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Cracking Open the “Black Dossier”

I decided to start reading The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier by Alan Moore. I ordered this when it was first solicited but have put off reading it for some time. I think the main reason why I waited so long to pick up the book was because it is a daunting work. Not only does it have straight forward comic portions, it also has large text portions, diagrams, and other storytelling devices. There is even a portion in 3-D. All of this leads to a very interesting, but also very challenging, experience.

The main thing that I find most difficult about the book is the amount of entirely "British" references and jokes that are a part of the narrative. Being an American, I am not privy to the same pop culture that Alan Moore is. An example of this is in the first few pages where he references a British soap opera. Even after reading the annotations, which can be found online at Black Dossier Annotations, I am still in the dark. However, the fun in the comic is to try and see what I can recognize, and use annotations for whatever goes over my head.

This series is what I would consider one of my all times favorites, so I am certainly not complaining. If this graphic novel is anything like the previous League stories, I will definitely be recommending it to any comic book fan.