V for Vendetta [Paperback]

Alan Moore (Author), David Lloyd (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1995

V for Vendetta is, like its author's later Watchmen, a landmark in comic-book writing. Alan Moore has led the field in intelligent, politically astute (if slightly paranoid), complex adult comic-book writing since the early 1980s. He began V back in 1981 and it constituted one of his first attempts (along with the criminally neglected but equally superb Miracleman) at writing an ongoing series. It is 1998 (which was the future back then!) and a Fascist government has taken over the U.K. The only blot on its particular landscape is a lone terrorist who is systematically killing all the government personnel associated with a now destroyed secret concentration camp. Codename V is out for vengeance ... and an awful lot more. V feels slightly dated like all past premonitions do. The original series was black and white and that added to the grittiness of the feel while the coloring here in the graphic novel sometimes blurs David Lloyd's fine drawing. But these are small concerns. Skillfully plotted, V is an essential read for all those who love comics and the freedom, as a medium, they allow a writer as skilled as Moore. --Mark Thwaite

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

V for Vendetta is, like its author's later Watchmen, a landmark in comic-book writing. Alan Moore has led the field in intelligent, politically astute (if slightly paranoid), complex adult comic-book writing since the early 1980s. He began V back in 1981 and it constituted one of his first attempts (along with the criminally neglected but equally superb Miracleman) at writing an ongoing series. It is 1998 (which was the future back then!) and a Fascist government has taken over the U.K. The only blot on its particular landscape is a lone terrorist who is systematically killing all the government personnel associated with a now destroyed secret concentration camp. Codename V is out for vengeance ... and an awful lot more. V feels slightly dated like all past premonitions do. The original series was black and white and that added to the grittiness of the feel while the coloring here in the graphic novel sometimes blurs David Lloyd's fine drawing. But these are small concerns. Skillfully plotted, V is an essential read for all those who love comics and the freedom, as a medium, they allow a writer as skilled as Moore. --Mark Thwaite

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up–The date is November 5th, 1997. War has ravaged England, entire races have been eradicated, the entire British populace is under constant surveillance, and the absolute power is absolutely corrupt. On this historic day, a man with a strong resemblance to Guy Fawkes (in action and dress) blows up Parliament. The bomber, a masked character named V, saves a girl named Eve from a violent crime and takes her under his wing. Moore's dystopian, fascist version of England, ruled by one central leader and his sects (named after parts of the body, such as Finger, Nose, and Voice), is systematically dismantled by the enigmatic V. Readers must ultimately decide if V is a mad anarchist/terrorist or a freedom-fighting avenger for good. Originally published in 1989, V has been reissued as a hardcover book with never-seen-before sketches and two new vignettes. This story is slated to be released as a major motion picture in 2006, and demand should intensify as the movie trailers come out. Combining alternate history with moral questions about freedom and identity, this book would work well in a school setting; and while there is some slight nudity and violence, they fit well within the framework of the story.–Jennifer Feigelman, Plattekill Public Library, Modena, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Vertigo (April 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0930289528
• ISBN-13: 978-0930289522
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 0.6 x 10.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (268 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #292,698 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

454 of 492 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Alan Moore's most provocative graphic novel, December 2, 2000

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: V for Vendetta (Paperback)

It is perhaps simplistic to declare that "V for Vendetta" is Alan Moore's version of George Orwell's "1984." Orwell came up with his "prophetic" title by reversing the last two digits of the year in which he wrote his book. Moore began his story in 1982, picturing a future that was around the corner and setting his tale in then late 1990s in a Britain that had become a fascist state. Moore worked from the assumption that in 1983 the Conservatives would lose the elections and that the Labour Party would remove American missiles from the British Isles, which meant that England would no longer be a target during a nuclear war. In the post-holocaust Britain of the 1990s, Moore posited a Fascist takeover. The title character of V is a one time victim of a concentration camp medical experiment who is now an enigmatic hero wearing a grinning Guy Fawkes mask; Fawkes was one of the conspirators in the Gunpowder Plot that was an attempt to assassinate King James I of England. In the opening chapter V sets his sights on The Voice of Fate, the official voice of the government's propagandistic lies. From that small but significant initial victory, the battle continues.

There is something decidedly "English" about "V for Vendetta," and not simply because of the setting. Moore can talk about Harlan Ellison's "'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman" and "Fahrenheit 451" being among the elements he drew upon to create his own brave new world, but it is clear that he owes more to Orwell and Huxley, to Robin Hood and "The Prisoner," than American manifestations of the same impulse to freedom. V is not a superhero, even if the medical experiments have somehow made him more than human. Sometimes we forget that a lot of our heritage, both culturally as well as politically, comes from England, and on one level this work reminds us of our English roots.

