Nemo: Heart of Ice Author: Visit Amazon's Alan Moore Page | Language: English | ISBN:
1603092749 | Format: PDF
Nemo: Heart of Ice Description
From Booklist
A decade ago, Moore was the most critically acclaimed writer in comics and among the most prolific. In recent years, however, his output has largely been limited to occasional installments of his League of Extraordinary Gentlemen series, set in an alternate-reality Britain, where classic adventure fiction characters protect the empire. In this one, taking place 15 years after the events of Century: 1910 (2009), Janni Dakkar, the daughter of Jules Verne’s Captain Nemo (also the Pirate Jenny of the Threepenny Opera), embarks on an Antarctic expedition, pursued by American inventors-heroes Frank Reade Jr. and Jack Swyfte (a homonymic namesake to a character who’s not in the public domain), who are employed by a Hearstian newspaper tycoon named Kane. But neither team is prepared for the Lovecraftian horror that awaits them at the South Pole. O’Neill’s detailed, angular art brings the literary characters to vivid life and expertly captures the period atmosphere. Moore’s playfully intelligent take on the boys’-adventure genre serves as a reminder of just how much comics fans lost when he all but abandoned the medium. --Gordon Flagg
- Hardcover: 56 pages
- Publisher: Top Shelf Productions (March 12, 2013)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1603092749
- ISBN-13: 978-1603092746
- Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 6.4 x 0.4 inches
- Shipping Weight: 15.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
I am a huge fan of Alan Moore's going back almost three decades and a huge fan of the first two `League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' books but since volume II there really hasn't been anything League related that has captured me. The Black Dossier was my least favorite but the three Century books weren't a tremendous amount better as far as I'm concerned. The Century books certainly weren't terrible but I know what Alan Moore is capable of and there is no way those books will be looked at as some of his best work. My suspicion is that what has happened with the series is that Alan Moore is now writing for himself and not the reader. He slips in reference after reference to classic books that take place in the era in which the stories take place but they are generally so obscure that few readers will catch more than a small fraction of them.
The titular Nemo from Heart of Ice is not Prince Dakkar but is instead his less interesting daughter Janni who made brief appearances in previous League material as the new Captain of the Nautilus following her father's death. The story opens with Janni and crew stealing goods from a Princess Ayesha and her American protectors including Charles Foster Kane from Citizen Kane. I had to look up Ayesha on Wikipedia to find out that she's a character from a book called `She' by Henry Rider Haggard. Kane is only ever referred to by his last name and again I needed Wikipedia to decode his actual identity. There are multiple Kane's from literature and of course this Kane is from a movie not a book so I was thrown off.
Following the plundering Janni decides to travel to Antarctica for reasons that aren't entirely clear to me. On her trail is a group of American "scientific adventurers" intent on retrieving Ayesha's stolen goods.
Over the last 5 years or so, my opinion of Alan Moore has dropped considerably. This is due primarily to The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, one of his greatest achievements, becoming a self-indulgent mess. With NEMO: HEART OF ICE, Moore seems to be heading back towards what made the first two volumes of LoEG so enjoyable, but it still has its problems.
First, the good: NEMO: HEART OF ICE returns to the direct storytelling style of the earlier stories. The characterizations are stronger, and the plot is more focused. While the literary references are numerous, I always find the required research to be part of the fun (special thanks to Jess Nevins). Moore includes quite a few characters from American literature and film, but it appears that some can't be referenced directly due to existing trademarks. At this point in time (1925), the original Captain Nemo, Prince Dakkar, has died, with his legacy having passed to his daughter, Janni. The story begins with Janni and the crew of the Nautilus running afoul of American publisher Charles Foster Kane and the immortal queen Ayesha. The Nautilus then heads to Antarctica to conclude some unfinished business of Janni's father, with three technological geniuses hired by Kane in pursuit. Reaching the Mountains of Madness, they all encounter an ancient civilization from another solar system... or perhaps another dimension.
The biggest problem for this book is the price: $14.95 for a 56-page hardcover is ridiculous. Granted, plenty of other publishers are doing this, but as Top Shelf had already released three 80-page softcovers of Century for $7.99 each, I'd assumed that they'd stick with that format.
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