Graphic Novel Review: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century 1969

by Alan Moore, Kevin O’Neill (Illustrator)
Publisher: Knockabout Comics
Format: Paperback
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Alternate History
Release Date: April 1st, 2011
Goodreads

Rating: 2/5 Stars

I feel like I am too far into this series to back out now, but seriously, what is this? I gave this a two star on Goodreads, which they suggest translates as ‘it was okay’, and if you want the TLDR version of this review, that’s it in a nutshell.

Okay, I’m a little intrigued to see where this goes next, but my God, why does it feel like the further this goes from the first volume, the more it loses what made it actually good? This 60s setting of this feels like an old man shaking his fist at hippies, and though there are some slightly good moments, most of it is a total and complete mess.

**SPOILER**

This is towards the end, but Mina gets totally f’d up on drugs, has a bad trip, finds her soul has been thrown into this strange abyss where she goes up against an old enemy. And while this is happening, in a field at a concert, a man gropes her breast. It’s unnecessary and pointless and basically an excuse for Mina to have her tits out, I guess?

**END SPOILER**

If you skipped the huge pages and pages and pages of text in previous volumes, the Century stories are likely to be confusing and feel even more all over the place. But here we now have a core group of immortal characters moving through time and trying to stop the apocalypse. I find it hard to even summarise the plot for this, as it’s a bit all over the place. Volumes 1 and 2 had clear plots and inspirations, but Century feels like it’s going for something else and it doesn’t quite work.

Mina and co take us to the most cliché version of 60s London you could imagine. Maybe there’s some commentary here but I missed it, buried as it is beneath sex, drugs, and rock and roll. There’s music. Which doesn’t convey totally well in a comic. Quartermain added absolutely nothing of value. Mina seems to have gone backwards? You wouldn’t think this was a woman who gained a fair bit of power for herself in the Victorian era, who could command in the way she has done previously. She’s constantly getting into messes that leave her vulnerable for no other reason than…some male fantasy, is my best assumption.

Everything just feels like an absolute mess here, and the art is trying to go for something to match the 60s aesthetic and again, it doesn’t quite work. It was okay. It was a mess. But honestly if you want to read The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen at all, stop before you get to Century. It’s not worth it.