V for Vendetta

Comic Info

V for Vendetta #1

Reprints V for Vendetta #1-10 (September 1989-May 1989).  It is 1997 and much of the world’s governments have fallen.  England has managed to hold on the world collapsed by taking a firm stance with its citizens and becoming fascist government ruled by Norsefire.  Things are changing in England however.  A girl named Evey Hammond has found her way into the life of a figure named V who always wears a Guy Fawkes mask.  V is a terrorist setting out to free people from Norsefire and reminding the government that the people are the real power.  With Evey as his accomplice, the mysterious V is out to bring down Norsefire and seeks revenge on those who wronged him.

Written by Alan Moore and illustrated by David Lloyd, V for Vendetta was originally published in the black-and-white comic Warrior #1 beginning in 1982.  Warrior was cancelled before the whole story of V for Vendetta was published, but in 1988, Moore and Lloyd were able to finish V for Vendetta at DC Comics in a 10 issue colored series.  The acclaimed series was also made into a feature film in 2006 and has been collected multiple times.

V for Vendetta is one of those dangerous stories.  You can read the comic and say “uh-oh” at points especially in today’s political climate.  With the real rise of Big Brother and the internet, the controlling Norsefire feels very real…and V’s techniques to combat Norsefire are also scarily real and dangerous if picked up by the wrong person.  With the release of the film, Guy Fawkes has begun popping up at protests and some of his techniques have been mimicked by people demanding government change…the reason why is that V gives such a convincing message.

The story for V for Vendetta is strong.  The Norsefire government is scary and big, and it is the tendency of people to bow down to these type of rulers especially if they are scared.  V contends that the people make the state and the state is subject to the people and not the other way around…and as society, you must take whatever steps necessary to remind them of that.

V for Vendetta #7

The story is oddly blurred a bit in that V (though trying to represent the everyman) has a personal grudge (or “vendetta”) against these leaders for what was done to him.  Though he is trying to represent the people, he is also reminded of his past which leads to some extremely questionable behavior at times…like teaching Evey how he gained his “freedom” of the mind by torturing her…yes it frees her, but it is also pretty sick and twisted.  With a complex character, V might be one of Moore’s best written characters to date.

Moore’s strong writing is backed by Lloyd’s art.  With Lloyd, Moore laced V for Vendetta with Vs and V references.  The writing and the art go hand-in-hand for this dark series and Lloyd creates a frightening world with the colorized black and white which still holds the starkness of the original art.

V for Vendetta rivals Moore’s impressive Watchmen for his best series.  One could argue that V for Vendetta is the better series (if done right) and I don’t know that I could disagree.  With a very concise and planned story, V for Vendetta was one of those series that shows the power of the comic book and with the movie relaying the same basic messages, Moore’s novel of anarchy has led to a worldwide phenomenon with lasting effects.

Related Links:

V for Vendetta (2005)