Alan Moore's Black Dossier
Review of the Third League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Graphic Novel
A review of the long-awaited League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill.
The Black Dossier is the third graphic novel (and the only one which was not previously released as a six volume comics series) in the critically acclaimed League of Extraordinary Gentlemen series written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Kevin O’Neill.
The Quest for the Dossier
Time has moved on since the days of the League that featured in the first two graphic novels and The Black Dossier sees the immortal (after a quick bath in the fire of youth from She) Mina Murray and Allan Quatermain in a post World War Two Britain that is struggling to adapt to the fall of the totalitarian government (reminiscent of that featured in Moore’s V for Vendetta) described in George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty Four (the original date for which was supposed to be 1948).
Murray and Quatermain are in London on the hunt for the eponymous Black Dossier, an archive of information about all of the various Leagues that have existed throughout history. As they begin to discover the history of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Murray and Quatermain find themselves pursued by brutal, womanising spy Jimmy (Bond?) acting under the instruction of Harry Lime, secret agent Emma Night and detective Bulldog Drummond. The chase leads them across England, into Scotland and, eventually, to the mythical Blazing World.
However, the plot involving Murray and Quatermain is really a tool used to tell a series of tales about the other Leagues. Among the collected adventures are a pornographic Tijuana Bible aimed at the citizens of Airstrip One (courtesy of George Orwell and Nineteen Eighty Four again), a biography of Virginia Woolf’s Orlando and an account of the aerial bombardment of London as instigated by Adenoid Hynkel (Charlie Chaplin’s character in The Great Dictator).
An Immense Undertaking
Prior to publication, Alan Moore described The Black Dossier as “not my best comic ever, not the best comic ever, but the best thing ever. Better than the Roman civilisation, penicillin ... and the human nervous system. Better than creation. Better than the Big Bang. It’s quite good.” He’s not totally off base.
The Black Dossier is certainly a triumph for both Moore and Kevin O’Neill but it is certainly not a perfect reading experience. Unravelling the intricate story structure to whittle out the truth is a joy and the meticulous artwork is truly to be savoured.
However, a thorough reading of The Black Dossier can be a rather complex experience, as the literary references that abounded in the first two League of Extraordinary Gentlemen are far more convoluted and obscure this time round and so do sometimes distract from the flow of the story.
The actual production of the book is clearly a masterwork. More work has gone into the writing and illustrating of the various sub comics and sub stories than is put into most other graphic novels. The tone of the writing, the style of the art and even the type of paper used varies according to each tale being told and each era being tackled. There’s even a chapter in 3D (with included 3D glasses) although the long rumoured accompanying spoken word LP by Alan Moore never materialised.
The Black Dossier is a visual feast of a graphic novel and it one to really take time over.
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier by Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill
ISBN 978-1401203061, Wildstorm, 2007, $29.99, pp208
