Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Graphic Novels #35

Nemo: Heart of Ice (League of Extraordinary Gentlemen special #1)

Written by: Alan Moore; Illustrated by: Kevin O'Neill

Published: 2013

My Thoughts: I usually avoid these types of specials and one-shots because they rarely capture the magic of the original. But The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is the kind of series that I think could have benefited from being more serial in nature, so I decided to give this one a go. The story follows Nemo's daughter, Janni Dakkar, as the new captain of the Nautilus. Feeling jaded and a little constrained by her father's legacy, Cap'n Nemo II decides to take on the one expedition that her father failed, a trek through Antarctica. Nemo and her crew are being followed by these evil inventors, and there's something about an African Queen I didn't quite understand. I don't know if these are threads of a story I haven't read or if it's as disconnected as it felt to me, but I didn't quite grasp the over-arching storyline. That being said, when I concentrated just on Nemo II and her journey with her crew, I really enjoyed it. It's like a comic version of the old Tarzan pulp novels and the art style reflects this very well. As is Moore's want, there's also a Lovecraftian supernatural aspect to the story which I especially enjoyed. It's very short, but very readable.


V for Vendetta

Written by: Alan Moore; Illustrated by: David Lloyd

Published; 1982

My Thoughts: I can't believe it's taken me this long to read V for Vendetta! I was a little lukewarm about the film, but I felt like the comic was a much more complete story. While it's a heftier comic than some of the ones I review on here, it really doesn't take much time to get through at all - it's immensely consumable. Dystopia is where Moore really shines, and the simple art with muted colouring really suits the story being told here. That being said, since it's an early book by Alan Moore some of the writing and ideas aren't as solid as is could be. Some threads are left hanging, others are wrapped up a little too neatly and it does get a little tell-over-show sometimes (I think Moore likes a good monologue). An absolute must-read for Moore, dystopia and political comic fans.

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