Victorian Genres at Play:

Juvenile Fiction and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

Abstract

This article examines Alan Moore’s appropriation and revision of late-Victorian print forms for juveniles in his neo-Victorian comics series The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (1999- ), illustrated by Kevin O’Neill. In appropriating the material qualities of Victorian penny fiction, Moore reveals a continuity between Victorian print genres and the contemporary comic book, one that brings the form and structure of The League to participate in Moore’s larger critique of the late nineteenth century. By mimicking genres such as the penny dreadful and boys’ story paper, Moore evokes a history of anxiety about children’s reading and uses this history as an entry into the broader conflicts that defined the Victorian period. Significantly, Moore’s appropriation of Victorian juvenile magazines also places The League’s reader within a satiric neo-Victorian role play of childhood, which situates the reader within the series’ larger framework of play. This fundamental playfulness supports Moore’s complex and, at times, contradictory portrayal of Victorian culture.