So here we are, at the end of a journey that started back in 2000, with Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill’s sublime first foray into a team-up of Victorian literature’s most intriguing characters. Since then we’ve worked our way through some highs and lows, though you could argue that what started as a fantastic and brilliant concept has simply come too far.
This final book sees immortals Mina Harker, Orlando and a descendent of Captain Nemo, taking on a plethora of James Bonds and an immortal ‘M’. Meanwhile, a set of British superheroes, called the Seven Stars, are embarked on world-saving missions of their own. Dotted throughout the book are homages to a barrage of British comics characters, some you’ll recognise, others less so.
Once again, and for the final time, this ends up tied up in itself. What might be crystal clear in Alan Moore’s genius intellect ends up obfuscated and overly complex on the page, taking his knowledge and research of characters long forgotten and spreading it so thinly that there’s little opportunity for character development and only just enough room left to tie up the series’ loose ends.
So, if you haven’t already embarked on The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and were wondering if it was worth it, we’d whole-heartedly recommend that you do. But that perhaps you leave it after the second collected edition. There are some peaks after that, such as the first volume of Century and the first Nemo book, but much of the rest of the series, in my opinion, is unnecessarily drawn out.