by Mike
I have never ever felt this many literary references going over my head.
Alright, knowing Alan Moore from the classic Watchmen and how that was a clear commentary on American superhero tropes, this series does something similar to 19th century adventure and horror literature. But is this Alan Moore doing fan-fic in a way? Is this just a wild exercise in cramming as many references in one story? If anything, it is a bonkers mix of Victorian adventure and horror tropes with famous characters from famous books taking on ever increasingly crazy adversaries from said famous books. All the while putting the exorbitant sexist, racist, and imperialist norms of that time at full display. It’s steampunk-y, it’s absurdist, it’s deliciously wild. Knowing very little about it beyond it’s cult status I was first taken aback, but soon realized it is quite obviously a parody on the hyper-English, hyper toxic conventions the ‘great’ British empire was built on. And every. Thing. Is. A. Reference. Online circulates a PDF file with a list of all of them, and it is just endless. Furthermore, this omnibus nicely binds the two first volumes together with all the exquisite design that the Lovecraftian intermezzo-articles boast. Kevin O’Neill’s art is as signature and ‘hard-boiled’ (no clue how else to put it) as ever and I honestly gasped twice at some of the dense imagery and it’s flawless sense of impact.
This steampunk, Victorian anti-hero action-horror fest is peak Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill and a must-have for any starting graphic novel nerd like yours truly.
Still, it was refreshing to read a story like this from the perspective of an older, female protagonist who is unabashedly at the top and really good at what she does. She genuinely cares, but is also not about to let anyone walk all over her. The not-so-subtle social commentary really grounded the story in reality, and the sapphic romance was a lovely cherry on top.
