In a nutshell: A Victorian Steampunk yarn which celebrates well known characters and places the ensemble in an adventure together. The story itself reads like an old-fashioned adventure, the end of each section (punctuating the end of the each individual comic which make up the volume) containing a write-up pastiche of what's coming next with great lines such as: "further scenes to divert and astonish, including episodes of a bawdy nature that our lady readers, being of a more delicate sensibility, may wish to avoid.". The technology is retro-futuristic and is designed with the spirit of the age rather than shoe-horning modern artifacts into Victorian times. The costumes are sumptuous and the backgrounds capture the foggy London streets and the brass levers of the vast Nautilus. The wonderful Steampunk elements shift modern technology into the Victorian age, it's subtly done though (unlike the film loosely based on this!) and Kevin O'Neill's artwork is incredibly detailed.
There's something gloriously romantic about the age the fashion, the passion for technology and the spirit of adventure. He doesn't rely on what has come before though, he squeezes them into reality, what makes them so special is countered by the flaws of men and it all takes place in a time familiar but changed so that you accept anything. The genius of the Moore is to pull together characters who don't really require any great level of backstory because they already exist within the era in separate works of fiction, this creates an alternate history where the great Explorer Quartermaine exists in the same world as Dracula and Captain Nemo, where Sherlock Holmes makes headlines and the monster Master Hyde terrorises the streets of London. There's a reluctance from those approached to assist the British government, some feel disenfranchised, some don't quite see what's in it for them, and there's a general sense that they are simply a little too old now for such an adventure.
#Cavorite marvel series
The book starts with Wilhelmina Harker gathering the men who will form The League, and the gritty tone is assisted by a backdrop of murder and the fact that the invisible man also happens to be responsible for a series of `immaculate conceptions' at a monastery school.
Assembled to retrieve the miracle substance Cavorite and help protect the Empire against the dastardly plans of Fu Manchu - all is not quite as it seems and an even greater threat is revealed.Īlan Moore is well known for creating anti-heroes rather than squeaky clean super boyscouts and instead of a bunch of moralistic upstanding gents we get set of determined individuals who have been driven to success often through ruthlessness. The Justice League of America or Marvel's Avengers may seem like a cool bunch - but they're nothing compared to this band of notable Victorians, this group of old-school legends, this League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
0 kommentar(er)
