Beard: Literary ‘League’ gets trippy new sequel
Written by Jim Beard | | news@toledofreepress.comYou might have thought it impossible for writer Alan Moore to cram any more literary and pop culture references into his infamous “League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” comic series; his newest volume, “Century: 1969,” will prove you wrong. Literally crawling with late 1960s nods, cameos, walk-ons and full-blown appearances, the comic “takes you down” on an acid trip of debauchery, devilment and deep, deep British slang.
“Who would have ever guessed that a comic which started off as a simple and novel idea would slowly blossom into a fascinating character study of the effects of time and history on an immortal mind, as well as a rip-snorting commentary of the previous century through the eyes of its pop culture?” asked Monarch Card and Comics’ Ed Katschke. “‘Century’ focuses on three different time periods — 1910, 1969 and 2009. The second chapter of this mammoth undertaking continues the story started in the first chapter, but from nearly 60 years later. Mina Murray, Alan Quartermain, and the always mysterious Orlando have entered the swinging ’60s and are hot on the tail of an evil magician who just may be working toward the birth of a new antichrist and the end of the world. Their adventure takes us through the — literally — high times of ’60s Britain, complete with all of the obvious and buried pop culture references which make this such a fun read, but beneath the surface we are seeing the gradual disintegration of the Victorian society which made imperialistic Britain one of the largest and most powerful nations in the world.
“Moore’s cultural observations don’t stop with background references, but also lie in the terrible toll that immortality has begun to take on Mina Murray, who is at once gripped by a desire to stay true to the woman she was, but terribly afraid of becoming irrelevant in the face of changing times. Her struggle to balance her mortal existence with her immortal one is fascinating and made more so by her desperate struggle to save the world while dealing with it.”
Katschke’s also quick to observe that “League” isn’t for all readers; the book’s a virtual lexicon of nudity, sex, gutter language and subversive ideas — but it wouldn’t be the brainchild of Alan Moore without that. The writer’s no-holds-barred approach to the medium delivers a product unlike anything else on the stands, and “Century: 1969” is absolutely no exception.
Tags: 1960s, Alan Moore, Alan Quartermain, Century: 1969, Comics, Comics Rack, Jim Beard, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Mina Murray, Monarch Cards and Comics, Orlando