It is ironic that Moore tells his story as a graphic novel because traditionally your comic book superhero is essentially a fascist vigilante. However, Moore succeeds in finding the perfect context to turn the traditional approach on its head. Most people have no conception of what is meant by the term "Fascism." They equate the idea with Hitler, although it was coined by Mussolini, and Hitler means Nazis, Anti-Semitism and Concentration Camps. Of course, Moore knows better. Fascism is based on the "struggle" for "order" wherein the ends justify all sorts of means. This dynamic clearly runs counter to the democratic ideals of "liberty" and "property." Historically, then, we are confronted with the monumental irony that although the Fascists lost World War II, the Cold War was on one level the triumph of Fascism, a period where we allowed all sorts of travesties, from the McCarthy witch hunts to Nixon's executive orders in the name of "national security." Moore brings the idea of fascism home. If you cannot recognize it in England's green and pleasant fields then you are never going to recognize it when it walks down Main Street in your hometown, U.S.A. Don't you think you should?

David Lloyd is the artist for the "V for Vendetta" series, although Tony Weare did the art for "Vincent" and some additional art on "Valerie" and "The Vacation." Notice the pattern? All of the chapter headings in each issue begin or at least include the letter "V." Lloyd's peculiar style is particularly well suited to this particular storyline. It is odd and a bit off, just like the world it is depicting. Lloyd, Siobhan Dodds and Steve Whitaker did the coloring, and I give them special mention because there is a carefully constructed style that also fits the mood and tenor of the tale.

143 of 159 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Alan Moore Strikes Literary Gold Again with "V for Vendetta", May 22, 2000

By 

Jeffrey A. Veyera "Jeff Veyera" (Matthews, NC United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: V for Vendetta (Paperback)

British writer Alan Moore earned his place in the comic book writers' pantheon with his seminal turn on Swamp Thing in the 80s, part of the triumvirate of Frank Miller, Neil Gaiman, and Moore who transformed lowly comic books into a respectable artistic medium.

And, like Miller and Gaiman before him, Moore found that the only way to carry on once you've thoroughly changed your industry is to do do it again and again in new and novel fashion.

Thus, I give you "V for Vendetta," the absolute furthest thing from "Swamp Thing" and "Watchmen" imaginable.

Moore almost singlehandedly restored the creepy cool of EC horror comics with his run on "Swamp Thing." He redefined the superhero genre with "Watchmen." With "V", Moore abandoned the conventions of both genres and embraced gritty Orwellian scifi.

"V" is set in a Britain which has embraced Fascism following a nuclear conflict which left the nation intact but badly bruised. Mirroring Hitler's ascent over the ashes of the Weimar Republic, the Norsefire party seizes power in Britain and restores order at a horrible price.

That is, until a stylish terrorist in a Guy Fawkes mask codenamed "V" appears on the scene to tear the new order down.

"V for Vendetta" marks a major departure from comic book style. David Lloyd's cinematic style plays like a storyboard for a film; gone are the motion lines and Batman-esque sound effects so familiar to comic readers. Lloyd also dispenses with one of the comic writer's main crutches for exposition---the thought balloon. The story is thus relayed entirely by motion and dialogue, deepening the inherent mystery of the plot as we try to comprehend the master plan of the inscrutable antihero "V".

As with "Watchmen", Moore has layered his tale with enormous depth, making subsequent readings a must to truly comprehend all that's going on within the plot.

If you're interested in seeing what the comic art form is capable of when geared toward an adult audience, rush out and grab a copy of "V for Vendetta" today.

42 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Tiny panels in paperback edition mar dark tale of struggle against fascism, March 14, 2006

By 

Scott Schiefelbein (Portland, Oregon United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: V for Vendetta (Paperback)

Based on plot and artistry, "V for Vendetta" deserves five stars. Alan Moore's alternate history throws the reader into a chilling fascist England where the champion of liberty is the poetic, deranged vigilante, V.

England has somehow survived the consequences of humanity's self-destructive myopia, but it has not survived intact. Facism rules the day, and England has been generally "purified" of minorities, homosexuals, and other officially-targeted degenerates.

But plenty of officially-sanctioned degenerates abound, and they form both the upper and lower echelons of this new England. That is, until V strikes a blow for chaos, for liberty, and for freedom. V, a scarred survivor of the worst of the internment camps formed by the fascists, is undeniably insane, but he has the spirit of a poet and the mind of a genius hidden behind his Guy Fawkes mask. He singlehandedly leads a campaign of terrorism against the corrupt powers-that-be, and there are several dazzling passages as "V" explores both V's perspective on life and his history as well as the more sordid characters who comprise England's new corrupt power structure.

Many of these scenes are captured by Moore with startling visuals and poetic images. This is a dark-yet-colorful graphic novel -- nothing like Frank Miller's zebra-esque "Sin City" stories. Lurid colors combined with creepy darkness evoke the corruption that is the brave new world.

Unfortunately, this review is of the paperback edition of the story, not the story itself. The paperback edition of "V for Vendetta" is, quite frankly, too darn small. Several panels feel crimped and crammed in, and I felt a lot of eye strain as I tried to explore the details of some of the more intricate panels. This is particulary important for a very "talky" graphic novel, where often much of the panel is given over to dialogue boxes, even further reducing the artist's available space for the artistic elements.

While I would strongly recommend reading "V for Vendetta," particularly in advance of the blockbuster movie, I strongly recommend avoiding the paperback edition and hunting down a larger hardback copy.