The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume II
Encyclopedia
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume II is a comic book
limited series
written by Alan Moore
and illustrated by Kevin O'Neill
, published under the America's Best Comics imprint of DC Comics
. It is a sequel to the original volume
of the series
and is mainly a retelling of The War of the Worlds
.
, where John Carter
and Lt. Gullivar Jones (of Edwin Lester Linden Arnold
's Gulliver of Mars
) have assembled an alliance (including the Green Martians from Barsoom
and the Sorns from Out of the Silent Planet
by C. S. Lewis
) to defeat the aliens who have been bedeviling the native Martians. These prove to be the aliens from The War of the Worlds, who learn about Earth from spying on the humans on Mars (using the device from H. G. Wells
' The Crystal Egg
) and launch themselves there when driven off by the Martian resistance using a huge cannon.
. Before the weapon opens fire, Captain Nemo
realises its nature and pushes the group onto the ground, keeping them below the deadly beam while the rest of the crowd is burned. Dr. Jekyll turns into Mr. Hyde and begins to rage, threatening the aliens with violent death.
Realising that they can hardly fight the creatures alone, the League retreat to a nearby inn ("The Bleak House
" - a real public house not far from Horsell
common), where they meet a confident military division led by Major Blimp
that has been sent to defend the crater. Hyde indulges in a somewhat compassionate conversation with Mina Murray
, and Griffin (under cover of invisibility) leaves to form an alliance with the Martians
.
A carriageman (William Samson, Sr., the father of the Wolf of Kabul
) arrives to take the group back to the British Museum
, where they shall receive more orders from Holmes. He tells Murray to stay at the museum and learn what she can about Mars, also giving her the locations of the British gun emplacements. Hyde and Allan Quatermain
return to the crater in order to survey the situation, leaving Murray unprotected. Griffin stays behind, assaults Murray, and helps himself to the military plans, which he turns over to the Martians.
During their reconnaissance, the other three members of the League come close to a Martian tripod
, an enormous three-legged war machine. They return to their coach and are taken swiftly back to London
. Upon returning, Hyde finds Murray lying beaten on the floor and realises what has happened. Shortly after, Mycroft Holmes
sends Murray and Quatermain on a new mission, giving them very vague instructions concerning their task.
's rivers in the Nautilus
. The advanced technology Nemo has aboard the Nautilus proves to be an even match for the Martian tripods, allowing them to kill and drive back the Martian advance and retrieve samples of their technology and engineering. They save a boy who is the only survivor from a train attacked by the Martians.
During their mission in the countryside, Murray and Quatermain encounter a man called Teddy Prendrick, the protagonist from H.G. Wells' The Island of Dr. Moreau. He is insane and gives them little information, save that in the woods nearby lurks a doctor whom he once encountered. Their search is uneventful, and they return to a country inn. Quatermain remarks that he'll be damned "if [he] sleeps on the floorboards", while Murray replies that he doesn't have to. The two make love, and the scene shifts between their love scene, a scene in which Hyde is using a piece of Martian tripod as a punching bag
on board Nemo's submarine, and a quick interlude where Griffin tells the aliens they "have to do something to the river" in order to stop the Nautilus and invade London. Awakening after sex, Quatermain discovers the scars on Murray's neck, and is apparently horrified.
, draining all the water and immobilising his submarine. Meanwhile, Quatermain tells Murray that he was not shocked by the nature of her scars, but rather his second wife (named Estella, from Haggard's book Allan's Wife) had similar scars on her own neck, and that he found it odd "that destiny should so distinguish the two women [he] loved the most".
They have sex again in the forest, but this time are disturbed by one of Dr. Moreau's animen, who is comically based on the children's comic-book character Rupert Bear
, and indeed the rest of his animal-human hybrids are similar to famous characters from children's fiction (Tiger Tim and Jumbo Elephant from Herbert Sydney Foxwell's weeklies, Mother Goose
, Puss in Boots, and the four male protagonists Mr. Toad
, Mr. Rat, Mr. Badger and Mr. Mole from The Wind in the Willows
). The wood is identified by a station nameboard as being the Wild Wood from The Wind in the Willows.
