Rating: 
Summary: Pomo comics at their finest
Review: Moore's an absolute genius, as demonstrated by this, Miracleman, Swamp Thing, and Watchmen. In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent installation of a president who was not democratically elected, I thought of this one and its uncomfortably accurate predictions of a rising tide of fascism.
Rating:
Summary: Alan Moore's most provocative graphic novel
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: V for Visual Literacy
Review: Behold the anarchist anti-hero, a symptom of commodity-culture that allows us to buy into an inauthentic simulation of revolutionary praxis. While the complacent reader is thrilled by a vicarious dramatization of surreal terrorist acts, anarchism and revolt become just another product to be consumed! Yippee! (Chuck Palahniuk's *Fight Club* comes to mind, but even that work had enough essential literary qualities and stunning flourishes to make it an edifying read.) Many have credited Moore with overcoming the "costumed-hero" stigma in *V for Vendetta*. But the figure of V., a fugitive medical test-subject and mutant guerrilla agitator, is not a sublime politician, lawyer, policeman, doctor, activist, or private citizen struggling to make a difference in an unjust political climate, but rather a calculating, preternatural pirate and bomb-making vandal, scorching his way through the narrative in a Guy Fawkes mask, seemingly indestructible, able to elude capture with smoke-bombs and mirrors, holograms and escape-hatches. In other words, a very *sophisticated* costumed adventurer. And, if you wish, a pure symbol of revolt, insurrection, and snide anti-Establishment rhetoric. Now that we have no more illusions, we can still say in all honesty that this is a brave and accomplished work, for the most part transcending its banal Orwellian trappings. Moore does his absolute best to construct a novelistic sequence of events, a world where characters develop and change, escaping the genre-situations imposed upon them by the pressures of serial comic-book authorship. Inevitably, the secondary characters are a police detective (Finch), a hapless young orphan (Evey), the doomed widow of one of V.'s victims (Rosemary Almond, the only potentially original character), and, of course, the universal mechanism of insurrectionist violence himself, that jocular editorializer of the injustices of world-history, our great equalizer in a world simple enough to be emancipated via terrorist conflagration (i.e. not our world), the uber-smirking *Macbeth*-quoting V. On a technical level, the artwork is original and compelling, with fascinating juxtapositions of computer-scanned photography against Lloyd's heavy inks and lurid washes of color. On a narrative level, sadly, the human situations come on rather stilted and bathetic, the victims of V.'s onslaught generally two-dimensional troglodytes and subhuman functionaries, making the violence a bit silly and undramatic (a kill-fix just begging for West Coast script-treatment). Yet the relationship of V. to his young protege Evey is genuinely affecting at times, prophesying such future dramatic accomplishments as the friendship between Nite Owl and Rorshach, or the widening emotional gulf between Laurie Juspeczyk and Doctor Manhattan, or the ubermenschian genocidal guilt-trip of an Adrian Veidt. *V for Vendetta*, despite all its dead-spots and theatrical weaknesses, is a great step forward for "visual literacy" (to call it that), upping the ante for graphic novelists everywhere (and how many comic writers today can live up to such an appellation?) Definitely worth checking out.
Rating:
Summary: Among the elite comics series.
Review: Alan Moore is also the author of the more famous Watchmen maxi-series, but this series came first and it clearly foreshadows the ideas expressed in Watchmen. The plot is not quite as complex as that of Watchmen, but the characterization is excellent. It is not long, consisting of a 10-book maxi-series in comic-book format. I believe that this is one of the essential series for those who like mature comics.
Rating:
Summary: Transcendent.
Review: Moore elevates the medium far beyond what *anyone* has shown capable of. The series is no exception. Beautiful art, perfect story arc, great scripting, and real & unique characters. It reads like an epic poem: "I know every inch of this cell, and it knows every inch of me. Every inch except one." He is the master. The story will be especially appealling (or perhaps terrifying) to those of liberal bent as describes an England that deteriorates into a nuclear irradiated fascist hell. It's meant as a cautionary tale, and although the nuclear threat seems behind us, Moore literary illustrates the potential dangers of bigotry, hate, oppression. The story is self-contained and does not require that you be a comic book reader.
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Summary: It could happen ANYWHERE.
Review: One of the most chilling phrases of the last hundred years is, "It couldn't happen here." Which essentially makes the terrifying future portrayed by V For Vendetta all the more possible. V For Vendetta is set in Britain a decade after a limited nuclear conflict, which thanks to the Labour party removing American missiles from British soil ensures that Britain is not targetted. However the climatic conditions caused by the war end up plunging England into famine and chaos. One party promises an end to anarchy and a return to order, 'Norsefire'. They are supported by desperate citizens. After they gain power they round up all the blacks, all the asians and gays, all the beatniks and radicals... and kill them. For their belief is in a unified uniformity. Orders are given and followed, no deviations, with a little (very little) bread and circuses thrown in for measure. The horrible absence of any faces other than white faces and the eradication of all culture seen as unfit really shocked me. Moore has always been concerned about Britain's tabloid press and its undercurrant of racism and 'moral values'. It is a concern I share. At a time when hatred for asylum seekers is being whipped up to new extremes by the far right press this is a timely warning. In this nightmare Britain about four years after the 'final soloution' a terrorist begins to wreak havoc in London. He wears a Guy Fawkes mask and calls himself 'V'. He is after blood. Who is he, or more importantly, what is he? V begins a struggle for the heart and mind of England, a heart and mind that have become complacent and corrupted under the horrible 'better the devil you know' complacency that we are sadly famous for. It is however ordinary people who will decide this conflict, he has just to show us the way. This is one of the most chilling and enthralling books I have ever read. One of the biggest points of the book is that most people don't want to be evil, but they will go along with it if it leads to a quiet life. This view is hammered home relentlessly. It also incredibly manages to be a ripping yarn at the same time. The look and style of a future Britian under a totalitarian dictatorship is wonderfully rendered by David Lloyd who draws everything in a wonderful gritty, harsh, sleezy style. This is arguably Moore's greatest work, it is certainly his most vicious and pointed. An important thing to take into account though is that Moore was primarily directing this at English audiences, the comic only got an American distribution later. As such there may be several cultural characteristics that may cause to the unfamiliar reader several vicious points to fall short. No matter, this book was intended to show Britian how it could happen here, and by implication how it could happen anywhere. Do not be complacent. England prevails!
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Summary: Alan Moore Strikes Literary Gold Again with "V for Vendetta"
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: A revolution of ideas and art
Review: England in a post atomic holocaust: this is the setting of a magnificent work about one individual, who fights to resucitate the dying ideals of freedom and beauty. What England has forgotten, V remembers. With a blast greater than dynamite, he blows the eyes and minds of the Britons open so they can see what they are losing. Moore's tale, with its heavy and often disconcerting imagery and its intricate story line keeps the reader captivated for the entire ride. The plot keeps the reader guessing at a number of things, not all of which are answered. I recomend this to anyone, particularly those who say that comics are just for kids.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: This is truly the finest graphic novel I have ever read. Taking place in England while a police state rules in the near future, a mysterious hero arises to free the populace from their physical and psychological cage. I have read this graphic novel three times already, and each time I see new symbols and different faucets to the text. The art is oftentimes harsh and truly difficult to view--it takes a while to get used to, but it is truly great in that it perfectly matches the subject matter. If you care anything for comics, you must read this novel. If you care anything for a wonderful story about heroism, freedom, and anarchy rendered by wonderful art, you must read this novel.
Rating:
Summary: Alan Moore: pretty darn good guy
Review: So this is where Neil Gaiman learned his stuff.. excellent
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