes it all such fun.