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League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The - The Black Dossier Hardcover – November 13, 2007

by Alan Moore (Author), Kevin O'Neill (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 362 ratings
In mid-1950s England, the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen have been disbanded and disavowed, and when the youthful Mina Murray and a rejuvenated Allan Quatermain return in search of some answers in a book buried deep in the vaults of their old headquarters, they must elude their dangerous pursuers who are recklessly determined to retrieve the lost manuscript and end the League for good.
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  1. Print length
    208 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    WildStorm
  4. Publication date
    November 13, 2007
  5. Dimensions
    7.05 x 0.65 x 10.5 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    140120306X
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1401203061
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The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. After several delays, the latest installment of Moore's pastiche of public domain literary figures is finally here and it's worth the wait. In 1958, two mysterious figures steal the Black Dossier, a compendium of information and articles relating to the league's most renowned incarnation, the group headed by the intrepid Mina Murray. The theft launches a tense chase as the thieves fight to stay one step ahead of thuggish government agents while reading the contents of the dossier, pieces that shed light on centuries-worth of secret and bizarre intrigues. Moore and O'Neill are in top form, crafting a virtually flawless fusion of prose and visuals that's an overwhelmingly dense and exhaustive nod to pre-existing works in media ranging from literature, legends, television and film, teasing the reader in the know with appearances by Orwellian totalitarianism, Lovecraftian abominations, Jeeves and Wooster, Bulldog Drummond, Ian Fleming's famed double-o operative, lusty Fanny Hill and a host of others, capped with a section requiring 3-D glasses (included). Too loaded with content to be fully absorbed in one reading, this is a challenging, adult volume that's a delight for fans of pop culture and lovers of heroic adventure. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Before it was a dismal Sean Connery movie, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was a celebrated comic book bringing together characters from disparate literary works to protect an alternate nineteenth-century Britain. The latest collection—the last with DC—centers on the mysterious Black Dossier, stolen by H. Rider Haggard’s series hero Allan Quatermain and the forever youthful Mina Murray of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. As these two read the dossier while pursued by government agents, the secrets and history of the League over the years unfold, and various “documents” interrupt the story line, including a pornographic “Tijuana bible” aimed at Orwell’s 1984, a 25-page biography of Virginia Woolf’s Orlando, and an early League-days section featuring Shakespeare’s Prospero. The file proper includes a segment written in Beat style by Sal Paradise of On the Road and a 3-D finale (glasses come with each copy). Exhausted casual readers may think this is all too clever for its own good, but League-oholics will love undergoing multiple readings and poring over every packed panel and reference to adventure, travel, and speculative fiction classics. --Carlos Orellana

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ WildStorm (November 13, 2007)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 208 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 140120306X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1401203061
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.1 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.05 x 0.65 x 10.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 362 ratings

About the author

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Alan Moore

Alan Moore

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Alan Moore is an English writer most famous for his influential work in comics, including the acclaimed graphic novels Watchmen, V for Vendetta and From Hell. He has also written a novel, Voice of the Fire, and performs "workings" (one-off performance art/spoken word pieces) with The Moon and Serpent Grand Egyptian Theatre of Marvels, some of which have been released on CD.

Bio and photo from Goodreads.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
362 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book entertaining and humorous. They praise the effort and creativity in combining elements from mythology, history, and literature. The artwork is described as imaginative and well-done. However, opinions differ on the narrative style, pacing, and value for money. Some find the fragments of stories interesting and written in different styles, while others feel the main plot is not very interesting.

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Entertainment valueEffortEncyclopedia contentArt qualityNarrative stylePacingValue for money
11 customers mention "Entertainment value"11 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book's entertainment value. They find the comic portion interesting and funny. The book includes postcards, comic strips, excerpts, mature content, parody, and satire.

"...Dossier means to me as a reader -- something participatory, novel and fun...." Read more

"...There are postcards, comic strips (like in the newspapers), excerpts from single spaced files with handwritten notes upon them, unreleased editions..." Read more

"...While mildly amusing, none of them really have a plot. And I have an overarching story that has a plot, but no climax and no ending."..." Read more

"...But for my money it's still a very compelling and entertaining piece of work. Ignore the detractors...." Read more

9 customers mention "Effort"9 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the effort put into the book. They find the drawings imaginative and well-done. Some say it's one of the best comic series ever made and an undeniable work of originality and fearlessness.

"...There's so much here. The book is absolutely freakin' genius...." Read more

"...and artist O'Neill to put forth so much effort into an undeniable work of originality and fearlessness, they earned my unending respect...." Read more

"...The movie did it justice, except that for Politically Correct Reasons they had to change the villain to a nondescript caucasian rather than the book..." Read more

"...it and re - read it, and I think it's good, really, and Moore put a great effort to make his world even richer of allusions, quotations and homages..." Read more

8 customers mention "Encyclopedia content"8 positive0 negative

Customers find the book's content engaging. They appreciate the literary and pop culture references, as well as the interweaving of elements from mythology, history, and literature. The strong interpretation of a fictional world based on fictional characters is mentioned. While some ideas are explored in depth, others are not fully developed.

