THE TEMPEST collected edition out now!

As a follow up to my previous post that reviewed the final issue of Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill's masterpiece I thought I'd do a brief review of the collected edition that's just arrived here at Blimey Mansion. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume 4: The Tempest is a luxurious cloth bound hardback with dust jacket and it deserves a place of the bookshelves of any comics connoisseur. 

You'll be pleased to know that the book not only collects all the stories from the six part mini-series, but all the covers, features, and letters pages as well. They're all arranged in order, rather than lumping all the covers and extras at the back like some collections do, so it feels more like a bound edition of six complete comics, and is all the better for it. 

There are new bits too, which is a nice bonus, such as endpapers, a "This Book Belongs To..." page, and a brilliant new four page epilogue that had me laughing out loud. As this is Alan and Kevin's final journey into comics it seems appropriate that they'd leave us laughing.

And, yes, you get a free pair of 3-D Glasses for the 3-D sequences in the book. 

This is a chunky book, well produced by its creators and publishers. Treat yourselves or a loved one (or just a close mate, no funny business) to a copy this Christmas! Co-published by Top Shelf in the USA and Knockabout in the UK, you can order it directly from Knockabout's eBay shop here:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/League-of-Extraordinary-Gentlemen-THE-TEMPEST-Hardcover/202832371025

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Review: THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN - THE TEMPEST No.6

Catching up with reviews and this one has been difficult to do. Not because there's anything wrong with it. Far from it! It's as skillfully crafted and enjoyable a comic as you could wish for, but it's also the final comic that Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill are producing and that left me with a feeling of sadness. Yes, they're both retiring from comics and this issue is their swan song. 

I've followed the careers of Alan and Kevin throughout their entirety, and they were good friends to me when I started out in this business, so although I wish them both a very happy retirement from comics it's tinged with melancholy that we'll not see any new comics from them again. But let's not look at it as a glass half empty, but as a glass half full and topped up with a measure of quirky lunacy and spectacle that only these two gentlemen could deliver.

Continuing that drinks metaphor, this final issue of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Tempest is like a cocktail that your mates would buy you in Majorca in 1989 that would have you chasing the girls around the tables and you wouldn't remember a thing about it the next day if it wasn't for photographic evidence. But the less said about that the better. Let's move on to reviewing the comic shall we? 

As with the previous issues, The Tempest No.6 begins with a cover spoofing an old British comic. In this case it's the early cover design of 2000AD, obviously a deliberate nod to the time when Kevin O'Neill was on staff there. Naturally, Kev's art is superb but let's also respect his wonderful skills as a designer on the covers of this series and their spot-on parodies.

Inside, there's another prose tribute to a "Cheated Champion of your Childhood" where Alan and Kevin tell the story of a UK comics giant. In this issue they pay respects to the great Ron Turner.

The story itself is a fitting ending to the saga of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. As those of you who have followed it will know, the series has included a dazzling array of references to popular culture stretching back over history and this final outing manages to cram in even more. Actually, "cram" is not the best description, as although Kevin includes a staggering amount of detail, everything is clearly presented. You'll see numerous homages to characters you may have forgotten... and many you may never have known if you're younger than me, but it's all done with affection and a good dollop of dark satire. 

No other comic could bring together elements from Victorian / Edwardian fiction, James Bond, Rupert the Bear, obscure British comics, Gerry Anderson, Planet of the Apes, UK sit-coms and numerous other pop culture references and make it such a pleasurable experience. I won't reveal too much of the story of this final chapter, and indeed it references its own past in places so I'll need to re-read the series to fully appreciate it anyway, but it's a jolly good intellectual romp with a lot of giggles along the way. There's so many cameos in the comic that it'd be a crime if Alan and Kevin didn't turn up as well, as indeed they do in a brilliant nod to another comic of long ago. 

It's a case of "That's All, Folks" then for our super-talented duo, but what a legacy of work they've gifted us, not only as a top class double act but also working with other creators over the years to produce some of the finest, funniest, and most thought provoking comics in the world. Most of us in this crazy business we call comic have had to compromise at times, or regularly, to earn a crust, but Alan and Kevin have both pretty much followed the vision they wanted to, and we're all the better for it. Happy retirement my friends, and thanks for all the entertainment. 

It's taken me so long to get around to reviewing this issue that the collected graphic novel is also out now. A sumptuous hardback that's available to buy directly from Knockabout at this link:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/League-of-Extraordinary-Gentlemen-THE-TEMPEST-Hardcover/202832371025

Here's the info from the publisher....

