This series (which ends, unfortunately, after only one volume) is fun but not particularly deep. The first few issues deal with the efforts of M, a government operative, to gather together a group of legendary adventurers in order to battle a threat that only slowly becomes apparent. The later issues deal with how this group--the eponymous League--deals with the threat.

There are far too many reasons to like this series. The artwork, though occasionally sketchy, can be beautiful: for instance, there is a two-page spread of the Nautilus in the Thames while all of steampunk England spreads out behind. Quite stunning. Moore's writing is top-notch; the dry British wit is preserved, and every character has a distinctive voice that never sounds hackneyed. Moore's research, as always, is also impressive: each character mentions offhandedly several details of his (or her) own life that would only be evident to somebody who has read carefully through the novels featuring these extraordinary people.

The real joy of this series, however, is the nearly nonstop action and the constant revelation of new elements grafted in from old sci-fi and adventure stories. The League's final incursion into its enemy's territory at the end of Volume I, as well an epic battle in the skies over London, left me breathless; and it was something of a game trying to notice whenever Moore was trying to sneak in yet another borrowed element from some obscure English novel.

So why doesn't this get a 9, or a 10? Moore is hurt here by some of his other works. League is fun and well-written, but it is not as deep as many of Moore's other graphic novels. Instead, it's eye- and mind-candy, a fun diversion for an afternoon, but not thought-provoking in the least.

Still, when I turned to the last page of Volume I and saw the teaser for the next volume, I felt giddy with anticipation. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem as though the next volume will be coming out: a real tragedy for such a fun series.

Copyright © 2001 Steven Wu