RACHEL RISING #1

You can't read everything, right? Just like you shouldn't make a big deal if your friends never seen The Godfather, I don't think it's a big deal that I've never read a Terry Moore comic book. He did the semi-famous Strangers in Paradise book and the sci-fi-esque Echo book. This is his newest creation. Moore does it all; he writes, draws, inks, letters. It's a one-man show. There's a price for that, though, as the book is only 18 pages and can be read in a few minutes. The premise is a good one: a girl wakes up buried alive and has to dig herself out and figure out how she got there. The big, shocking conclusion gives us another question in this mystery: is this even the same girl? If not, why does she look like Rachel and have her memories? Yeah, if she's dead than this book sucks, but I'm guessing even Moore has a better imagination. The black and white art is very nice; nature is detailed, the characters crisp. It's a good start and intriguing. **1/2

THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN: CENTURY 1969

A new Alan Moore book is a big deal these days. He quit writing for mainstream American comics a few years back and hasn't done much lately (his mini-series, Neonomicon, finished earlier this year and was interesting). This book is part two of three in the LOEG: Century mini-series. The first book took place in 1910 and dealt with an occultist, Oliver Haddo, as well with a pirate's daughter inheriting a brutal legacy. This issue picks up the Haddo story. Haddo changes bodies through the years and is on the verge of finding a moon child that will apparently cause catastrophic changes in the world. We get to see the gang; Alan Quartermain, Mina, and Orlando in London's swingin' 60's as they attempt to thwart Haddo's grand plans at a psychedelic concert in Hyde Park. The big problem Century has is the same problem The Black Dossier had: the more interesting characters, The Invisible Man and Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde, are dead and thus not in the book anymore. There's also less action than the first two mini-series, although the occult story is right up Moore's alley. As usual with the LOEG books this is an interesting, bizarre, pornographic and engrossing read. Artist Kevin O'Neill is sloppy and often off-kilter, but his style works in this strange world. Alan Moore is obvious famous for a lot of dark, serious books like V For Vendetta and Watchmen, but I've always felt that the LOEG was his funnest and most entertaining work. The second LOEG mini-series, where the gang battled martians, is the best thing Moore ever wrote. Getting a new LOEG book is like welcoming an old friend to dinner. I felt right at home reading it and getting wrapped up in it. The coda of the book, while certainly bleak, is the exact way the second LOEG mini-series ended. It was such a great ending then, why not do it again? ***