(W) Alan Moore (A/CA) Kevin O'Neil

After an epic twenty-year journey through the entirety of human culture-the biggest cross-continuity "universe" that is conceivable-Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill conclude both their legendary League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and their equally legendary comic-book careers with the series' spectacular fourth and final volume, The Tempest. Tying up the slenderest of plot threads and allusions from the three preceding volumes, The Black Dossier, and the Nemo trilogy into a dazzling and ingenious bow, the world's most accomplished and bad-tempered artist-writer team use their most stylistically adventurous outing yet to display the glories of the medium they are leaving; to demonstrate the excitement that attracted them to the field in the first place; and to analyze, critically and entertainingly, the reasons for their departure.

Opening simultaneously in the panic-stricken headquarters of British Military Intelligence, the fabled Ayesha's lost African city of Kor, and the domed citadel of "We" on the devastated Earth of the year 2996, the dense and yet furiously paced narrative hurtles like an express locomotive across the fictional globe from Lincoln Island to modern America to the Blazing World; from the Jacobean antiquity of Prospero's Men to the superhero-inundated pastures of the present to the unimaginable reaches of a shimmering science-fiction future. With a cast list that includes many of the most iconic figures from literature and pop culture, and a tempo that conveys the terrible momentum of inevitable events, this is literally and literarily the story to end all stories. Originally published as a six-issue run of unfashionable, outmoded and flimsy children's comics that would make you appear emotionally backward if you read them on the bus, this climactic magnum opus also reprints classic English super-team publication The Seven Stars from the murky black-and-white reachers of 1964. A magnificent celebration of everything comics were, are, and could be, any appreciator or student of the medium would be unwise to miss The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume IV: The Tempest. Welcome to the story to end all stories. Two decades of literary League lunacy have all been building to this, the most ambitious meta-comic imaginable.

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Out today! The final issue of THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN: THE TEMPEST

It all ends here! I've followed the work of Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill throughout their careers so it's with a heavy heart that I'll be reading this final comic of theirs before they retire from the funnybook business. They leave us with a fantastic legacy of work though, with comics that never compromised and always followed their own path. Very few in this industry have achieved that.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Tempest No.6 is in comic stores today and it wraps up the 20-year story of the League in suitably "meta" fashion, as the kids say today. I haven't seen a copy yet so I'll review it when I do, but for now I thought I'd give you a "heads up" (as the kids also say) so you don't miss this milestone issue! 

Each issue of The Tempest has featured a parody of a British comic on its cover and it's appropriate that this final issue has a spoof of the early 2000AD cover design, as that comic was the one that launched Alan and Kevin into the spotlight. Don't miss it!


(W) Alan Moore (A/CA) Kevin O'Neill
In Moore and O'Neill's final comic book, this issue masquerading as a British science-fiction weekly, the plot-strands of our concluding volume and loose ends from twenty years of continuity are tied in an ingenious starry bow, as Mina Murray and her legendary confederates transition from the world of fiction past and present to the world of fiction future. Planets end in visual spectacle, lovers are united in the matrimonial event of the millenium, and deadly enemies draw close in the conclusion of their fatal dances. This is your last call for the immaculate crescendo of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. IV, The Tempest.

The TEMPEST - Penultimate issue!

I blogged about Cosmic Comics in my previous post; a comic reprinting some of Kevin O'Neill's earliest mainstream work. Now let's look at his very latest work, with a preview of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Tempest No.5 which is out now, jointly published by Knockabout (UK) and Top Shelf (USA).

Anyone who thinks today's comics are inferior to those of the past clearly isn't looking very hard. Kevin O'Neill has produced detailed, top quality work throughout his career, and teamed with writer Alan Moore, comics don't get much better than this. 

Admittedly, your enjoyment of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Tempest will be more enriched if you've followed the whole series. The comic is sophisticated and complex, but each issue is also a great deal of fun in itself. This isn't a throwaway five minute read like many comics. The story requires the reader to focus, and will reward them more with subsequent re-readings (and the forthcoming collection). 

Kevin's artwork brings us surprises and unexpected cultural references with every turn of the page. There are homages to literature, movies, comics, and more in a giddy mixture of the surreal, - and then things go 3D, and back again, and it's barmy and clever and you've never seen a comic like it. 

As regular readers will know, The Tempest features a homage to a different style of old British comic on the cover of each issue. This month Kevin has done a perfect spoof of Alan Class comics, right down to the "full 36 pages" and hand-lettered price (which due to inflation is 85 times what the one shilling Alan Class comics cost 50 years ago, but it's worth every penny). 