Hyde returns to the British Museum and finds Griffin there. Revealing that he has been able to see Griffin all along with heat-sensing infrared
vision (a small detail shown in Volume I), Hyde exacts his revenge by brutally beating and then raping Griffin. After completing his revenge, he stretches Griffin's murder even further, by leaving Griffin in mortal agony.
Mina and Allan meet with Dr. Moreau in his secret hideout in the forest, and tell him that MI5
has asked for something known as H-142. Moreau seems disturbed by this request, but obliges nonetheless and offers the duo dinner.
During dinner with Hyde back at the museum, Nemo discovers that he has killed Griffin when the Invisible Man's death results in the extensive bloodstains on Hyde's clothing becoming visible. He then finds the body in the library. Horrified and disgusted, Nemo attempts to kill Hyde, but is held back by the coachman Samson, who urges him not to, as Hyde's incredible strength may be useful against the Martians. Nemo grudgingly agrees.
can be seen devouring the body of Beatrix Potter
's Peter Rabbit
), the Doctor casually comments that his nephew is the only human who visits him, seeking inspiration in his subjects (a reference to the real-life painter Gustave Moreau
). He also makes a distinct reference to the trial of the publisher of Oz
magazine when he describes the sexual tendencies of his Rupert Bear hybrid. Murray and Quatermain return to London with H-142, finding gas-masked intelligence agents waiting for them, along with Agent Bond. They proceed to the riverside, where Nemo and Hyde are waiting for them. Bond says that all bridges apart from London Bridge
have been made impassable in a bid to impede the invaders, and that H-142 must be delivered. Bond leaves with the cargo crate carrying H-142. As the League arrive at the bridge, they see that the Martians have managed to destroy the last of the city's defences and have gathered all their forces on the other side for their final push into the capital.
Seeing that nothing is stopping the Martians from crossing, Hyde bids Murray a fond farewell, and dances out onto the bridge towards an oncoming tripod, singing See Me Dance the Polka. The machine attacks him with its heat ray, burning off all his skin and apparently killing him, but he survives, charging into its front leg and ripping it off. With the walking machine toppled, Hyde rips open the top hatch and begins eating the alien inside. The other tripods activate their rays and kill Hyde with a combined barrage, followed by a gun report from downriver.
Nemo is curious as to what the guns could be firing, and Bond tells him the H-142 has been fired. Quatermain is confused, and Bond explains indifferently that it was indeed one of Moreau's hybrids, but was in fact a hybrid bacterium
, made up of anthrax
and streptococcus
. Nemo is infuriated, and Bond coolly replies that they will claim that, officially, the Martians died of the common cold, whilst any humans found dead will have been killed by Martians. Angered by the British government's heartless use of biological weaponry
, Nemo leaves in the Nautilus and tells Quatermain and Murray to "never seek [him] again", mistakenly believing that they knew the details of the British plan.
A month later, Murray and Quatermain are walking through Serpentine
Park (which Allan says will soon be named after Hyde, thus giving it the name Hyde Park
). Murray says that she is to leave for Coradine
, a ladies' commune in Scotland
, leaving Allan alone on a park bench, and ending volume two.
," serialized in the back of the six issues and collected in the volume, serving as a guide to the world of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, including numerous references to classic and modern fictional works, like talk of the City of Opar, and Laputa, narrated by the creators.
Other parts include a cover gallery, a (actually quite playable and winnable) "Game of Extraordinary Gentlemen," an impossible "Nemo's origami
Nautilus," a cautionary fable to complaining fans, and "Campion Bond's moral maze."
for Best Finite Series/Limited Series. Time Magazine listed it as the 9th best comic of 2003. It was nominated for the 2003 Bram Stoker Award for Best Illustrated Narrative
, but lost to The Sandman: Endless Nights. It was included in the 2005 edition of The Year's Best Graphic Novels, Comics, & Manga.
:
Jess Nevins
' annotations for this volume are available in a book entitled A Blazing World: The Unofficial Companion to the Second League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and features interviews and commentary by Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill; detailed, panel-by-panel annotations; and a cover by John Picacio.
