Product Description

When alien invaders find they no longer have use for Mars, they set their many eyes upon a new blue-green prize - Earth. Soon, giant cylinders are falling across the planet, from which emerges an invasion force of unstoppable tripodal nightmares.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #188917 in Books
• Published on: 2003-12-19
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 208 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume II finds cocreators Alan Moore (writer) and Kevin O'Neill (artist) back on familiar ground, revisiting the classic Victorian-era characters that they used to such effect in the bestselling and rightfully acclaimed first volume. It's a superhero tale, but--as expected from Moore--a rather unconventional one. This League is drawn from some of the classic characters from English literature: Alan Quatermain, Captain Nemo, Hawley Griffin (the Invisible Man), Mr Hyde and Miss Mina Murray (formerly Harker, the heroine of Dracula). And this tale is taken directly from HG Wells' classic War of the Worlds, as Martian invaders (complete with tripods and heat rays) begin to land in England, bent on conquest. They seem unstoppable as they rage across the countryside towards London, but they hadn't counted on the League, or the eccentric genius of Dr Alphonse Moreau.

As with the first League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, it's the meticulous sense of era and place that makes volume II a success. The minutia of Victorian England is set seamlessly alongside objects and ideas that never appeared outside of myth and legend, while references to other famous fictional characters and events are casually introduced, then quickly tossed aside. And, of course, it's a ripping yarn, in the classic Boys' Own style (right down to the cliff hanger-style, end of chapter narrations). However, unlike volume I, there are several scenes that aren't suitable for all readers (particularly "those of a delicate disposition"). It's almost as if Moore and O'Neill, anticipating the heightened interest that 2003's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen film would bring, have willingly set out to shock and even alienate newer readers. So there's a fairly explicit sex scene, some rather brutal violence and, perhaps most unnerving, it's almost inevitable that no reader will ever look at Rupert the Bear in the same way again. --Robert Burrow

From the Publisher
The Horror Writers of America have honored DC Comics with two nominations for the 2003 Bram Stoker Awards. Both THE SANDMAN: ENDLESS NIGHTS HC from VERTIGO and THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN Volume Two HC from America’s Best Comics have been nominated in the Illustrated Narrative category.

Customer Reviews

Not great literature, but a good story
In this fascinating book, author Alan Moore returns once more to his League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - a group of strange, yet capable men and women (well, woman, really) in Her Majesty, Queen Victoria's Secret Service. But now, the League faces its greatest threat - the War of the Worlds! Driven from Mars by John Carter and Lt. Gullivar, these foul creatures begin their conquest of Earth (as originally documented by H.G. Wells). The British government has a few tricks up its sleeves, but before this is all over mankind will face its gravest peril and treachery will split the League itself!

This is another fun and interesting book. I enjoyed seeing so many of my Victorian and Edwardian favorites exhumed and thrust into new adventures - John Carter of Mars, Major (later Colonel) Blimp, and Dr. Moreau. As for the story itself, I thought that it was OK. This is definitely not a story of heroes, but instead deconstructs the old heroes as raw materials for a postmodern story instead.

Let me clarify - the War of the Worlds itself was handled excellently, with lots of desperate action and adventure. However, the characters themselves don't seem to come together as nicely as in the first book. Unlike the first book, there are two sex scenes (well, three I suppose), but they are all rather disappointing. It's a dark story of war and death and treachery and surviving. Overall, I enjoyed it. Was it great literature? Heck no. But, it was a fun read and I do recommend it.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen vs. Invaders from Mars
Actually, my copy of "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume 2" collects the six issues put out by Mr. Alan Moore & Mr. Kevin O'Neill courtesy of America's Best Comics over the past year or so. Consequently it has nothing to do with the movie, which seems fair since the movie, just released on DVD, had relatively little to do with what now has to be referred to as Volume 1 of "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen." But then the movie merely copied the idea of the comics without capturing the magic.