This issue also features a tribute to the late Denis McLoughlin. It's admirable that Alan and Kevin are doing these little essays on artists that most readers of their comics may not have heard of. The stories are always tragic, and reveal how publishers treated such great artists, but these stories need to be told, and I hope readers check out the work of the artists covered in this series. 

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Tempest No.5 is in comic shops now, or you can buy it directly from Knockabout at their eBay store. 

Thrills in your future...

I couldn't resist posting about this. Top Shelf and Knockabout have revealed the cover for the final issue of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Tempest, and it's a perfect homage of the early issues of 2000AD. 

The traditionally ironic "Great News" splash is even there, because not only is this the final issue, it's also the last comic that Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill will be doing. Not great at all. Very sad news indeed, but they've maintained such a high standard of work throughout their long careers I'm sure we can wish them both well for their retirement from comics, and thank them for brightening up our lives. 

I think I have something in my eye.

Although Blimey! is rarely updated now, I'll be posting more about this series in the future as not only is it my favourite current comic, Alan and Kevin are always worth blogging about! 

Here's the info for The Tempest No.6. Pre-order this landmark issue from your local comic shop now! 

In Moore and O’Neill’s final comic-book, this issue masquerading as a British science-fiction weekly, the plot-strands of our concluding volume and loose ends from twenty years of continuity are tied in an ingenious starry bow, as Mina Murray and her legendary confederates transition from the world of fiction past and present to the world of fiction future. Planets end in visual spectacle, lovers are united in the matrimonial event of the millennium, and deadly enemies draw close in the conclusion of their fatal dances. This is your last call for the immaculate crescendo of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume IV, The Tempest. -- 
Issue #6 in a 6-issue mini-series, each issue 32 pages in (mostly) full color, saddle stitched, 6 5/8” x 10 1/8” (standard comic-book size).
Co-Published by Top Shelf Productions (US) and Knockabout (UK).
SHIPPING MAY 2019!

http://www.topshelfcomix.com/mobile/catalog/league-of-extraordinary-gentlemen-the-vol-iv-the-tempest-6-of-6/1033

Exclusive Preview: THE TEMPEST No.4

As promised, here's the first of a very occasional series of posts for 2019. Don't expect many this year! Choices to blog about will be down to quality not quantity. 

...and the first choice is definitely high quality. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Tempest No.4 should be on sale in a comic shop near you from Wednesday 9th January. (Or it might be 16th Jan. Vagarities of distribution.) It's another top standard issue from Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill and I'll definitely miss this series when it ends with issue 6. 

One of the many highlights of this series have been the covers designed as homages to British comics of the past, and this month we get one that's a perfect spoof of traditional old UK weeklies. I'm sure it'll confuse the heck out of our American cousins but we had to put up with ads for Grit and Tootsie Rolls for years in U.S. imports and it never did us any harm. 

Inside, the story of Mina and the League continues, with our pals Alan and Kevin including everything from Smash!-type parodies to nods to Little Nemo in Slumberland, Charlie Drake, James Bond, and a bit of Bill Shakespeare thrown in for good measure. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen has always homaged literature and pop culture of the past but this series takes things to a whole new level. The story requires the reader to focus more than your standard comic book but it's one you'll want to read and re-read anyway. It's absolutely brilliantly bonkers.

I should point out at this point that if your only experience of the League is that terrible film "adaptation" from years ago then you need to jettison that from your mind and read the comics to appreciate the proper version. 

If you thought the excursion onto 3-D in the previous issue was a one-off gimmick, you'll be pleased to hear it's also in this issue on certain pages, and really well accomplished too. You've never seen a comic quite like it!

The extra features in this issue include an item on Ken Reid and a spotlight on obscure 1950s British superhero Marsman who was apparently drawn by Paddy Brennan back in the day. These items are a great addition to the comic. 

You don't just read The Tempest, you experience it, absorb it, and emerge with a big grin on your face. It's like no other comic on the stands and is all the better for it. As always, I completely recommend it. Here's the solicitation information:

Legendary swords clash atop the Paris Opera in 1913, while almost a century later a declining London witnesses assassination attempts, summit meetings in Haggerston Park, and the catastrophic return of a 1960s super-adventurer. Elsewhere, in the four-dimensional territories adjacent to the North Pole, a lost Shakespeare play sees its first and last performance, while Queen Gloriana's conjurer finally reveals the nature of his five-hundred-year-old game. Topping off an already heady mixture, this issue's classic Seven Stars reprint depicts our halcyon heroes as "Captives of the Creepyverse," another reason not to miss the unfolding of Moore and O'Neill's fulgurant finale in issue four of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume IV: The Tempest.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Tempest No.4 is co-published between Knockabout in the UK and Top Shelf in the USA. 36 pages (including covers) for $4.99. Worth every penny/cent. 

