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V for Vendetta (V for Vendetta Complete)

by Alan Moore, David Lloyd (Illustrator)

4.23 of 5 stars 4.23 · rating details · 85,556 ratings · 1,920 reviews

"Good evening, London." It's nine o'clock and this is The Voice of Fate... It is the Fifth of the Eleventh, Nineteen-Ninety-Seven...

"The people of London are advised that the Brixton and Streatham areas are quarantine zones as of today. It is suggested that these areas be avoided for reasons of health and safety...

Police raided seventeen homes in the Birmingham area early...more

Hardcover, 296 pages

Published November 1st 2005 by Vertigo (first published 1982)

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Oct 27, 2010 Elizabeth rated it 3 of 5 stars

Recommended to Elizabeth by: Buck

Shelves: 2010, gods-myths-heroes, in-by-of-england, reviewed, fantasy-sci-fi, overshare

This is my dad. He is with James Meredith just after Meredith had been shot in Mississippi in 1966. He’s the goofy-looking Jewish guy with the hat.

The way my dad tells the story, is that one day he gets a call from James, who he knew already, and James said, I’m going to march through Mississippi, for voter registration. You want to come? (Note: not direct quotes here).

My dad, Sure, who else is going?

James, Just us so far.

Then, according to my dad, he called around to his press buddies (my dad b...more

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Elizabeth Jimmy wrote: "As for the surveillance, I think the problem now is that we have been made to carry surveillance cameras on ourselves, willingly. To opt...more
Mar 22, 2011 06:53am

Klezmer really good review, but i do feel that those questions you ask are addressed in the comic, either accidentally or intentionaly so, and while its done...more
Oct 25, 2012 10:40pm

Apr 20, 2011 Stephen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: comics-graphic-novels, science-fiction, 1980-1989, world-in-the-shitter, alternative-history, political-fiction

For all of the criticism heaped on movie versions of novels and other literary works (well deserved in many cases), there are times when the filmmakers get it very right (e.g., Lord of the Rings, the Princess Bride, Schindler’s List). The Graphic Novel, in particular, is a format that lends itself well to adaptation and, in the right hands, can often IMPROVE on the source material. Examples of this, IMHO, would include: From Hell, Road to Perdition and Sin City. To that small but distinctive li...more

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Mar 27, 2013 Palice Pottle rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Moore fans.

Recommended to Palice Pottle by: Myself.

Shelves: beautiful, could-ve-been-better, very-interesting, i-was-entertained, dissappointed, awesomeness, you-must-read, need-to-reread

Update after 2nd read: I want to say meh, but that wouldn't be fair. I don't like it any better though... let me think about this a little, okay?
/falls asleep

25/03/2013: Reading this again, now that I know a bit more about dystopia/critical dystopia and what Moore was trying to do. Let's see if I change my mind about this!

17/1/2012: I've decided to change this from 3 to 3.7
Yes, now I don't feel so bad.

Spoilers and babies coming. You've been warned.

I had to think about this one for some time....more

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Jan 27, 2013 Aubrey rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 4-star, reviewed, pic-pic

