Monday Memories #35 - The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen Vol 2 #6

Each Monday this year I'll be taking a look back at a random comic, prestige format issue, graphic novel or collection of reprints from amongst my 3,000 or so comics that date from 1962 to 2003 - I figured anything in the last ten years would be too recent to hark back to.

The comics are chosen completely at random and apart from a four week lead-in period, even I don't know what I'll be looking at in the weeks to come!

THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN, VOL 2 #6 - November 2003

Alan Moore's and Kevin O'Neill's excellent League... has been talked about, dissected and annotated by others far better versed in such pursuits but as my randomiser picked out this issue, I had to take a look back at it - which was no hardship, trust me.

The Martians have invaded England and while Quartermain and Murray head off to find salvation in the form of one of Dr Moreau's hybrids, the rest of the team deal with the villainous Griffin. Upon the return of the first pair, their military liaison, Campion Bond, reveals that they need a delay tactic to prevent the Martians coming across London Bridge. Playing the reluctant hero, Edward Hyde steps forward and is promptly burnt to a crisp by a Heat Ray. Undeterred, he surfaces and grabs hold of one of the tripods' legs:

Toppling the tripod, he rails on the canopy, finally tearing it open and helping himself to the "wheezing blancmange" inside.

After the briefest pause, the Martians destroy both him and the remains of their comrade, simultaneously blocking the bridge, giving Bond the time he needs for his solution to be launched at them. The rest of the League, watch the demise of their brutish yet noble companion.

The Martian's are defeated by Moreau's hybrid of anthrax and streptococcus but the victory is soured by the dissolution of the League.

It's a superb series - as are the other League... stories - which bear reading time and again. For example, it was only when I posted the second scene above that I noticed the two Martians in the background of the last panel, as Hyde eats their comrade, looking at each other with their viewing attachments, giving the impression of saying "WTF?!"

If you're one of the three people in the Western hemisphere who haven't read this, you're missing a treat.