Leauge of Extraordinary Gentlemen Vol. 3 Century #1

Writer: Alan Moore
Artist: Kevin O'Neill
Company: Top Shelf Productions

I know, I know...After Black Dossier, many people just thought Alan Moore had lost it and had quite literally gone off the deep end. And sure, Black Dossier did have it's problems, there's no denying that. It was experimental and audacious, two things that almost guarantee a product to not sit well with everyone. Still for me, the League books have become my favorite thing that Moore has done and this first issue of Century is no different.

The one thing that most people will be happy about with this one is that Century is a very linear affair. There's no time hopping adventures and the unifying threat feels similar in tone with those from the first two books. Still, there's a plethora of originality to the proceeding and many of the Moore-isms of character depth and attention to detail that are always present. The framing device of the book, a play on the Threepenny Opera by Bertolt Brecht and composer Kurt Weill, is very interesting and the twisted sense of humor in it is reminiscent of things like Sweeney Todd and Chicago. The singing is strange at first, as you'd expect it to be, but once you get the rhythm of it, it really really works with the catastrophic themes that are at play.

Really though, above all else, the League books have always been a character piece. And with this one Moore does that job to great affect by focusing on some new recruits to the team. He has always had a unique ability to make you care about whoever in a relatively short period of time, and that sort of magic doesn't falter with the usage of Carnacki the Ghost Finder and A.J. Raffles (a Holmes-like character but a thief) here. Their appearances are fairly stellar and lead to some great stand alone scenes that not only give you a good handle of who they are and what makes them tick, but are also humorous and endearing.

Kevin O'Neill, one of (if not THE) best artists of this century, captures the seedy underbelly of the human condition with such realism and depth. His pencils are stunning and captivating to the eye, in quite the same way as artist Guy Davis' stuff does. I've said that about other artist before, but there's an intangible difference with O'Neill's work that makes me put it into another category altogether. Whether he's depicting the details of a busy London street to the everyday action of swimming in the ocean, there's a sense of grandness and importance to it all that matches the intricate web of story that Moore has cultivated.

Simply put, the creativity and skill on display here is a thing of beauty on every possible level. The result of said conglomeration is a meaty, multi-layered affair that is perhaps one of the best reads that I've had in at least a few months. Fantastic stuff.