Written By Alan Moore
Drawn by David Lloyd
Published by Vertigo/DC comics
V For Vendetta is probably the greatest of Alan Moore’s works. It has the lyricism and humanity that most of his epic tales have. What it also has is relevance for today’s world. It works because the world has not rendered the message pointless and therefore still has something of merit to say.
Originally serialized in the British magazine Warrior in the early 1980’s, V For Vendetta is a story about a man who fears nothing going after those who would dismiss the individual right of life for the cold comfort of group thinking. V is an anarchist. He blows up the Houses of Parliament and rescues a young woman called Evey Hammond from a brutal police arrest. The important scene from the first story is not the explosion, but the explanation of why the act happened.
V continues his vendetta. He hunts down the media and government elite that made him who he is. The punishments are cruel, and unusual, but for the most part, the people in power deserve their fates. The story is told in short, 8 to 16 page, episodes that reveal, not just Vs acts of cruelty, but also provides a glimpse into the lives of his targets.. Some of them know why they will receive punishment. Some do not.
Evey Hammond is the focal point of the story. She is a frightened young woman who becomes V’s accomplice largely through chance. She is the child, the prisoner, the hero, the convert. Through Evey, the reader views the actions of V with a combination of love and hate. It would have been easy to show V as a pure hero, but by allowing the reader to see him from Evey’s point of view, Moore brings the full complexity of human emotion to bear. It is an aspect of Alan Moore’s writing that is often overlooked.
V For Vendetta also tells the tale of Edward Finch, an old fashion police detective who is assigned to investigate V’s terrorist acts. He represents what was once good about Britain. He is shabby and his politics are suspect in this fascist world, but his by the books methods have been successful in the past and the regime needs a success.
Another key figure is Rose Almond the wife of a police officer. She reflects and displays the attitudes of the ‘party insiders’ and initially enjoys high status. Her story allows the reader a glimpse of the lives that V destroys with his acts of terror.
The story is dense and morally complex yet filled with many characters that have a distinctive presence, demonstrating Alan Moore’s gifts for creating characters that seem like real people, not clichés. Moore’s gift for character is complemented by David Lloyd’s visuals. Through an innovative technique which avoids the use of outlines, Lloyd renders characters that are distinctive and expressive. In there own ways they are all just trying to survive.
From the ironically constructed murders of book one through musical ‘vicious cabaret’ that opens up book two, to the terse and abstract discussions of revolution between Evey and V, Moore & Lloyd successfully bring both heart and soul to a world that could almost be ours.
V for Vendetta encourages the reader work for their enjoyment. Often the page is filled with information and subtle clues. There are no splash pages in the entire tale, and the dense, small panels bring an element of claustrophobia to the book. Whether through dialogue or a simple series of caption-less panels, the fear of a government gone wild is brought into close view giving the story added impact and dramatic tension.
Most comic books make the action the main thrust of the tale, but Moore and Lloyd make the action almost incidental, focusing instead on the reaction of the characters as events unfold. Lloyd’s art provides a unique sense of place and identity to each aspect of the book. From the technological wonder of the Broadcast booth, to the ornate room of a rectory, to open roads and the drab nature of apartment dwellings, Lloyd brings a very concise reality that other artists would fail in displaying. It is not about the action, but about the people.
It is graphic novel that makes some demands upon its readers. Not because of the narrative flourishes or the detailed, dark and moody line work , but rather because it encourages the reader to think about the world they live in. To consider how easily people can forfeit the things that matter in the long term (freedom and liberty) for the short term comforts of conformity and security. It is a challenging read. It might make people uncomfortable. It should certainly make them think.
- Francis Davis a career drunk with a love of comics and movies, lives in and works for the City of Chicago. Confidentiality agreements prevent him from saying exactly what he does, but it is important.