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
limited series
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
written by Alan Moore
Alan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
and illustrated by Kevin O'Neill
Kevin O'Neill (comics)
Kevin O'Neill is an English comic book illustrator best known as the co-creator of Nemesis the Warlock, Marshal Law , and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen .-Early career:...
, published under the America's Best Comics imprint of DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
. It is a sequel to the original volume
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume I
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume One is a comic book limited series written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Kevin O'Neill, published under the America's Best Comics imprint of DC Comics. It is the first story in the larger League of Extraordinary Gentlemen series...
of the series
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is a comic book series written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Kevin O'Neill, publication of which began in 1999. The series spans two six-issue limited series and a graphic novel from the America's Best Comics imprint of Wildstorm/DC, and a third miniseries...
and is mainly a retelling of The War of the Worlds
The War of the Worlds
The War of the Worlds is an 1898 science fiction novel written by H. G. Wells.The War of the Worlds may also refer to:- Radio broadcasts :* The War of the Worlds , the 1938 radio broadcast by Orson Welles...
.
Issue 1: Phases of Deimos
Volume two opens on MarsMars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
, where John Carter
John Carter (character)
John Carter is a fictional character, created by Edgar Rice Burroughs, who appears in the Barsoom series of novels. Though actually a Virginian from Earth and a visitor to Mars, he is often referred to as "John Carter of Mars" in reference to the general setting in which his deeds are recorded, in...
and Lt. Gullivar Jones (of Edwin Lester Linden Arnold
Edwin Lester Linden Arnold
Edwin Lester Linden Arnold was an English author. Most of his works were issued under his working name of Edwin Lester Arnold....
's Gulliver of Mars
Lieutenant Gullivar Jones: His Vacation
Lieutenant Gullivar Jones: His Vacation is a novel by Edwin Lester Arnold combining elements of both fantasy and science fiction, first published in 1905. The last of Arnold's novels, its lukewarm reception led him to stop writing fiction...
) have assembled an alliance (including the Green Martians from Barsoom
Barsoom
Barsoom is a fictional representation of the planet Mars created by American pulp fiction author Edgar Rice Burroughs, who wrote close to 100 action adventure stories in various genres in the first half of the 20th century, and is now best known as the creator of the character Tarzan...
and the Sorns from Out of the Silent Planet
Out of the Silent Planet
Out of the Silent Planet is the first novel of a science fiction trilogy written by C. S. Lewis, sometimes referred to as the Space Trilogy, Ransom Trilogy or Cosmic Trilogy. The other volumes are Perelandra and That Hideous Strength, and a fragment of a sequel was published posthumously as The...
by C. S. Lewis
C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...
) to defeat the aliens who have been bedeviling the native Martians. These prove to be the aliens from The War of the Worlds, who learn about Earth from spying on the humans on Mars (using the device from H. G. Wells
H. G. Wells
Herbert George Wells was an English author, now best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He was also a prolific writer in many other genres, including contemporary novels, history, politics and social commentary, even writing text books and rules for war games...
' The Crystal Egg
The Crystal Egg
"The Crystal Egg" is a science fiction short story written by H. G. Wells in 1897.The story tells of a shop owner, named Mr. Cave, who finds a strange crystal egg that serves as a window into the planet Mars....
) and launch themselves there when driven off by the Martian resistance using a huge cannon.
Issue 2: People of Other Lands
When the aliens land on Earth, the League is dispatched to guard the resulting crater. They are present when one of the first Martians emerges from the spacecraft, after an onlooker falls into the pit. When a team of men descend into the pit to make peace with the visitors, the aliens unleash the power of their Heat-RayHeat-Ray
The Heat-Ray is the primary offensive weapon used by the Martians in H. G. Wells' classic science fiction novel The War of the Worlds and its offshoots.- In the novel :...
. Before the weapon opens fire, Captain Nemo
Captain Nemo
Captain Nemo, also known as Prince Dakkar, is a fictional character featured in Jules Verne's novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and The Mysterious Island ....
realises its nature and pushes the group onto the ground, keeping them below the deadly beam while the rest of the crowd is burned. Dr. Jekyll turns into Mr. Hyde and begins to rage, threatening the aliens with violent death.
