Antihero: V
Genre: Graphic novel / Dystopian / Fantasy /
thriller
Citation: Moore, Alan & Lloyd, David. V
for vendetta, New York : DC Comics, 1989.
Annotation:
V for Vendetta was originally published in black and white and appeared
in a British comic anthology in the 1980’s. Due to its success and popularity
the comic which was written by Alan Moore and mostly illustrated by David Lloyd
was released in 1988 as ten-issue comic book series. The story centres on an enigmatic masked
radical who goes by the pseudonym “V”.
The series is set in a dystopian futuristic United Kingdom in an
alternate 1997. In the 1980’s there was a nuclear war which destroyed much of
the world triggering a global socio-economic collapse. The United Kingdom seems
to have been spared physical damage from the war but its economy has been
destroyed and thanks to flooding and crop failures the country is on the
borderline of starvation.
In the middle of the fall out of the war a fascist party called Norsefire
has risen in power and now has absolute control of the country as a police
state. In a way disturbingly similar to the rise of the Nazi party Norsefire
promises to restore order to the United Kingdom and blames the world’s problems
on various scapegoats.
They blame the countries, and even the worlds, worst issues on various
“undesirables”; foreign immigrants, homosexuals and left-wing liberals. These
undesirables are taken straight of the street or from their homes and are
imprisoned in concentration camps. They are tortured, starved, used for
scientific experiments and eventually killed. No one is ever freed from the
camps alive. These camps are used as a method to dispose any who oppose the
Norsefire’s tyranny.
Enter V a mysterious radical who will stop at nothing to annihilate the
government. Dressed all in black with a cape, hat and in a Guy Fawkes mask V
proceeds to cause havoc in to the government. He destroys buildings and
assassinates key party officials. In an elaborate, violent and theatrical
manner V eliminated his enemies in order to bring about the downfall of the government
and convince the people that it is time to rule themselves.
At one stage V recuses a young woman named Evey Hammond from a gang of
the secret police known as the “Fingermen”. These men terrorise the citizens in
order to keep them toeing the party line. After saving Evey she in turn saves V
but is knocked out in the process. V takes Evey to his secret underground lair.
When she awakens she tells him her life story. From this moment onwards the two
forge a bond that will push the Evey to the absolute limits and lead to a
thrilling story about a revolution.
This series is a dark and fascinating read. The plotline is disturbingly
plausible especially with the stories frighting parallels to factually events. The
narrative is extremely dense and detailed with multiple plot lines which
readers do not often find in comic books. Each panel is crammed with clues and red
herrings and literary allusions and world play are used throughout the work.
These all draw readers further into the story and make the series extremely
compelling.
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