I did come in from the film, and the film is one of my guilty pleasures: it's awful but I love watching it. I've read "Watchmen" and "V for Vendetta" (and seen both adaptations) and heard a lot about Moore's reputation and love for his books, so I picked up volumes 1 and 2 from the library.

Right off the bat, I can say that the art here was a big turn-off. If I wasn't used to swallowing bad art for the sake of good writing/story, I probably would have just put this down. On the one hand, this is classic Moore - there are details everywhere and no background is wasted, which means there's always something neat to look for. On the other, stick Mina and Hulk/rotting zombie Hyde, to name a few, look silly.

One of the bright spots of this novel was Mina Murray. I loved the idea of her being in charge of the team and being the brains of the bunch. I liked the idea of her being there simply on her intellectual merit rather than for some superpower (like the film - although give me badass female vampires who can slaughter armies any day). I kind of wish she channeled more Samantha Carter (from "Stargate"), and had the human brawn to back up her brains (one knife in the back of a thug during a distraction does not make up for this), but the concept at least was neat, and she's clearly strong-willed enough to bluff her way around Hyde. Her internalized sexism was stupid. Accurate for the time (if you've read Victorian novels written by women), but stupid.

As for the rest of the team, Nemo was the only interesting one, although in volume 1, when he wasn't being smart, he was a sexist asshole. To look at the Jekyll and Hyde story and see them as two separate entities is lazy and boring. I don't know if this is where that trend started, but it's uninteresting. It doesn't help that Jekyll is green-skinned for no apparent reason and has little character development and brings up the "I know he's an asshole but I think he likes you" card for Mina. And the fact that Hyde is, well... Hyde (a possibly rapist, torturer and murderer who likes threatening people) makes him unlikeable from the get-go. The rest of volumes 1 and 2 seem to try and make him likeable despite that, which is creepy, at best.

The Invisible Serial Rapist held none of my interest and seemed to creep back into the novel every time you tried to forget his presence. I suppose the point is to get across just how dangerous a completely invisible man might be and how clearly lacking in morals such a person could become (as partly occurs in the original novel), but still. What is it with Moore and writing about women being raped? Mina faces two attempted rapes and then there's Griffin's appalling introduction.

Quartermain was boring and completely lost what little interest I had left for him when I realized they were actually going with the "man and woman hate each other but are secretly crushing hard on each other" trope. I felt no chemistry whatsoever between them, and it didn't help that every time they were apart, Quartermain's sexism ran rampant, along with Nemo, about women in general in regards to Mina's character. Although I guess this (and Vol 2) explains why someone felt the need to have Quartermain in the film say to Mina when they get in the car together "I've buried...wives and many lovers and am in no mood for more" just out of the blue, when she has given no intention in that direction.

And I haven't even gotten to the various racist caricatures. The plot was uninteresting. The overarching sexism was frustrating. If you romanticize the Victorian Age, this might be something you should check out so you can let go of those delusions. Otherwise, go watch the film. Except for the fact that Mina's been pushed into a relatively minor role and still serves an object of romantic interest and lust for most of the cast, rather than framing the story from her perspective, it's shockingly better than the source material. ( )

England, London, 1898
Indeholder "Imperiets drømme", "Ånder og mirakler", "Østens mysterier", "Tilintetgørelsens guder", "'En skjult styrende magt...'", "Den yderste nat".