Realising that they can hardly fight the creatures alone, the League retreat to a nearby inn ("The Bleak House
Bleak House
Bleak House is the ninth novel by Charles Dickens, published in twenty monthly installments between March 1852 and September 1853. It is held to be one of Dickens's finest novels, containing one of the most vast, complex and engaging arrays of minor characters and sub-plots in his entire canon...
" - a real public house not far from Horsell
Horsell
Horsell in Surrey is an ancient village nearby to the more modern 19th century Woking, probably best known because of its association with the story The War of the Worlds, written by H. G. Wells. It is the home of the book's narrator , and the landing site of the first Martian transport vessel...
common), where they meet a confident military division led by Major Blimp
Colonel Blimp
Colonel Blimp is a British cartoon character.The cartoonist David Low first drew Colonel Blimp for Lord Beaverbrook's London Evening Standard in the 1930s: pompous, irascible, jingoistic and stereotypically British...
that has been sent to defend the crater. Hyde indulges in a somewhat compassionate conversation with Mina Murray
Mina Harker
Wilhelmina "Mina" Harker is a fictional character in Bram Stoker's 1897 horror novel Dracula.- In the novel :She begins the story as Miss Mina Murray, a young school mistress who is engaged to Jonathan Harker, and best friends with Lucy Westenra...
, and Griffin (under cover of invisibility) leaves to form an alliance with the Martians
Martian (War of the Worlds)
The Martians, also known as the Invaders, are the fictional race of extraterrestrials from the H.G. Wells novel The War of the Worlds. They are the antagonists of the novel, and their efforts to exterminate the populace of Earth and claim the planet for themselves drive the plot and present...
.
Issue 3: And the Dawn Comes Up Like Thunder
The next morning, the group emerges from the inn and hear the military shelling the spacecraft, and the aliens retaliate with their Heat-Ray. Most of the army division is obliterated along with the inn, which the League were fortunate enough to exit moments before.A carriageman (William Samson, Sr., the father of the Wolf of Kabul
Wolf of Kabul
William Sampson or Samson, the Wolf of Kabul, was a character in British boys' papers published by D. C. Thomson & Co. He first appeared in The Wizard in 1922.-Publication history:...
) arrives to take the group back to the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
, where they shall receive more orders from Holmes. He tells Murray to stay at the museum and learn what she can about Mars, also giving her the locations of the British gun emplacements. Hyde and Allan Quatermain
Allan Quatermain
Allan Quatermain is the protagonist of H. Rider Haggard's 1885 novel King Solomon's Mines and its various prequels and sequels. Allan Quatermain was also the title of a book in this sequence.- History :...
return to the crater in order to survey the situation, leaving Murray unprotected. Griffin stays behind, assaults Murray, and helps himself to the military plans, which he turns over to the Martians.
During their reconnaissance, the other three members of the League come close to a Martian tripod
Tripod (The War of the Worlds)
Tripods or fighting-machines are a type of fictional three-legged walker from the H. G. Wells' classic science fiction novel The War of the Worlds, used by Martians to invade Earth.-Novel:...
, an enormous three-legged war machine. They return to their coach and are taken swiftly back to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Upon returning, Hyde finds Murray lying beaten on the floor and realises what has happened. Shortly after, Mycroft Holmes
Mycroft Holmes
Mycroft Holmes is a fictional character in the stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle. He is the elder brother of the famous detective Sherlock Holmes.- Profile :...
sends Murray and Quatermain on a new mission, giving them very vague instructions concerning their task.
Issue 4: All Creatures Great and Small
In the meantime, Nemo and Hyde defend the capital by patrolling LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's rivers in the Nautilus
Nautilus (Verne)
The Nautilus is the fictional submarine featured in Jules Verne's novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and The Mysterious Island . Verne named the Nautilus after Robert Fulton's real-life submarine Nautilus...
. The advanced technology Nemo has aboard the Nautilus proves to be an even match for the Martian tripods, allowing them to kill and drive back the Martian advance and retrieve samples of their technology and engineering. They save a boy who is the only survivor from a train attacked by the Martians.