"...I found their use of another universe especially interesting, since I did the same thing in Book Two of my own two part novel, Neitherworld..." Read more

"...This is an encyclopedia of popular fiction, and a history of our myths and legends...." Read more

"...of LOEG, Moore and O'Neill have come back with a strong interpretation of a ficitonal world based on fictional characters co-existing in the same era..." Read more

"...Moore makes so many references to famous literature both in the characters he uses and in the writing styles of the various Black Dossier segments..." Read more

5 customers mention "Art quality"5 positive0 negative

Customers like the artwork. They say it's great and cool, with Mina and Allan in 1950s outfits and hairstyles.

"...The art was good, there were snippets of brilliance in Moore's use of various historical and mythical figures and stories...." Read more

"...because despite the horrible literary mess that it is, the art is still worth looking at." Read more

"...awhile I just got off on the pleasure of seeing Mina and Allan in incredibly sexy and sophisticated 1950s outfits and hairdos...." Read more

"...Very iminagiative and complex story with great artwork as usual" Read more

42 customers mention "Narrative style"27 positive15 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the narrative style. Some find the fragments of stories interesting and well-written in different styles, describing them as novels and fun. Others feel the main plot is not very interesting, with an incomprehensible ending and undeveloped prose experiment.

"...There is a wide gamut of narratives in different forms which all seem to say the same thing: that there has been a group that has done extraordinary..." Read more

"...Dossier reminds me of a David Lynch film, at first pass it is visually awesome, yet I may not fully comprehend all of the story or details, but..." Read more

"Well, what can one say about a graphic novel that uses every possible kind of illustration, story-telling technique, and a truly interdimensional..." Read more

"...Alan is tying together not just a brilliant fictional architecture but also explaining how that fictional architecture has informed our own reality..." Read more

17 customers mention "Pacing"10 positive7 negative

Customers have mixed views on the pacing of the book. Some find it engaging with complex visuals and challenging text, like modern English literature that will stand the test of time. The 3D chapter is an extra bonus. However, others feel the book is incoherent, hard to follow, and frustrating.

"...Of course there's the 3D segment, which reminds one of Grant Morrison's comic book opus The Invisibles at points and is an interesting..." Read more

"...a part of the book is published in the old 3 D style which is barely readable with the enclosed 3 D Red Blue card board glasses...." Read more

"...world even richer of allusions, quotations and homages to the mid twentieth century literature, with a great framework taken from a "post - Orwellian..." Read more

"...This is way more than just a comic book. This is modern english literature that will stand the test of time...." Read more

15 customers mention "Value for money"7 positive8 negative

Customers have different views on the book's value for money. Some find it challenging but worthwhile, recommending it at a reasonable price. Others feel it's not as good as earlier volumes and a waste of money.

"...Two stars because despite the horrible literary mess that it is, the art is still worth looking at." Read more

"...characters you only encounter briefly, at which point the book really begins to payoff, even so much as to go back and cause me to start cross..." Read more

"After such a long wait: Disappointing. Undisciplined Moore, playing show-off and not all that effectively...." Read more

"...Most are worth the while, though it's hard not to wonder if Moore could have spent a little less time on them..." Read more

The Crazy Wide Forever
4 out of 5 stars
The Crazy Wide Forever
This is the third released The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen graphic novel by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill. Unlike the first two volumes, which were originally released as comic book mini-series, this is a self-contained graphic novel. The story takes place in the England of 1958, where the ageless Mina Murray and Allan Quatermain steal "The Black Dossier", which is a file containing documents relating to the various permutations of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. The contents of The Black Dossier are printed in this book, interrupted periodically by comics portraying what Mina and Allan are up to (or is it the other way around?). The contents of the Dossier are in various formats; including comics, book excerpts, plays and many others. This material is very well produced, but it is difficult at times, particularly when it references some obscure characters the reader may not be familiar with. This book is a remarkable achievement, but it is considerably less enjoyable than the previous League graphic novels.
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Matthew Kirshenblatt
    5.0 out of 5 stars Look at the title: The Black Dossier
    Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2007
    Verified Purchase
    Imagine you are a civilian, who has known nothing more than reality as you have seen it so far. Perhaps you have read some interesting stories, if any of these stories have survived or if you've been privy to them. Now, imagine someone hands you a book. It is hard-bound, but not heavy at all. There is a long cloth strip of a bookmark in it. It appears to be some kind of log, or journal.

    You open this black-covered book and find yourself sifting through a whole variety of ephemera -- from the 1600s all the way to the late 1940s or 50s. In it, you find accounts from various "unpersons," or "fictional characters" or beings and people with special abilities do simply do not exist. You know that this information, and everything in there is top secret and was meant to be only viewed by a select few. Even the writing on the margins of the articles is not meant for "prole" eyes.

    And yet this is being shared with you. Everything is being shared with you -- from journal accounts of sorcerers and paramours, to designs, to reports on strange eldritch activities all the way to a "lost" first folio of Shakespeare and even a Beatnik narrative. There is a wide gamut of narratives in different forms which all seem to say the same thing: that there has been a group that has done extraordinary things, and extraordinary things are therefore revealed about them.

