OK - hard to place in time -
took me a while to realize that part of the experience is closely examining all the pages for details.

After the embarrassment of riches of black dossier, with its myriad of styles and stories, comes a slim volume that begins a new 3 part story arc. As beautiful as ever, the style this time is a Sweeney Todd style musical, with much of the action relayed by two singing side characters. It shouldn't work given there's no music, but somehow it does. Not sure the entire 3 part could work in this style though; I suspect this will just be the introduction, ( )

Moore just can't seem to shake Jack the Ripper, who comes back from hell somewhat anachronistically in this League story, the first of a new series evidently intended to span the 20th century. Best appreciation of this number will be afforded by prior familiarity with the earlier volumes of Extraordinary Gentlemen, as well as some of the sources for Moore's baroque metafictional weave. In particular, Aleister Crowley's novel Moonchild provides critical background.

I found the singing narration from incidental characters--with an interminable Bertolt Brecht riff--a little tiresome, but O'Neill's art is in top form, and the whole piece should be enjoyable to anyone who has liked the earlier comics. (The dismal movie should not be considered an element of the ouvre.) As usual with the League, some of the tastiest material is in the non-comic-book appendix stories. Evidently, Moore can't keep himself from writing more tales than any artist can be expected to keep up with!

After the diffuse "Black Dossier", this is a terrific return to form. There were times when it was so good I gasped out loud.

The title of this first installment (of three) is "What Keeps Mankind Alive?", and if that doesn't excite you--if you don't get that he's taking on The Threepenny Opera--then you probably won't get this book at all. The way Moore's "Jenny Diver" is entangled with that of Brecht is by itself worth the price of admission.

The League, such as it is, now consists of three immortals: Mina Murray, Allan Quartermain, and Orlando; plus Thomas Carnacki, the Ghost Finder, and the Gentleman Burglar, A.J. Raffles.

I can't say more without spoiling things, alas, but I will mention that the "Earl of Gurney" who plays a significant (but unseen) role in the denouement is the protagonist of Peter Barnes's brilliant black comedy "The Ruling Class."

It's not an action comic, and it's not a Hollywood movie. The heroes aren't always central, and they sometimes fail. It's much more like a prose novel, where characters come and go and not everything gets spelled out. Moore's allusions here are less universal than in the first LoEG, but it's worth chasing down the footnotes. (The prose backmatter incorporates parodies of Clarke's "2001" and Reage's "Story of O", among other surprises.)

I need also to say that this is the best work I ever seen from Kevin O'Neill, which is saying something. ( )

http://www.piruett.se/2009/05/20/jaja... ( )

The League is back, newly formed (sort of... if you've read the last three books, particularly The Black Dossier, you know about this version of the League already) and it's ready to defend London. Expect to need to sit down with a wiki after you read this (at least I did) to get all the characters and references. If you're a LoEG fan already, that shouldn't be new! Nemo's daughter, Janni, really makes the story, with her departure from Lincoln Island and transformation working in the Cuttlefish Hotel. I had not expected to dislike Orlando so much, particularly after his/her feature in The Black Dossier made me so much more curious about this character.

The artwork, as always, is awesome. I felt like the story was somewhat lacking, though I felt the same way about The Black Dossier. The last book was a quick chase, with frequent and lengthy interruptions of the League's history. Moore seems to resist the urge in this volume, with a rather short entry at the end called "Minions of the Moon," which explores the League's future. I'm really curious to see more of this iteration of the League, but it sounds like I'll be disappointed, based on Moore's plans for the next two volumes. I suppose, in a way, I've always been more interested in the other members of the League and less so in Allan and Mina. ( )

Like its predecessors, 1910 is a dark, entertaining romp with characters from famous Victorian literature. Many of the references I got (Virginia Woolf’s ambisexual Orlando); I’m sure more sailed over my head (Mack the Knife and Pirate Jenny were two I looked up later).

Mina Murray, Allan Quatermain, Jr., and colleagues are in pursuit of an occult group up to no good. Meanwhile, a young Indian woman defies her father and strikes out on her own. Stories collide in a spectacular way, accompanied by a duet commentary from two other characters. It’s interesting, with many plots left dangling, which certainly makes me eager for the next installment of what is to be a trilogy. ( )

Extraordinary Gentlemen
A friend of brought this graphic novel to my attention. It's a new addition to "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Series, and is subtitled: "Century 1910" by one of my favorite authors Alan Moore.

In it the "League's personnel have evolved in the ensuing years since the last issue. The members of the league are once again facing a potentially world treating problem. It seems someone is trying to create a Moonchild in order to bring in a/the New Aeon!

Mentioned or involved in the story are Simon Iff, Oliver Haddo, Dr. Taverner, Prince Zaleski, Zanoni, with cameos of many others including Popeye, according to my interpretation.

To me this book was a lot of fun! The occult references are intriguing, as in where have I seen that name before? ( )

the League does a musical number: the hands of the clock move forward, Pirate Jenny's Black Freighter comes to call, the League obsolesces, immortality comes with some side effects, and the Story of Orlando takes a literary turn. ( )

I think I would enjoy this much more upon a second read--the easter eggs, inevitably, are getting more obscure, and there were all those mystics . . . and even when you recognize them, there's a lot less of a thrill in Haddo/Crowley or Broad Arrow Jack than fucking Hyde and Nemo and shit.

But the MacHeath stuff was fantastic, and the Orlando/Orlando/Tireisias connection was inspired, and I think it's really interesting how Quatermain is young and strong now but it's still become Mina's league. The fact that Moore has been abe to go through as much material as he has and keep this fresh is amazing, and next volume in the "Century" trilogy is going to be set in a post-Big Brother Swinging London (post- because of that story about 1984 actually being 1948), and that sounds rad. This was a good read. ( )

The first installment of a three-part extension of Allan and Mina's adventures through the 20th Century. A little confusing since the references and new characters (primarily from Brecht's "Threepenny Opera" and "The Moonchild" by Aleister Crowley) are a lot more obscure than in earlier stories. But it doesn't matter all that much, as it's a very good story that moves along well, and the art is as great as ever. ( )

An enjoyable romp through a familiar pastiche England filled with allusions to Victorian literature but set at the end of the brief Edwardian age. O'Neill's art is masterly but Moore's story is too obvious in places: a woman is happy working as a skivvy until she responds to being raped by becoming visiting her vengeance on the collective inhabitants of London's East End. Not all the allusions are immediately obvious, however; the songs are neat parodies. ( )