Here are a couple more collections that I have read and/or am currently reading. Tonight's selection is brought to us by the letters: Alan Moore.
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - Alan Moore - I liked the first collection better than the second, but I would have to read them again to remember why. These stories are told in a breathless serial fashion which suits them perfectly. The League is a super-crime-fighting group assembled by the British government. The defacto leader (and one with the most common sense) is Mina Murray (formerly Mina Harker - Jonathan Harker's wife from Dracula). The rest of the team includes Alan Quartermain (from the H. Rider Haggard stories), Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde, The Invisible Man, and the inimitable Captain Nemo, They are headquartered in the British Museum and have many thrilling adventures involving Fu Manchu, creatures from Mars, and the other everyday problems faced when one is part of an elite victorian comics crime-stopping squad.
Promethea - Alan Moore - Promethea is the embodiment of stories. That is to say, she is a mythical embodiment of the imagination, who takes temporary residence within mortal women (only one at a time, and it has to be the right woman). It sounds weird, and it IS weird. But the comics are good. I am not all the way through this series yet. So far there are 4 collected volumes out, and I have read 1-3. Anyway, it started in the late 90's and parts of it are a little dated, but not in ways that keep me from the story. The artwork is GORGEOUS. Currently (where I left off in book 3) , Promethea is following a path in the Immateria (the land of imagination) which leads the reader through little primers on egyptian magic, kabbala, tarot, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and other occult favorites.
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - Alan Moore - I liked the first collection better than the second, but I would have to read them again to remember why. These stories are told in a breathless serial fashion which suits them perfectly. The League is a super-crime-fighting group assembled by the British government. The defacto leader (and one with the most common sense) is Mina Murray (formerly Mina Harker - Jonathan Harker's wife from Dracula). The rest of the team includes Alan Quartermain (from the H. Rider Haggard stories), Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde, The Invisible Man, and the inimitable Captain Nemo, They are headquartered in the British Museum and have many thrilling adventures involving Fu Manchu, creatures from Mars, and the other everyday problems faced when one is part of an elite victorian comics crime-stopping squad.
Promethea - Alan Moore - Promethea is the embodiment of stories. That is to say, she is a mythical embodiment of the imagination, who takes temporary residence within mortal women (only one at a time, and it has to be the right woman). It sounds weird, and it IS weird. But the comics are good. I am not all the way through this series yet. So far there are 4 collected volumes out, and I have read 1-3. Anyway, it started in the late 90's and parts of it are a little dated, but not in ways that keep me from the story. The artwork is GORGEOUS. Currently (where I left off in book 3) , Promethea is following a path in the Immateria (the land of imagination) which leads the reader through little primers on egyptian magic, kabbala, tarot, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and other occult favorites.
Funny, I was just reading (well, skimming) an article about League of Extraordinary Gentleman in an essay this morning. Actually, it was mainly about the movie, but did touch a little on the comics too. The article was written by Suzy McKee Charnas. I don't know much about her other than that she's won some awards and that I read a short story of hers recently that was really good. I've been wanting to write something about themes of dominance/power in fiction ever since I've read it. I've got a collection of her short stories out from the library right now. This is why I was poking around on her website. You might like her. The story I read was based on Phantom of the Opera. I'll let you know more once I've read some of the others, but I think you might like her. She has a novel called "The Vampire Tapestries" that sounds kinda interesting too! SYL.
ReplyDeleteCool! I've never read anything by her (or heard of her until this very moment). From what I understand the movie version of LoEG veers quite a bit from the comic. You should check out volume 1 (and volume 2 if you like it). I think you'll like Mina and her red scarf. The library has it.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I will. Reading your post reminded me that I still have some of Carlton's comics, so I read something called Zero Girl and also Predludes and Nocturnes last night.
ReplyDeleteDoes Carlton still have your Series of Unfortunate Events? shakes fist Carlton-ward. How was Zero Girl? I've never even heard of it (which means nothing, since I only have weird little pockets of comic-knowledge). I can assure you that the Sandman books do nothing but get better and better from the first one.
ReplyDeleteYeah, Carlton still has it. Last time I asked about it, I was informed that he likes carrying books around and reading them a few times. My personal opinion on that is, borrow it, read it once, then buy your own freaking copy, if you like it so much you want to be buried with it. He is apparently of a different school. As for "Zero Girl", for all I know it could be really brilliant by comic book standards, but it wasn't for me. I liked "Preludes and Nocturnes" enough to give some of the later ones a chance. It's oddly pleasing to me, since I tend to like anything that is a little offbeat. I still think I'm more firmly in the "I like Neil Gaiman's novels better" camp, but the comics are a nice diversion. "Promethea" sounds interesting too. I'll have to add it to my hold list at the library.
ReplyDeleteIt might be time for Carlton to start experiencing his own Series Of Unfortunate Events, starting with kneecapping and a book grab. Let me know if you need help. He's small, but I suspect he is surprisngly strong when riled.
ReplyDelete