During their mission in the countryside, Murray and Quatermain encounter a man called Teddy Prendrick, the protagonist from H.G. Wells' The Island of Dr. Moreau. He is insane and gives them little information, save that in the woods nearby lurks a doctor whom he once encountered. Their search is uneventful, and they return to a country inn. Quatermain remarks that he'll be damned "if [he] sleeps on the floorboards", while Murray replies that he doesn't have to. The two make love, and the scene shifts between their love scene, a scene in which Hyde is using a piece of Martian tripod as a punching bag
Punching bag
A punching bag or punch-bag is a sturdy bag designed to be repeatedly punched. It's used for conditioning, physical exercise, and stress relief...
on board Nemo's submarine, and a quick interlude where Griffin tells the aliens they "have to do something to the river" in order to stop the Nautilus and invade London. Awakening after sex, Quatermain discovers the scars on Murray's neck, and is apparently horrified.
Issue 5: Red in Tooth and Claw
The next day Nemo discovers that the Martians have filled the Thames with some sort of red weedRed weed
The red weed is a fictional plant native to Mars in the novel The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells. It is this plant that supposedly gives Mars its dull red colour...
, draining all the water and immobilising his submarine. Meanwhile, Quatermain tells Murray that he was not shocked by the nature of her scars, but rather his second wife (named Estella, from Haggard's book Allan's Wife) had similar scars on her own neck, and that he found it odd "that destiny should so distinguish the two women [he] loved the most".
They have sex again in the forest, but this time are disturbed by one of Dr. Moreau's animen, who is comically based on the children's comic-book character Rupert Bear
Rupert Bear
Rupert Bear is a children's comic strip character, who features in a series of books based around his adventures. The character was created by the English artist Mary Tourtel and first appeared in the Daily Express on 8 November 1920. Rupert's initial purpose was to win sales from the rival...
, and indeed the rest of his animal-human hybrids are similar to famous characters from children's fiction (Tiger Tim and Jumbo Elephant from Herbert Sydney Foxwell's weeklies, Mother Goose
Mother Goose
The familiar figure of Mother Goose is an imaginary author of a collection of fairy tales and nursery rhymes which are often published as Mother Goose Rhymes. As a character, she appears in one "nursery rhyme". A Christmas pantomime called Mother Goose is often performed in the United Kingdom...
, Puss in Boots, and the four male protagonists Mr. Toad
Mr. Toad
Mr. Toad, Esq., of Toad Hall, is one of the main characters in the novel The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame and also the title character of the A. A. Milne play Toad of Toad Hall based on the book.-Character:...
, Mr. Rat, Mr. Badger and Mr. Mole from The Wind in the Willows
The Wind in the Willows
The Wind in the Willows is a classic of children's literature by Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. Alternately slow moving and fast paced, it focuses on four anthropomorphised animal characters in a pastoral version of England...
). The wood is identified by a station nameboard as being the Wild Wood from The Wind in the Willows.
Hyde returns to the British Museum and finds Griffin there. Revealing that he has been able to see Griffin all along with heat-sensing infrared
Infrared
Infrared light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74 micrometres , and extending conventionally to 300 µm...
vision (a small detail shown in Volume I), Hyde exacts his revenge by brutally beating and then raping Griffin. After completing his revenge, he stretches Griffin's murder even further, by leaving Griffin in mortal agony.
Mina and Allan meet with Dr. Moreau in his secret hideout in the forest, and tell him that MI5
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
has asked for something known as H-142. Moreau seems disturbed by this request, but obliges nonetheless and offers the duo dinner.
During dinner with Hyde back at the museum, Nemo discovers that he has killed Griffin when the Invisible Man's death results in the extensive bloodstains on Hyde's clothing becoming visible. He then finds the body in the library. Horrified and disgusted, Nemo attempts to kill Hyde, but is held back by the coachman Samson, who urges him not to, as Hyde's incredible strength may be useful against the Martians. Nemo grudgingly agrees.
Issue 6: "You Should See Me Dance the Polka..."