The great conceit that Moore and O'Neill came up with was to create a late 19th-century version of a group of superheroes based on literary creations from that time period (in many ways the opposite of the legendary "Watchmen" series). Back again are the core group: Allan Quatermain from H. Rider Haggard's "She," Captain Nemo from Jules Verne's "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea," Mina Murray from Bram Stoker's "Dracula," Edward Hyde from Robert Louis Stevenson's "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Hawley Griffin from H.G. Wells's "The Invisible Man." The works of Wells become a major factor in Volume 2 as two more of his science fiction novels are worked into the tale. The first is "The War of the Worlds," as the League is called upon to save England from the Martian tripods. The second plays a decisive role in saving the day, but I think that deserves to be a surprise for the reader.

Things do not work as well the second time around, partly because the novelty of the idea has worn off and also because the members of the League are not particularly well suited to dealing with invaders from Mars. That might explain why the soap opera elements are a bit more prominent this time around as Miss Mina becomes romantically entangled with one of the gentlemen and Hyde kicks Jekyll out of the picture. Actually Hyde becomes the most interesting character in this story, although you will need a strong stomach to read about how he deals with the group's traitor. For that matter, you should be forewarned that this trade paperback might look like a collection of comic books, but these are not for little kids. This is not as intense as "From Hell," but Moore's readers have long known that he only provides stories that have mature content. Even when Moore is not blazing new territory or reinventing the wheel in some interesting way, he is still worth reading.

The stories are still presented as if they were being published late in the Victorian era, with ads and articles that add to the general sense of fun. I liked the final words of the penultimate issue which disparages any one who fails "to purchase our concluding number" as being "a sissy, coward, or girl." Yet Moore and O'Neil lampoon the Victorian sensibilities of their characters as much as anything, and despite some major setbacks at the end of the saga, we are told that there is now an intermission before the stories continues again. As always, it will be interesting to see what literary works serve as additional inspiration for the next endeavor, although after the less than inspiring movie I suspect Oscar Wilde might be out of the equation (or should we expect Lady Bracknell?).

The League of Extraordinary Gentlmen vs. Invaders from Mars
"The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume 2" collects the six issues put out by Mr. Alan Moore & Mr. Kevin O'Neill. The great conceit that Moore and O'Neill came up with was to create a late 19th-century version of a group of superheroes based on literary creations from that time period (in many ways the opposite of the legendary "Watchmen" series). Back again are the core group: Allan Quatermain from H. Rider Haggard's "She," Captain Nemo from Jules Verne's "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea," Mina Murray from Bram Stoker's "Dracula," Edward Hyde from Robert Louis Stevenson's "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Hawley Griffin from H.G. Wells's "The Invisible Man." The works of Wells become a major factor in Volume 2 as two more of his science fiction novels are worked into the tale. The first is "The War of the Worlds," as the League is called upon to save England from the Martian tripods. The second plays a decisive role in saving the day, but I think that deserves to be a surprise for the reader.

Things do not work as well the second time around, partly because the novelty of the idea has worn off and also because the members of the League are not particularly well suited to dealing with invaders from Mars. That might explain why the soap opera elements are a bit more prominent this time around as Miss Mina becomes romantically entangled with one of the gentlemen and Hyde kicks Jekyll out of the picture. Actually Hyde becomes the most interesting character in this story, although you will need a strong stomach to read about how he deals with the group's traitor. For that matter, you should be forewarned that this trade paperback might look like a collection of comic books, but these are not for little kids. This is not as intense as "From Hell," but Moore's readers have long known that he only provides stories that have mature content. Even when Moore is not blazing new territory or reinventing the wheel in some interesting way, he is still worth reading.

The stories are still presented as if they were being published late in the Victorian era, with ads and articles that add to the general sense of fun. I liked the final words of the penultimate issue which disparages any one who fails "to purchase our concluding number" as being "a sissy, coward, or girl." Yet Moore and O'Neil lampoon the Victorian sensibilities of their characters as much as anything, and despite some major setbacks at the end of the saga, we are told that there is now an intermission before the stories continues again. As always, it will be interesting to see what literary works serve as additional inspiration for the next endeavor, although after the less than inspiring movie I suspect Oscar Wilde might be out of the equation (or should we expect Lady Bracknell?).