League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - The Tempest is the finale to this sprawling saga which ran for just under two decades and required two publishers. This saga also was a arguably fond farewell to the comic book medium for creators Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill. Plot threads which have been active aty least since the Black Dossier come into play and the final transformation for our heroine Mina Murray and the world itself unfolds before our very eyes.
The running conceit in this run of comics is that each individual issue will mimic the look and style of a different vintage British comic book. We start with Classics Illustrated and in this we meet the cast of Mina Murray, Orlando, and a rejuvenated Emma Knight. These three potent women seek to forestall a prophecy that the world will end. We also learn that an aged "Jimmy" Bond now runs MI5 and before the issue is over he will discover the location of the secret pool of Ayesha and will have a dunk making the the viral and deadly man of his youth, the man we met in Black Dossier. I apologize in advance because some spoilers are unavoidable to be coherent.
The second issue imitates TV Century 21, a comic dedicated to the four-color adventures of the characters from the Gerry Anderson puppet shows. The forgotten artist featured this time is Frank Bellamy. In the main story the rejuvenated head of MI5 seeks information about Mina Murray and her cohorts. He learns of the Blazing World in which Prospero rules and has been giving Mina and Orlando missions for many years. (Note that the Blazing World is almost always presented in 3-D.) While Mina and her allies meet up with the new Nemo (the great grandson of the original) MI5's sinister boss fires off a nuke into the Blazing World. The Seven Stars continue their battle and encounter many more superheroes of the age, some real and some merely concoctions of the government. They fight Toby the Fat Schoolboy, an enormous brat. The back cover feature is on Electrogirl.
The third issue seeks to imitate comics aimed at girls. (The exact title I don't know and I'd love some education on this.) The featured forgotten artist is Marie Duvall. From the safety of Lincoln Island Mina and her allies plot a counter-attack on MI5. In a photograph fumetti, Mina and the new Nemo seem to strike up a relationship. They venture to Blazing World where they find Prospero using his magic to fight back against the nuclear destruction. While this is happening Marsman and Satin Astro of the Seven Stars seek their old teammates. They do not realize that Mina was the invisible hero who fought alongside them. The Seven Stars feature head into space to find answers and instead find plenty of superheroes willing to fight them. By story's end they confront the "Mass". Flash Avenger is featured on the back cover.
The fifth issue imitates the humor comics like The Beano (I think). The featured mistreated artist is Ken Reid. This was the issue which I found the most difficult to decipher as in an homage to the style of the comic the storylines shift to a new approach every two pages. Some of those are comical, some esoteric. By the end though Mina begins to realize that Prospero's motivations might not be as good as she imagined. In fact, it's revealed that the Prospero wants to spread the world of fairy magic into the greater universe. The Seven Stars in their black and white story (it's always black and white) go to weird dimension and only Captain Universe's incredible facility with numbers is able to stave off destruction. Marsman is the back cover feature.
The fifth issue seeks to imitate a horror comic (I don't which one in particular.) and presents its main saga in a series of short stories. The featured forgotten artist is Denis McLoughlin. The forces of Mina and Nemo now realize that saving the world might not be possible and saving themselves and the people of Lincoln Island becomes important. To that end Nemo has developed the latest Nautilus, a spacecraft. The Seven Stars finally confront the Mass directly but have little success. Satin Astro is the back cover feature.
At long last we get to the last issue in this series and as it turns out the last comic book that Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill created. It mimics 2000AD. The forgotten artist is Ron Turner. After he's been mentioned over and over, we finally meet Sherlock Holmes in a one-page flashback. He congratulates Mina on having stopped Moriarty. While the folks of Lincoln Island continue to prepare for their space flight Jimmy, the head of MI5 infiltrates the spaceship, but he is dealt with summarily by Emma Knight. As they fly away from Earth they see the enemy forces overwhelm Earth, the Moon, Venus and eventually Mars. Sadly many of the missions Mina and Orlando had performed for Prospero helped set the stage for this destruction. As they fly away seeking safety in the Asteroid Belt, Captain Univers and Electrogirl get married. Mina and Nemo are a happy couple. And a few deadbeat talents named Al and Kev show for the wedding but are kicked out. (Similar to something that happened to Stan and Jack way back in Fantastic Four Annual #3). The Seven Stars break up after the Mass is at last defeated. We are treated to several epilogues but I won't spoil them. The book closes with a few pages featuring Al and Kev as they reflect on the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen experience. The mystical Zom gets the back cover.
I have only begun to touch on many of the complex features used in this series. Not unlike what Alan Moore did way back in the 90's for Image Comics with the 1963 series, every detail of these packages is directed by the creators for an overall impression. These are wonderful packets of nostalgia, though I confess not being British I don't get all the references. They are brought to life by Kevin O'Neill's lively and distinctive artwork, which is bracing at the same time as it indulges us in warm nostalgia. Was this a satisfactory ending? I guess folks will have different opinions, but I liked it, even if it did feel too much like work reading sometimes.
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Hi Rip! Cool review.
ReplyDeleteThe fifth issue of this series imitates the Alan Class range of comics from the '60s and '70s. These black and white anthology titles reprinted tons of old Marvel / DC / Charlton strips ( many from the 1950s ) and were often the first glimpses us Brits had of many iconic American comic characters. They always seemed to be on sale at seaside newsstands so I often picked some up when I was on family holidays in the 1970s. Here's a link to some more information:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Class_Comics
Thanks for the link. I know Alan Class comics because so many of my beloved Charlton Action Heroes were reprinted overseas. Now I know.
DeleteIssue 4 was supposed to imitate the old Odhams comics of the 1960s, with titles like Wham, Smash and Pow. However 90% of the humour strips seem more focused on the DC Thomson comics ( as you note) like the Beano etc Mini the Minx , Bash Street Kids all being parodied in some way. In general the strips in that issue are imitating all UK "traditional" weekly comics of the 1960s re their format and. Story type . All lovingly done to an old Scots/UK git like myself that loved old British comics. Perhaps a bit confusing to others though. Great blog post again.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the information. Part of the beauty of doing a blog and writing these things is what I learn from those who clarify my details and correct my mistakes. I could tell at a glance that Moore and O'Neill were calling back the comics of their youth perhaps with the warmth of nostalgia before they wrapped up their comic book careers.
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