The following morning, upon their farewell at the train station (where foxesFoxes in fiction
This article discusses foxes in culture.-Cultural connotations:In many cultures, the fox appears in folklore as a symbol of cunning and trickery, or as a familiar animal possessed of magic powers....
can be seen devouring the body of Beatrix Potter
Beatrix Potter
Helen Beatrix Potter was an English author, illustrator, natural scientist and conservationist best known for her imaginative children’s books featuring animals such as those in The Tale of Peter Rabbit which celebrated the British landscape and country life.Born into a privileged Unitarian...
's Peter Rabbit
Peter Rabbit
Peter Rabbit is a fictional anthropomorphic character in various children's stories by Beatrix Potter. He first appeared in The Tale of Peter Rabbit in 1902, and subsequently in five more books between 1904 and 1912. Spinoff merchandise includes dishes, wallpaper, and dolls...
), the Doctor casually comments that his nephew is the only human who visits him, seeking inspiration in his subjects (a reference to the real-life painter Gustave Moreau
Gustave Moreau
Gustave Moreau was a French Symbolist painter whose main emphasis was the illustration of biblical and mythological figures. As a painter of literary ideas, Moreau appealed to the imaginations of some Symbolist writers and artists.- Biography :Moreau was born in Paris. His father, Louis Jean Marie...
). He also makes a distinct reference to the trial of the publisher of Oz
Oz (magazine)
Oz was first published as a satirical humour magazine between 1963 and 1969 in Sydney, Australia and, in its second and better known incarnation, became a "psychedelic hippy" magazine from 1967 to 1973 in London...
magazine when he describes the sexual tendencies of his Rupert Bear hybrid. Murray and Quatermain return to London with H-142, finding gas-masked intelligence agents waiting for them, along with Agent Bond. They proceed to the riverside, where Nemo and Hyde are waiting for them. Bond says that all bridges apart from London Bridge
London Bridge
London Bridge is a bridge over the River Thames, connecting the City of London and Southwark, in central London. Situated between Cannon Street Railway Bridge and Tower Bridge, it forms the western end of the Pool of London...
have been made impassable in a bid to impede the invaders, and that H-142 must be delivered. Bond leaves with the cargo crate carrying H-142. As the League arrive at the bridge, they see that the Martians have managed to destroy the last of the city's defences and have gathered all their forces on the other side for their final push into the capital.
Seeing that nothing is stopping the Martians from crossing, Hyde bids Murray a fond farewell, and dances out onto the bridge towards an oncoming tripod, singing See Me Dance the Polka. The machine attacks him with its heat ray, burning off all his skin and apparently killing him, but he survives, charging into its front leg and ripping it off. With the walking machine toppled, Hyde rips open the top hatch and begins eating the alien inside. The other tripods activate their rays and kill Hyde with a combined barrage, followed by a gun report from downriver.
Nemo is curious as to what the guns could be firing, and Bond tells him the H-142 has been fired. Quatermain is confused, and Bond explains indifferently that it was indeed one of Moreau's hybrids, but was in fact a hybrid bacterium
Bacteria
Bacteria are a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals...
, made up of anthrax
Anthrax
Anthrax is an acute disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Most forms of the disease are lethal, and it affects both humans and other animals...
and streptococcus
Streptococcus
Streptococcus is a genus of spherical Gram-positive bacteria belonging to the phylum Firmicutes and the lactic acid bacteria group. Cellular division occurs along a single axis in these bacteria, and thus they grow in chains or pairs, hence the name — from Greek στρεπτος streptos, meaning...
. Nemo is infuriated, and Bond coolly replies that they will claim that, officially, the Martians died of the common cold, whilst any humans found dead will have been killed by Martians. Angered by the British government's heartless use of biological weaponry
Biological warfare
Biological warfare is the use of biological toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi with intent to kill or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an act of war...
, Nemo leaves in the Nautilus and tells Quatermain and Murray to "never seek [him] again", mistakenly believing that they knew the details of the British plan.
A month later, Murray and Quatermain are walking through Serpentine
Serpentine (lake)
The Serpentine is a 28-acre recreational lake in Hyde Park, London, England, created in 1730. Although it is common to refer to the entire body of water as the Serpentine, strictly the name refers only to the eastern half of the lake...
