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How to read the “League of Extraordinary Gentlemen”?

  • Agnieszka Bot

    • The comic book saga of Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill is full of not only pop culture references, but also various time leaps, flashbacks and digressions in which you can get lost. The four volumes of the main series, the album Black Files and the side series Nemo may confuse the reader. Especially that some parts have been released several times. So how do you read the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen ?

    The short answer to this question is “best again” – and not only because Moore’s and O’Neill’s comics are so full of intertextual flavors that you can discover something new with each new read. The chronology of the events presented in the work of the British also differs from the order in which the parts were published, which means that they can be read based on the date of publication or the time of the action.

    This is what the readers who try to understand the order of reading “The League …” look like – a fragment of the comic book “League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.” Storm”

    Order of issuing volumes

    If we decide to read according to the publication time of the original albums, the order is as follows:

    1. League of Extraordinary Gentlemen , volume 1 (Polish edition II includes additional materials, including the story Alan and the torn curtain )
    2. League of Extraordinary Gentlemen , volume 2 (Polish edition II contains additional materials, including New Travel Almanac )
    3. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen . Black files
    4. League of Extraordinary Gentlemen . S tulecie (originally released in three albums with subtitles 1910 , 1969 and 2009 )
    5. Nemo. Heart of ice
    6. Nemo. Berlin roses
    7. Nemo. The river of ghosts
    8. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen . Storm

    Reading like this is fine, but not the best it can be. I will explain why I think so later in the text.

    The order of events

    The second volume is a direct continuation of the first, but then the chronology of events becomes more complicated. There are more and more side stories in the following albums – both in comic book form, and literary, even dramatic. The apogee is Black Files , to which I have devoted a separate text .

    And this is what readers who have this text at hand look like – a fragment of the cover of the comic book “League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Black files “

    Simply put, the chronology of the events of the League … and Nemo … is as follows:

    1. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. 20th century – Subjects of the Moon. Chapter One – 1236 BC
    2. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Black Files – Victorious Magic Maneuvers – 1620
    3. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Black Files – The New Adventures of Fanny Hill – 1750-1802
    4. League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Vol 1 – Allan and the Torn Veil – 1889
    5. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Centenary – Subjects of the Moon. Chapter two – 1896
    6. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Black Files – Shadows Among Couples – 1897
    7. League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol 1 – 1898
    8. League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, vol.2 – 1898
    9. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Century: – Subjects of the Moon. Chapter three – 1901
    10. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Centenary – 1910 – 1910
    11. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Centenary – Subjects of the Moon. Chapter one – 1910
    12. Nemo. Heart of Ice – 1925
    13. League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume 2 – New Travel Almanac – 1625-1930
    14. Nemo. Heart of Ice – Steam Bomb… and a real bomb! – 1938
    15. Nemo. Berlin roses – 1941
    16. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Black Files – Life of Orlando – 1260 BC-1943 AD
    17. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Black Files (Main Story) – 1958
    18. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Centenary – Subjects of the Moon. Chapter one – 1964
    19. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Centenary – Subjects of the Moon. Chapter two – 1964
    20. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Centenary – Subjects of the Moon. Chapter three – 1964
    21. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Storm – Seven Stars – 1964
    22. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Storm – Epilogue I – 1964
    23. Nemo. Berlin Roses – Johnson Report – 1965
    24. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Storm – Epilogue II – 1968
    25. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Centenary – 1969 – 1969
    26. Nemo. Ghost River – 1975
    27. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Centenary – 2009 – 2009
    28. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Storm – Prologue I – 2009
    29. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Storm – Prologue III – 2009
    30. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Storm (Main Story) – 2010
    31. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. The Tempest – Epilogue III – 2164
    32. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Storm – Prologue II – 2996

    Reading individual fragments according to the action time is an interesting idea for advanced fans. However, it requires constant jumping between different parts of individual volumes, and also disturbs the drama of the action, in which retro- and futurospection, as well as time travel, play an important role.

    Recommended reading order

    So how do you finally read this League … ? As I wrote – many times. It’s best not to get crushed the first time and read the albums in an order that is a compromise between the order in which individual parts are published and the chronology of events in the world presented. My proposal looks like this:

    1. League of Extraordinary Gentlemen , vol. 1 (2nd edition)
    2. League of Extraordinary Gentlemen , vol. 2 (2nd edition)
    3. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen . Centenary  – 1910
    4. Nemo. Heart of ice
    5. Nemo. Berlin roses
    6. Nemo. The river of ghosts
    7. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen . Black files
    8. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen . Centenary  –  Subjects of the Moon , 1969 , 2009
    9. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen . Storm

    Contrary to volumes 1 and 2, the second edition of “The Century” does not differ significantly in content. It was only enriched with a gallery of illustrations.

    Footnotes

    Regardless of which reading order we  choose, it is worth returning to the world of the League to take a closer look at it. The footnotes he has collected on Jess Nevins’ website devoted to it may be helpful in this . Despite its ascetic appearance and coarse construction, it is a real treasure trove of curiosities hidden in the pages of Moore’s and O’Neill’s comics. So far, the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, volume 1 , volume 2 , 20th century , Black Files , all volumes of Nemo and the first issue of The Tempest, have been annotated . I wholeheartedly recommend reading them with albums at hand (or reading albums with footnotes at hand).

    I hope this short guide has helped you solve your League comic book puzzle. Happy reading!

     

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