    The narratives revealed are not simply "told," as opposed to "shown" -- that is an old fallacy that must always be questioned and never taken for granted with regards to creative writing. You as the reader are included in this world that Moore creates, let in on some very fabulous secret that temporal powers want to be kept. And what is this secret? Without spoiling the particulars for you, the secret is that these figures and fiction inspire us, are no less real than our personas and will live as long as the human imagination.

    This is what The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier means to me as a reader -- something participatory, novel and fun. All I will add to this statement is please, look at the title of the work, read it, and then come to your conclusion. You are looking at a "secret book" that really isn't and shouldn't be one.

    That is what a Black Dossier is to me.
    16 people found this helpful
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  • Edward M. Majcher
    5.0 out of 5 stars Like a David Lynch film with literary references ...
    Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2007
    Verified Purchase
    This is my first review on amazon and it is prompted by the shear enjoyment I am getting out of reading "The Black Dossier". My first pass at reading TBD being was like my experiences with League books, I would read the comic first and save the text at the end chronicling their adventures for later, but I soon realized that was a mistake because I became slightly lost. My second pass I found myself reading the text in line with the story line, but I was just skimming through, at which point I realized I was missing the finer details. TBD isn't like your traditional comic, it is something new, where the reader is pulled into the story, reading the dossier as the characters do so. When you finally realize this, you begin to go back and forth throughout the book referencing the text, the annotations in the text and matching them with some of the characters you only encounter briefly, at which point the book really begins to payoff, even so much as to go back and cause me to start cross referencing with volumes I & II. When you start to see the attention paid to pulling the reader in and exposing them to so many different literary and art styles you realize that Moore is entering a new realm of story telling that is neither a traditional comic or novel, and it is going to make my weekly comic book purchases all the more unfullfilling that I may just stop collecting all together.

    I have 2 complaints though (that don't affect my rating) ....

    1.) I never looked at LOEG as an alternate universe, but more of a chronicling of true events that transpired in the lives of fictional characters whose experiences were too fantastic for common man. Introducing rockets, cavorite, etc ... into the 50's dispells this illusion but serves the purpose of giving Moore and O'Neil a whole playground for future LOEG adventures.

    2.) I think the subtext that Britain became like Orwells "1984" post WWII is touched on too briefly, I think further explanation (whether in the form of inline text or comic) would have helped make the book a little easier to follow.

    The Black Dossier reminds me of a David Lynch film, at first pass it is visually awesome, yet I may not fully comprehend all of the story or details, but upong further examination and study there is a big payoff when you realize the artists vision.
    4 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Michauux
    5.0 out of 5 stars Nowhere to be found in EU bookstores except here...
    Reviewed in the Netherlands on May 25, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    Good book
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  • Cabrakan
    4.0 out of 5 stars La historia es buena pero ......
    Reviewed in Mexico on October 30, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    La historia es genial, de las mejores que he leido, sin embargo la edicion deja MUCHO que desear.

    El papel con el que esta impreso es de baja calidad, la portada y la contra a pesar de saber que eran de pasta delgada pense que estarian como de carton y parecen como una hoja mas. Considero que si quisieran que se mejore esta edicion comprenla en pasta dura
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  • Joe Mannes
    5.0 out of 5 stars Worth It!
    Reviewed in Canada on March 22, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Say what you want, this book is worth it. Especially if you have the rest of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen books, and love your Mythology.

    You just have to realize that this book is not, itself, a Graphic Novel like other Graphic Novels. This is, more accurately, a collection of different pieces of writing by Alan Moore, done in the style of the original characters', original authors style. Alan Moore writing as William Shakespeare, for the purposes of writing a Play in-universe for The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, as one example of many. There are Graphic Novel elements, certainly, but there are also chunks of other documents that are meant to submerge you in the canon universe that LXG was written in.
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  • creusa
    5.0 out of 5 stars Complesso e geniale
    Reviewed in Italy on August 18, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Si tratta di un libro assai particolare. Alla storia di Mina e Allan, ringiovaniti, si alternano le pagine del "Dossier Nero" che sono riusciti a recuperare e che riguarda l'intera storia della lega. Questo dossier non è però un fumetto, ma un insieme eterogeneo di racconti scritti imitando vari stili letterari, da Shakespeare ai romanzi Beat. Non è facile da leggere per chi non possieda un minimo di cultura letteraria inglese e in parte americana; ma in Internet si trovano pagine che forniscono le spiegazioni necessarie. Moore è geniale, oltre che molto colto, nell'inventare e nel mettere assieme tutto questo materiale per formare un mondo immaginario ma credibile.
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  • carlosg
    4.0 out of 5 stars Nunca saldrá en castellano
    Reviewed in Spain on September 25, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    Interesante libro-comic, que enlaza con Centuries también de Alan, el único inconveniente es que es necesario tener un nivel alto de inglés.
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