Remember Remember the 5th of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot
I see no reason
Why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.
What better time to do a post about the graphic novel V for Vendetta than on November 5th?
V for Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd is one of my favorite graphic novels. I read it over the summer this year, for a second time, and liked it as much on round two as my first reading many years ago.
I finally started to write this post about it in early October and then it dawned on me to wait a little while longer and post it on the 5th.
If you're not familiar, its a classic comic that was originally released in 1988-89 but had a sort of revival with the film by the same name starring Natalie Portman. The iconic Guy Fawkes mask was also adopted by the online activist and hacking group Anonymous, which also added to the comics allure and street cred.
The comic itself is a dystopian story set within a fairly modern day United Kingdom and is about a lone anarchist and vigilante named V. He wears a Guy Fawkes mask and seeks to terrorize and eliminate the fascist government currently in control of the country along with nearly its entire administration.
The story begins when V saves a young woman named Evey from a group of corrupt police officers. He take her home for protection and shows her music, art and books, all things that have essentially been banned in society. The idea of art being banned is always a central theme of any fascist or authoritarian government. These are things related to knowledge, higher levels of consciousness and free thought and expression, so naturally any government wanting total control will always seek to eliminate them. Generally they start with the books.
V ultimately radically transforms Evey throughout the story. His methodology is actually quite brutal in a way and in practice, it may not actually work as intended if you done to someone but nonetheless it makes for a good story. In a way Evey becomes V's apprentice and eventually his successor.
As the story unfolds we learn of V's past and motivation, as well as the history of the war and how the current government came to power. Its a dark story and falls into the realm of conspiracy theory come true.
Its actually a very well written story with a lot of depth and mystery to it as well.
Themes include facism, control and surveillance, and also the counters to those ideas which are resistance, anarchy, and anonymity. There are the themes of knowledge and ideas and transformation, just to name a few more.
The film was released in 2005, quite some time ago, and you might be familiar with it. I thought that it was pretty good myself and watch it periodically. I watched it shortly after finishing the comic and I personally think that it does the book justice.
The novel is pretty influential when I think about it. The Guy Fawkes mask has become a well known, globally recognized symbol, that represents anarchy, activism, resistance and anonymity.
Overall V for Vendetta is a great story and great graphic novel and I would recommend it for sure if you like comics or any of the themes mentioned in the post. Its worth a read.