help us Jess Nevins, you're our only hope
I don't think it's any kind of secret what a ridiculous level of fangirl glee I have for the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. So, I have a confession. It's going to be shocking. I actually haven't read the Black Dossier. You know, the League book that came out, oh, last year? I bought it almost as soon as it was released. And it has sat on my desk for all that time, unopened and unread. I don't know exactly why. Maybe I was scared off by the blonde Mina on the cover. I do have a lot of books that I buy, really wanting to read, and they end up just sitting on my shelf for months or years. At any rate, now that there's a NEW new League book out, which I purchased last night, I figured I'd better get around to reading Black Dossier already. So tonight I sat down and read it.
Actually, I only read maybe 50% of it. The comics part. Aheheh, yes I skipped the text for now. I'm sure there was a lot of interesting stuff in there, but it's not easy taking on that wall of text at first go. I did like the part where everybody agreed that the 1898 League was the best one, so they tried to create a cheap knock-off version which failed miserably. XD And I liked the diagrams of the Nautilus -- apparently it can do that saucer separation trick just like the Enterprise D! And just like the Enterprise D, Nemo probably never even used it. :P
Wow, Mina and Quatermain became a pair of insufferable douchebags! Actually, they were unnervingly cute. It's nice to see that after a jillion years they seem to have worked out all their issues and are all cozy together. But by the time they got back to their "LOL YAY psychedelic happy land of kaleidoscope time-space orgies!!!1" I kind of wanted to punch them both in the face. I guess I just like Mina best when she's a bitter, tightly-wound mega-bitch and Quatermain when he's a whiny junkie loser. And Mina, for the love of God please dye your hair back the way it was. (But youngified Quatermain is actually pretty hot. I feel bad for thinking so.)
I also kinda really wanted James Bond to die. But he didn't, and he gets to nail Emma Peel (? I think? I don't really know). Well I guess it's to be expected; he is James Bond.
All in all, it was fun enough, and the whole 1984 angle was interesting, but there seemed to be too much "let's batter the readers with obscure references until they feel dizzy and stupid" and not enough exciting plot stuff. Earlier volumes did a better job of balancing those two, I thought. I'll have to do another read-through for all the text parts.
Oh, and while I'm posting, I might as well post the answers to that meme from a couple of weeks ago.
The Better Than It Sounds Meme
1. Write up misleading summaries for 10 properties.
2. Post them to your blog.
3. Have people guess.
4. Cross out those that are correctly guessed.
1. Girl falls in love with a drug addict who grabs her on the bus. Oniisama E..., guessed by tl__dr
2. In the future, everybody shops at Hot Topic and nobody has health insurance. Repo! The Genetic Opera, guessed by festive_gray
3. God creates universe without realizing it, becomes bored and depressed. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, guessed by serenity_winner
4. Boy has 168 hours to kill seven angels and become God. Keys to the Kingdom by Garth Nix, guessed by festive_gray
5. Guy spends seven years committing suicide in the most meticulous and obscure manner possible. -- Sandman. I'm kind of disappointed that nobody got this. XD
6. Guy spends twenty years cooking elaborate seafood dish, invites friends over for party. Watchmen, guessed by tl__dr
7. Guy stalked relentlessly by local crazy woman ends up shooting her cousin and having a nervous breakdown. It's a love story. -- Passion, the Stephen Sondheim musical. Actually, that description is not misleading at all, it's quite accurate. <3
8. Beautiful blonde purple-eyed teenage girl copes with her sad past by going on a quest with her cute little pet dragons. -- An extremely misleading description of A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin (which I've only read up to the 3rd book). Man, much as Daenerys is my favorite character, she really does sound like a Mary Sue when you think about it. XD
9. Young girl discovers that accepting jewelry from a creepy old man has unforseen repercussions. Princess Tutu, guessed by psychoe
10. Girl offered chance to save world decides "Screw that," goes to live in jungle with guy who wears worm skins. Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind (manga), guessed by festive_gray
Actually, I only read maybe 50% of it. The comics part. Aheheh, yes I skipped the text for now. I'm sure there was a lot of interesting stuff in there, but it's not easy taking on that wall of text at first go. I did like the part where everybody agreed that the 1898 League was the best one, so they tried to create a cheap knock-off version which failed miserably. XD And I liked the diagrams of the Nautilus -- apparently it can do that saucer separation trick just like the Enterprise D! And just like the Enterprise D, Nemo probably never even used it. :P
Wow, Mina and Quatermain became a pair of insufferable douchebags! Actually, they were unnervingly cute. It's nice to see that after a jillion years they seem to have worked out all their issues and are all cozy together. But by the time they got back to their "LOL YAY psychedelic happy land of kaleidoscope time-space orgies!!!1" I kind of wanted to punch them both in the face. I guess I just like Mina best when she's a bitter, tightly-wound mega-bitch and Quatermain when he's a whiny junkie loser. And Mina, for the love of God please dye your hair back the way it was. (But youngified Quatermain is actually pretty hot. I feel bad for thinking so.)
I also kinda really wanted James Bond to die. But he didn't, and he gets to nail Emma Peel (? I think? I don't really know). Well I guess it's to be expected; he is James Bond.
All in all, it was fun enough, and the whole 1984 angle was interesting, but there seemed to be too much "let's batter the readers with obscure references until they feel dizzy and stupid" and not enough exciting plot stuff. Earlier volumes did a better job of balancing those two, I thought. I'll have to do another read-through for all the text parts.
Oh, and while I'm posting, I might as well post the answers to that meme from a couple of weeks ago.
The Better Than It Sounds Meme
1. Write up misleading summaries for 10 properties.
2. Post them to your blog.
3. Have people guess.
4. Cross out those that are correctly guessed.
1. Girl falls in love with a drug addict who grabs her on the bus. Oniisama E..., guessed by tl__dr
2. In the future, everybody shops at Hot Topic and nobody has health insurance. Repo! The Genetic Opera, guessed by festive_gray
3. God creates universe without realizing it, becomes bored and depressed. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, guessed by serenity_winner
4. Boy has 168 hours to kill seven angels and become God. Keys to the Kingdom by Garth Nix, guessed by festive_gray
5. Guy spends seven years committing suicide in the most meticulous and obscure manner possible. -- Sandman. I'm kind of disappointed that nobody got this. XD
6. Guy spends twenty years cooking elaborate seafood dish, invites friends over for party. Watchmen, guessed by tl__dr
7. Guy stalked relentlessly by local crazy woman ends up shooting her cousin and having a nervous breakdown. It's a love story. -- Passion, the Stephen Sondheim musical. Actually, that description is not misleading at all, it's quite accurate. <3
8. Beautiful blonde purple-eyed teenage girl copes with her sad past by going on a quest with her cute little pet dragons. -- An extremely misleading description of A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin (which I've only read up to the 3rd book). Man, much as Daenerys is my favorite character, she really does sound like a Mary Sue when you think about it. XD
9. Young girl discovers that accepting jewelry from a creepy old man has unforseen repercussions. Princess Tutu, guessed by psychoe
10. Girl offered chance to save world decides "Screw that," goes to live in jungle with guy who wears worm skins. Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind (manga), guessed by festive_gray