12 November 2004
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume II, page 6
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume II, page 6. John Carter [Wikipedia] and Gulliver Jones meet in preparation for their battle against the Martians who will eventually invade Earth a la The War of the Worlds [Wikipedia].
Moore's League books are a(nother) pinnacle in comics both for their artwork and their effortless storytelling that hides a depth of research. In this scene, the moderately-known Edgar Rice Burroughs [Wikipedia] character, John Carter, meets with the nearly forgotten Edwin Lester Arnold character, Lt. Gulliver Jones, from his book Gulliver of Mars [Amazon]. This 1906 novel is also available online [Project Gutenberg]. This prelude on Mars was hinted at on the last page of Volume I as the over-dramatic narrator wondered at the mysterious and firey objects lighting the sky. It leads to Volume II's adventures as members of The League add critical assistance in defending the Earth.
There are several excessively grim and violent scenes--more than in Volume I. Expansive panels show the charred victims of the Martian heat-rays; Mr. Hyde's confrontation with The Invisible Man is one of the most harrowing scenes in recent memory; and the results of Dr. Moreau's experiments are odd and disconcerting.
With these, Moore adds humorous panels at the end of each chapter as if they were periodicals published in the 1890s:
Lord love us! Can our nation's doughtiest defenders quell the influx of these queerly-behaved foreign devils who show no sign of attempting to adapt to our time-honoured English way of life, with cricket on the green and ladies bicycling to Evensong? Buy our next issue, lads, and let it be your proof of loyal citizenship! God save the Home Secretary!
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