Volume 1 - 1st printing.

"1910!" Written by Alan Moore.
Art and Cover by Kevin O'Neill.

Alan Moore's familiar cast of Victorian literary characters enters the brave new world of the 20th century, set against a backdrop of London, 1910, twelve years after the failed Martian invasion. In the bowels of the British Museum, Carnacki the ghost-finder is plagued by visions of a shadowy occult order who are attempting to create something called a Moonchild, while on London's dockside the most notorious serial murderer of the previous century has returned to carry on his grisly trade. Working for Mycroft Holmes' British Intelligence alongside a rejuvenated Allan Quartermain, the reformed thief Anthony Raffles, and the eternal warrior Orlando, Miss Murray is drawn into a brutal opera acted out upon the waterfront by players that include the furiously angry Pirate Jenny and the charismatic butcher known as Mac the Knife. Each volume is a self-contained narrative that takes place in three distinct eras, building to an apocalyptic conclusion occurring in our own twenty-first century. The return of the League is not to be missed!

Softcover, 80 pages, full color. Cover price $7.95.

Most of Alan Moore's most famous works are a critique of the superhero genre: "V for Vendetta" critiques the British system and an anarchistic response to it, "The Watchmen" critique the American culture of superheroes as liberal visionaries or right-wing vigilantes in the context of the cold war. This continues this critique but by referencing the 19th century literature, both classic and pulp. Indeed, Moore seems to be pointing out that the line there was always thin. In the context of the British Empire, Moore shows that heroes are basically imperialists. Furthermore, in a similar vein to "the Watchmen," most of the characters are much more morally problematic than their literary counterparts. Having a background in 19th century British literature helps: Bram Stoker's "Dracula," Jules Verne's "20,000 Leagues Beneath the Sea," H. Rider Haggard's "King Solomon's Mines," Robert Louis Stevenson's "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" and H. G. Wells' "The Invisible Man" build the context of the main characters, and the personalities do seem rooted in the books. Knowing Ian Flemming's James Bond and Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes' characters help as well. The art is very driven by pulp art as well as Victoriana in general. That said, the empire may not be all it seems and so too the problems of the precursors to comic books. This volume is a fairly straight ahead story as far as Moore is concerned, although the literary references build very quickly. At a surface level, this is not a subtle comic, but it works much more deeply in dialogue with its source material and with culture of superheroes: a genre that Moore seems to work in only to undermine.

Alan Moore begins his Century series in 1910, and the League, while not what it once was, is still a powerful organization of the British Government. They investigate murders and a shadowy cult they believe is planning a global catastrophe.

The highlight of 1910 is the coming-of-age tale of Janni Dakkar. Seeing her evolution as a character was a thrill. In addition to her, Moore has written a ton of music into this novel through his side-characters that do a good job of illustrating the themes of the novel, though they can be a bit heavy-handed. And while the literary references have started to get more obscure, they're still fairly recognizable.

Like Watchmen and the other League novels, Moore ended this story with a companion piece called 'Minions of the Moon'. This piece provides plenty of interesting back story on the characters, along with it's own worthwhile League Adventure in it's own right. Unfortunately, Moore decided to write it at a Nathaniel Hawthorne level of overly-complicated-and-pretentious writing. Still I wouldn't recommend that you skip it.

On May 17, 2022, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that the reboot is back on track with the reboot streaming on Hulu with Justin Haythe writing and Don Murray who produce the 2003 film will return as a producer alongside Susan Montford and Erwin Stoff of 3 Arts Entertainment.

‘The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen’ Set For Reboot From 20th Century Studios & Hulu

20th Century Studios is developing a reboot of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen for Hulu, Deadline can confirm.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was a fantasy pic released by 20th Century Fox in 2003, based on the comic book series of the same name from writer Alan Moore and artist Kevin O’Neill. Set in an alternate Victorian Age world, it followed a group of famous contemporary fantasy, science fiction, and adventure characters—including Captain Nemo, Dorian Gray and Tom Sawyer—as they teamed up on a secret mission.

The League of Extraordinary Gentleman comics were first introduced in 1999. Stephen Norrington directed the original film adaptation, starring Sean Connery, which was reputed to be the reason he retired from acting—so miserable was his experience on set. James Dale Robinson wrote the script, with Naseeruddin Shah, Peta Wilson, Tony Curran, Stuart Townsend, Shane West, Jason Flemyng and Richard Roxburgh rounding out the cast.

While multiple attempts at a League reboot have been made in the past, with one conceived as a female-centric take, they’ve thus far been to no avail. BAFTA Award nominee Justin Haythe (Revolutionary Road) will adapt the script this time around. Susan Montford and 3 Arts Entertainment’s Erwin Stoff will produce alongside Don Murphy, who also produced the original.

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