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Remember that my other blog is still being updated regularly! You'll find it here:

http://lewstringercomics.blogspot.com

Preview: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Tempest No.3

It's clear from these issues of The Tempest that Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill are having a grand old time producing the comics. Every page is a treat, with plenty of surprises and homages to delight anyone who's been paying attention to comics and pop culture for the past 60 years. 

Issue 3, which is published next week, kicks off with a cover inspired by girls' comics of the 1970s, and the story inside includes a satire of the type of strips those comics would feature...

Later on, there's even a photostrip for two pages, which is far more accomplished and better lit and designed than any photostrip that My Guy or Jackie ever published. Not that this issue is entirely about girls' comics parodies of course. The great thing about LOEG is that it ties in everything, including vintage TV show characters, children's books, classic literature, old comics, and even manages a Steranko effect or two.

Just as your senses are reeling from all the pop culture imagery, you turn the page and the comic goes into 3-D territory! And, yes, you get a free pair of 3-D specs included! 

It's absolutely barmy stuff, - in a good way of course! No, a great way! This is what comics should be, - fun, intriguing, and mind-boggling! 

As bonus features this issue there's a tribute to Marie Duval, the first artist to draw Ally Sloper, a fun letters section, and a full page illustration/bio of 1950s hero The Flash Avenger.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Tempest No.3 should be in comics shops across the UK and USA on Wednesday 19th December. Co-published by Top Shelf and Knockabout. Price $4.99.

Cover for THE TEMPEST No.5 revealed

Top Shelf Productions have revealed the cover to issue 5 of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Tempest and it's another great homage to a classic British comic. This time, Kevin O'Neill has drawn a marvellous parody of Alan Class comics such as Creepy Worlds and Sinister Tales, the long-running British anthologies that reprinted vintage American comics in the 1960s and 1970s. Even the cover price is in shillings! That'll baffle anyone under 40 but what the heck? If the world's on a nose dive to oblivion, let's have a laugh!

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Tempest is a six issue mini-series by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill and is co-published by Top Shelf and Knockabout. 

Here's the official info. Place a standing order at your local comic shop today!

Ostensibly a cheap British reprint of pre-code American horror, this penultimate stop in Moore and O’Neill’s pyrotechnic farewell tour takes us from the tortured mind of artist Richard Dadd to a London swallowed by darkness; from a spectacular 3D struggle in the Blazing World to some jaw-dropping vengeance in Vauxhall and a conclusion that is out of this world. Meanwhile our Seven Stars finally come face to writhing mess with the monstrous menace of the ’Mass while providing origins for both Satin Astro and the Flash Avenger. 

Don’t miss the never-to-be-repeated cavalcade of wonders that is The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume IV, The Tempest. -- Issue #5 in a 6-issue mini-series, each issue 32 pages in (mostly) full colour, saddle stitched, 6 5/8” x 10 1/8” (standard comic-book size).

Co-Published by Top Shelf Productions (US) and Knockabout (UK).

ISBN UPC 827714014280 00511 
SHIPPING MARCH 2019!
http://www.topshelfcomix.com/catalog/league-of-extraordinary-gentlemen-the-vol-iv-the-tempest-5-of-6/1025

Cover preview: TEMPEST No.2 pays homage to TV21

Here's the cover to the second issue of The Tempest, the new six-part series that will conclude The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. The previous issue had paid homage to Classics Illustrated ( see here) and this one is an affectionate tribute to TV Century 21's covers...

Written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Kevin O'Neill, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume IV: The Tempest No.2 will be in comic speciality shops in August. Here's the info, as seen in the Previews catalogue...

(W) Alan Moore (A/CA) Kevin O'Neill
  Opening with a 1919 deathmatch between two American superhumans in the ruins of Utopia, the second issue of Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill's final volume of the beloved comic series takes its readers on a breath-taking ride over a waterfall of storytelling styles, from a startling 21st century Lincoln Island and its current incarnation of the legendary Captain Nemo, through a New York coping with an ageing costume-hero population, to a London where a drastic escalation is commenced by the rejuvenated sociopath controlling MI5. All this, and a further reprinted adventure of 1960s super-team The Seven Stars awaits in issue two of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume IV: The Tempest.
  

In Shops: Aug 29, 2018