SOURCE: Sabin, Roger. “Side by Side in the Fantasy League.” Observer Review (2 September 2001): 16.

In the following review, Sabin examines a selection of graphic novels—including Alan Moore's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Mark Kalesniko's Mail Order Bride, and Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima's Lone Wolf and Cub—asserting that such works should “appeal to readers beyond comics fans.”

The forthcoming release of two major movies based on graphic novels—Ghost World, derived from Dan Clowes's tale of teen angst, and From Hell, based on Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell's Jack the Ripper story—represents something of an opportunity for the graphic novels industry. If only it can capitalise on the ensuing publicity, then its much cherished ‘outreach programme’ (industry code) to appeal to readers beyond comics fans can be more fully realised. It's fortunate, then, that the latest crop of novels is so accessible to the general public...