This graphic novel is a sequel to the first League of Extraordinary Gentleman book, and also, quite cleverly, takes place during the novel The War of the Worlds, telling us what all of the characters (who are all taken from other novels) did during the invasion of Earth.
I think the alien invasion storyline is a big step-up from the first one; it gives the whole thing a much bigger feeling of suspense and really raises the stakes too. Without wanting to spoil anything, I will tell you that the team will have some significant personal losses during the course of the story. What I did find, though, was that this second volume was much more sexually explicit than the last and, since this is a graphic novel, there are some very graphic images that go along with these scenes, so, I thought I had better put a warning!
On the subject of images, this volume, just like the first, is illustrated by Kevin O’Neill, and a very good job he does too! Again, there is a wonderful feeling to the nineteenth century England which is created through the pictures, and they’re able to set the tone of the piece quite well. I was also especially fond of the way the tripods were depicted: large and menacing, but cool and steampunk-y at the same time! Also, there are small easter eggs (most commonly references to classic novels) hidden in the background of scenes and whatnot, which are fun to spot.
I think this is a nice step up from the first one in terms of quality, and anybody who enjoyed that, should definitely read this one too! I’ll also add, that while this is a sequel, it works perfectly well as a standalone too, you don’t really need to have read the first one to be able to enjoy this, and, in fact, I hadn’t read the first when I first read this! It’s just a wonderful crossover of literary characters in the nineteenth century.
Rating: 9/10
