V for Vendetta comic (spoilers)

Bass

Nexus of the World
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V for Vendetta is visual literature.

Written more than 20 years ago by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Lloyd, V for Vendetta is of human society, its flaws and failures, its accomplishments and future, its secrets and its unconscious horrors, its sibling communities and its truths, its violence and bigotry, its beauty and compassion; it is society as an abbatoir - and as a garden of roses.

Though set in 1997 and 1998, and having been produced in the 1980s, V for Vendetta touches an ethereal future of misery, with the hopeful promise of a new dawn. After a small nuclear war, leaving parts of the planet uninhabitable, we are in for a vicious cabaret of totalitarian fascism, for the voice of fate tolls throughout the London streets, telling us all we need know: that we are safe. There are no threats that the fingers of fate cannot eliminate. Not terrorists, not homosexuals, not blacks, pakis, or chinks, and not even the weather. The voice of fate loves and cares for us. And if we don't agree, we can go to a concentration camp for our terrible sedition.

But the mouth, the ear, the nose, the fingers, and the voice of fate, and its leader and servants, are unprepared for a single man, in a cloak and large pointed hat, wearing a painted smile, a man with no name, save for the letter 'V', a man who has ditched Lady Justice for a better mistress; Lady Anarchy.

His shadow gallery, with all its culture and hypnoses, revealed, in part, only to us, we are let in to the grand muscial chess game of this man and his will against the state of London, of England.

For in this murky and grimly illustrated work, in the angles of its shadows, is the bright primary colours, hidden in places where we've always known them to be, peeking out onto the page. In darkness the most little of colour shines. Illustrated with the aesthetic of a dream, the unconcious thoughts of creation and of destruction, pictures and words playing with our thoughts, and feeling far too real to step back from.

It's all this and yet, it is much more than this. Like V himself, if I were to call it one thing such a label becomes a tragedy, for it would become smaller than we had thought; we could only see it in terms of what it can no longer be.

It's a visual poem for human society, twisting and turning in shadows. You should read it.

England prevails.
 
Yeah, V for Vendetta is great. Gonan get teh trad epapaerback this weekend, but ive read it over before. Well, think about it, its written by Alan Moore. Could it be crap? Hell no. Hopefully the film will do it justice, as a lot of Moore's comic to film adaptations sucked ***, League of Extroadinary Gentleman, and of course, From Hell. Hopefully Watchmen and V for Vendetta films will do his two greatest works justice.


Now all we need is a Captain Britain film!
 
GMaster said:
Hopefully the film will do it justice, as a lot of Moore's comic to film adaptations sucked ***,

I haven't been following it too closely, but I think I remember reading that Moore had divorced himself from all involvement because he was incredibly displeased with it or the way it was going.
 
Sadly, Moore has pulled from and has his name pulled from this project as well. It also looks like Watchmen may be heading back to development hell, do to the dispute over the ending.
 
Probably the destruction of New York City...

doot.

But V is fantastic... I am extraordinarily worried about the movie...

Alan Moore is probably my favorite Comic Book writer, and he deserves to be honored, not shat upon.
 
Dr.Strangefate said:
Probably the destruction of New York City...

doot.

But V is fantastic... I am extraordinarily worried about the movie...

Alan Moore is probably my favorite Comic Book writer, and he deserves to be honored, not shat upon.
I meant which way were they gonna do it?
You can't have Watchmen without the massive kill fest an NY.
 
GMaster said:
I meant which way were they gonna do it?
You can't have Watchmen without the massive kill fest an NY.
I hate to say it, but I've got to agree with him. It'd be like having a Supreman movie without a big red S on his chest.
 
Baxter said:
I hate to say it, but I've got to agree with him. It'd be like having a Supreman movie without a big red S on his chest.

No I completely agree, and anyone with artistic integrity would agree that the destruction of NYC is absolutely Necessary in a Watchmen movie...

But if you're a bigtime producer who sees Watchmen as a "Superhero Movie" in which "superheroes" kill hundreds of thousands of new yorkers... I'm sure they'll say no, and not even LISTEN to the argument, because they are idiotic asshats.

*sigh*

V For Vendetta is such a powerful story, especially to come out in the World today... I really hope they capture the essence...

But I mean, LXG?! What the hell.... The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen are NOT superheroes, they are Literary protagonists brought together, their name was NOT meant to be subsidized into an acronym... It shouldn't have been handled as a "comic book movie". Grah. So much effort was put into the League comic, and then they throw in an older Tom Sawyer (note the fact that Tom Sawyer would be in his early 70's at the turn of the 20th century, when the movie is supposed to take place...)... And Dorian Gray was nothing like his character, and Mina Harker? grah....

From Hell was decent, but didn't compare to the original...

I'm almost glad Watchmen probably won't be adapted... The original is finally picking up credibility, and unless they made it perfect... The film could destroy all that.

Swamp-Thing would make a good traditional comic book movie... Or Stormwatch maybe? Promethea?

Don't bastardize his best stuff first...
 
How good is the first volume of League? I may get it soon depending on recs.

Aside from that, V for Vendetta was a great read. The only problem I had was it was outdated. Alan Moore I beleive already ahs acknowledged that many aspects of the novel are irrelevent in modern society. So I had to do a little "political mindset jumping" but aside from that it is an excelent work of art. I recommend it.
 
Ultxon said:
How good is the first volume of League? I may get it soon depending on recs.

Brilliance. Pure brilliance.
 
While I don't think it was Moore's best work, V is my favorite work by him. The story just appealed to me so, the tone and characters were spot on. The artwork was terrific as well, very lucid and subdued. And the theme struck me at the core of my being (see signature ;)).
 
Re: V for Vendetta (spoilers)

I just bought this today and am surprised how easy it is to get into. I'm 45 pages in, just starting on chapter 6.
 
Re: V for Vendetta (spoilers)

UltimateE said:
I just bought this today and am surprised how easy it is to get into. I'm 45 pages in, just starting on chapter 6.
I bought last week, but haven't started it yet. Can't wait to see how it is. The movie trailer excited me to see it, so hopefully this will turn out better.
 
Re: V for Vendetta (spoilers)

icemastertron said:
I bought last week, but haven't started it yet. Can't wait to see how it is. The movie trailer excited me to see it, so hopefully this will turn out better.

I caught a few seconds of the trailer but not enough to be able to tell anything about it. I jumped right in; I read about 30 pages of it in the car on the way back from the bookstore.
 
Re: V for Vendetta (spoilers)

"Oh, the Lord provides. There may be no peace for the wicked...but the righteous can get a piece whenever they feel like it."

:lol:

Question for anyone who knows - is the art enhanced in any way in the more recent printings? I absolutely love the art and how it doesn't have that overly bright, flat comic-booky look. The colors are beautiful. I know there is talk of "updating" the art on Watchmen - have they already done it on V for Vendetta? Or has it not been changed?
 

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