Park (which Allan says will soon be named after Hyde, thus giving it the name Hyde Park
Hyde Park, London
Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
). Murray says that she is to leave for Coradine
A Crystal Age
A Crystal Age is a utopian novel written by W. H. Hudson, first published in 1887. The book has been called a "significant S-F milestone" and has been noted for its anticipation of the "modern ecological mysticism" that would evolve a century later....
, a ladies' commune in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, leaving Allan alone on a park bench, and ending volume two.
Extra material
Just as in the first volume, the back of the second contains additional information on the League and its world. The chief is "The New Traveller's AlmanacThe New Traveller's Almanac
The New Traveller's Almanac was a series of writings included in the back of all six issues of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume II, covering the timeline and the world of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen....
," serialized in the back of the six issues and collected in the volume, serving as a guide to the world of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, including numerous references to classic and modern fictional works, like talk of the City of Opar, and Laputa, narrated by the creators.
Other parts include a cover gallery, a (actually quite playable and winnable) "Game of Extraordinary Gentlemen," an impossible "Nemo's origami
Origami
is the traditional Japanese art of paper folding, which started in the 17th century AD at the latest and was popularized outside Japan in the mid-1900s. It has since then evolved into a modern art form...
Nautilus," a cautionary fable to complaining fans, and "Campion Bond's moral maze."
Reception
Volume II received the 2003 Eisner AwardEisner Award
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, and sometimes referred to as the Oscar Awards of the Comics Industry, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books. The Eisner Awards were first conferred in 1988, created in response to the...
for Best Finite Series/Limited Series. Time Magazine listed it as the 9th best comic of 2003. It was nominated for the 2003 Bram Stoker Award for Best Illustrated Narrative
Bram Stoker Award for Best Illustrated Narrative
Nominees are listed below the winner for each year.* 1998: ** Sergio Aragones' Dia de las Muertos by Sergio Aragones & Mark Evanier** Preacher by Garth Ennis** The Son of Man by Garth Ennis...
, but lost to The Sandman: Endless Nights. It was included in the 2005 edition of The Year's Best Graphic Novels, Comics, & Manga.
Collected editions
The series has been collected into the following volumesTrade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
:
- Hardcover: ISBN 1-4012-0117-2
- Paperback: ISBN 1-4012-0118-0
- Absolute editionDC Comics Absolute EditionsDC Comics Absolute Edition is a series of archival quality printings of graphic novels published by DC Comics and its imprints WildStorm Productions and Vertigo...
(deluxe hardcover): ISBN 1-4012-0611-5, including Moore's original scripts and additional artwork by O'Neill
Annotations
Jess Nevins
John J. Nevins, MA/MS, is an American author and librarian, born 30 July 1966 and raised in Boston, Massachusetts. He is the author of the World Fantasy Award-nominated Encyclopedia of Fantastic Victoriana , and other works on Victoriana and pulp fiction...
' annotations for this volume are available in a book entitled A Blazing World: The Unofficial Companion to the Second League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and features interviews and commentary by Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill; detailed, panel-by-panel annotations; and a cover by John Picacio.
See also
- Scarlet TracesScarlet TracesScarlet Traces is a comic story of the Steampunk genre, written by Ian Edginton and illustrated by D'Israeli. It was original published online before being serialised in 2002. A sequel, Scarlet Traces: The Great Game, followed in 2006....
- Rainbow MarsRainbow MarsRainbow Mars is a science fiction short story collection by Larry Niven. It includes the five previously published Svetz stories and the novel, also called Rainbow Mars in which humans from Earth visit Mars and find it populated by the creations of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Ray Bradbury, C. S. Lewis,...
- "Mars: The Home FrontMars: The Home Front"Mars: The Home Front" is a short story by George Alec Effinger, published in War of the Worlds: Global Dispatches. It is a crossover between H. G...
" from War of the Worlds: Global DispatchesWar of the Worlds: Global DispatchesWar of the Worlds: Global Dispatches is a 1996 Bantam Spectra science fiction anthology, edited by Kevin J. Anderson. It is a tribute to H. G... - The Martian WarThe Martian WarThe Martian War: A Thrilling Eyewitness Account of the Recent Invasion As Reported by Mr. H.G. Wells is a 2006 science fiction novel by Kevin J. Anderson . It is a retelling of H.G...