Mina Murray (Wilhelmina Harper) sendes af Bond (der handler på vegne af M) til Indien for at fiske storvildtjægeren Allan Quatermain ud af en opiumshule, hvor han er tæt ved at være sygnet helt hen. Hun får hjælp fra kaptajn Nemo, der i sin ubåd Nautilus, både bringer og henter hende. Fra Paris får Kaptajn Nemo breve fra Monsieur Dupin om Rue Morgue og et uhyre, der hærger der. Det er ikke Henry, det er Edward. Dvs Hyde og ikke Jekyll. Quatermain får bedøvet ham efter at have brugt Mina som lokkedue. Hun jagter også en Hawley Griffin, også kendt som den usynlige mand. Og fanger ham på frk Cootes kostskole. Bond ser ud til at samle på freaks. Han har også professor Selwyn Cavor, opfinderen af Cavorit med. Desværre er hans cavorit blevet stjålet. En tysk luftpirat kaptajn Mors var mistænkt, men faktisk er det en orientalsk krigsherre (Fu Manchu), der kun kendes som "Doktor". Selskabet bliver enige om at finde "Doktor" og uskadeliggøre ham. Griffin og Mina tager hen til en tehandel i China Town i London, det bærer indehaverens navn: Quong Lee. De får kun lidt at vide. Dr. Jekyll og Quatermain leder efter en opiumshule og taler om at Mina var ude for noget gruopvækkende sidste år og lod sig skille fra sin mand. Inde i opiumshulen ser de deres kontaktperson, Ho Ling, blive mishandlet grusomt på ordre af en Shen Yan. Han bliver malet med kinesiske skrifttegn og malingen er kaustisk. Quatermain er rystet. Ikke over torturen, men over den mand, der udførte den. Tilbage til Mina, som gætter på at den stjålne cavorit skal bruges i luftfartøjer, som meget vel kunne gemme sig i en tunnel, der aldrig blev bygget færdig. De indlogerer sig på det fattighus, der er bygget over tunnelen og om natten finder de en kæmpekrigsmaskine i dybet.
Imens tænker Nemo over tingene og hans styrmand Ishmael og Broad Arrow Jack er enige om at Bond behandler alle som brikker. I dybet finder Quatermain og Mina lederen af komplottet, men en vagt finder også dem. Heldigvis kan Griffin jo ikke ses, så han skærer halsen over på vagten. Quatermain og Mina sender Griffin op for at lave en afledningsmanøvre og han får dr Jekyll med ned i opiumshulen, hvor han bliver til Hyde og går amok. Sjovt nok kan Mr Hyde godt se den usynlige mand. Hyde baner vejen og Quatermain har taget en elefantbøsse med, så han kan skyde hul i glasloftet i tunnelen og da de har fundet den stjålne cavorit kan den give opdrift. De kommer op og bliver taget op af kaptajn Nemo. Rotherhithe-tunnelen bliver oversvømmet og mange af kineserne, måske også Doktor, dør. Bond får cavoritten og tager den med til "M". Alias James Moriarty. Moriarty iværksætter et luftbombardement af kineserens bydel i London, men modarbejdes kraftigt af vore fem helte. De vinder, Moriarty dør, og den nye "M" bliver Mycroft Holmes. Han beholder både de fem og Bond på lønningslisten til dobbelt løn, så alle er glade. Og hvilke skyer skulle der dog være på horisonten. Kun nogle underlige eksplosioner på Mars, måske?

Sygt velskrevet tour-de-force i alskens litteratur, både mainstream og populær. Et lille QA hæfte lister nogle af de mere mærkelige figurer, hentet fra Melville, Dickens og andre, der optræder i historien som bifigurer. ( )

I would have rated this higher if Moore didn't rely on rape (and the subsequent male savior) multiple times to move the plot forward and if the story wasn't chock-full of racist and sexist sentiments. If Moore's "edgy" reputation is based on stories that all have these elements, then he doesn't deserve such positive attention and should be ashamed of himself. I'm shocked that he thought spattering racist and sexist tropes, along with the visual depiction of such, simply for the sake of doing so would produce quality writing. ( )

An interesting read, the first two chapters as introductory are the weakest for me, the last two shows the true potential of the concept. I particularly enjoyed the little cameos such as the Artful Doger and his thoughts about civil air defense. I was also intrigued by the prior incarnations of the league that were hinted at, especially Bumpo and the Reverend Dr Syn. ( )

This book takes the whole 'what if literary characters were real people' and runs with it to great effect. Loved the story, truly enjoyed how the characters functioned. The chemistry between them is uneasy, yet perfect.

Can't wait to read volume two. ( )