By Alan Moore & David Lloyd, with Tony Weare, Steve Whitaker, Siobhan Dodds & various (Vertigo)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-8500-5(30th Deluxe HB) 978-1-4012-0841-7(TPB)
Win’s Christmas Gift Recommendation: Groundbreaking, Life-Changing Comics Masterpiece… 10/10
Very few pieces of literature enter public consciousness and fewer still from the relatively young land of graphic narratives. Here’s one of the best…
The serial V for Vendetta began in 1982 in legendary British comics magazine Warrior. The deviously convoluted mystery play describes a highly individualistic resistance campaign conducted by an enigmatic flamboyant and ruthless “anarchist†against a fascistic British government which stumbles into power after a nuclear exchange destroyed all the bigger countries.
Or does it?
This is just as much a tale of intellectual and political awakening. Most events are seen (and the escalating situation unravels) through the eyes and experiences of Evey Hammond, a pathetic little nobody rescued from secret policemen – almost as an afterthought – by V during his first highly public exploit.
The sinisterly suspenseful series was originally presented in stark and stunning black & white, every chapter title beginning with a “v†word. Fans of classic British strip art revelled in occasional contributions from the wonderful Tony Weare (Matt Marriot, Pride of the Circus, Savage Splendour, The Colditz Story and much, much more) who fully illustrated the chapter dubbed ‘Vincent’ and also assisted master stylist David Lloyd in creating a masterpiece of daunting visual atmosphere throughout.
This was no mean feat as V – whilst dismantling with lethal efficiency the machineries of a totalitarian and ever vigilant State that constantly voiced its views that everything was better in the Good Old Days – declared himself the true guardian of lost or forgotten British culture. This demanded a phenomenal amount of research and vital trust that the readership would pick up on some pretty obscure references, both Verbal and Visual…
The then-controversial jump to colour (I, for one, would kill for a fully monochrome director’s cut edition of this saga) following DC’s appropriation of the saga was deftly handled by Lloyd himself, with the hued back-up of much-missed Steve Whitaker and Siobhan Dodds, whilst the relentless lettering of Alan Moore’s astounding script came courtesy of Jenny O’Connor, Steve Craddock & Elitta Fell.
And yes, pitiless protagonist V generally adopts the seeming of ultimate anti-authoritarian rebel Guido “Guy†Fawkes. His once-common masked vulpine visage was rescued from vintage obscurity for this tale: subsequently becoming a symbol and tool of anonymity for new generations of rebels, resisters and occupiers…
The subtle shadings of the large cast and the device of telling this from the point of view of the villains as much as the protagonists adds vast shades of meaning to this exploration of free will and oppression, and it’s still shocking to realise that the “hero†is too often indistinguishable from his opponents: philosophically or physically…
The collected book was released in the early 1990s, re-released to coincide with a movie adaptation and is now available in a snazzy hardback Deluxe edition.
Although temporarily reclaiming the image for good old Guy Fawkes night, this review is actually a paean of praise for our art form’s ultimate resistance tract and I would strongly suggest that if you are still uninformed and unentertained, you should the experience V as soon as viable. Moore & Lloyd made a magnificent beast and it should be viewed in all its glory, before vile politics ends us all…
© 1988, 1989, 1990, 2009, 2018 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.