I don't read comic books of this type all that often. It's true that in my youth I devoured shelf after shelf of the Asian equivalents, but I can tell you that the two are as different as night and day. I came to this graphic novel with its movie, the fellow Alan Moore work Watchmen, and a whole host of literature under my belt, and that's the context that I'll review it in.
The movie cut whole swathes of the story out, and plumped up what was left with a good old fashioned mix of action sequence...more I don't read comic books of this type all that often. It's true that in my youth I devoured shelf after shelf of the Asian equivalents, but I can tell you that the two are as different as night and day. I came to this graphic novel with its movie, the fellow Alan Moore work Watchmen, and a whole host of literature under my belt, and that's the context that I'll review it in.
The movie cut whole swathes of the story out, and plumped up what was left with a good old fashioned mix of action sequences, a budding romance, and dramatic flourishes in general. I'm not surprised at that, the comic did have some really grotesque story-lines that would have never made it to the big screen. The movie even improved upon the characters in my mind, the ones besides V and Evey at any rate. In the comic, these two were the only ones who really shone, both in characterization and the fact that they contrasted heavily with the sea of white men making up the rest of the cast. The movie retained the single racial aspect, in accordance to the one party, one race policy sweeping the setting, but they sprinkled personality quirks wherever possible. Made it easier to differentiate the characters, as well as the sideline plots they were involved in. Or it might have been that that the skin colors just started blending together, and that I'm better at telling characters apart when I don't have to pick them out of a visual crowd. Hard to say.
What the movie didn't do, though, is give both V and Evey their full due, but especially Evey. Both paper and film retained the (view spoiler), one that is to this day one of the most powerful scenes I have seen in any medium, and is one of the main reasons why V for Vendetta is close to my heart. But after that, only the comic delves deep into what V is, and continues to develop Evey beyond the shivering girl child found at the beginning. Only in the comic does she take charge of her life, and live beyond the shadow of V. And as the only female character to get more than a slew of short pages in the main plot, that counts for a lot.
This comic is no Watchmen. It cannot begin to compare in terms of creativity, characterization, social contextualization, and insight into the human condition. But it is a good start, and has its own unique flavor to it that cannot be found in its more lauded kin. And, of course, who doesn't love menacing rhymes with centuries of historical context, all of which go into the creation of one of the most complex and charismatic figures in the history of graphic novels? I sure do.

Remember, remember the 5th of November.
The gunpowder treason and plot.
I know of no reason why the gunpowder treason
should ever be forgot.

(less)

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Oct 04, 2010 Keely rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: comics, science-fiction, dystopian, reviewed

I struggled for a long time with the growing notion that conservatives simply aren't funny. At first it seemed a silly idea, since conservatism draws from sources as varied as progressivism: all levels of intelligence and wealth, all kinds of people from all walks of life--yet none of them are funny.

Certainly they can tell jokes and be charming, but not satirical, not biting. Subversion doesn't come naturally to them, and it should have been clear why: Conservatism relies on ideals, on grand her...more

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Brian I see your point. At the same time, I also see how V and Rorschach are not presented in the same way. Rorschach is crazy as in crazy. It's textually c...more I see your point. At the same time, I also see how V and Rorschach are not presented in the same way. Rorschach is crazy as in crazy. It's textually clear that he's deluded about reality. Other characters in Watchmen, more ordinary ones who are easier to relate to (the Eveys of the story, if you like), treat Rorschach like the crazy person that he is. Some of the windmills Rorschach is tilting at are actually real demons, but that's almost by accident. He's a grimly comic figure, and not self-consciously so.

V is not delusional -- or at least, not obviously. The injustices he fights are all real. Evey's reaction to V's death is very different from how we imagine Nite Owl's reaction to Rorschach's. V is loved; Rorschach is not. So where it's possible to extract from the text that Rorschach is no role model, I don't know that it's possible to do the same for V.

I love the connection between V's torture of Evey and Big Brother's of Winston. There may even be callouts to this effect in Moore's scene in the form of the rat and the episode between Valerie and Ruth. But this is just not enough for me. There are many episodes in literature of one character hurting another in order to help them in the long run -- and the moral of those episodes can go either way, depending on context. The narrative and rhetoric surrounding Evey's torture suggests that she is freed, that V has done her a favor after all. All it would take to show the opposite is for us to see Evey kill one person, betraying her prior nobility. But she does not. That says to me that Evey's torture is played as redemptive and not debilitating, that V was justified, and again that anarchy is not being drawn as equivalent to fascism. Contrast with the incident in Nineteen Eighty-Four, where we know Winston is broken when he betrays his newly fledged ideals, and this is one important way Big Brother is shown to be evil.

So... I'm unconvinced, on the basis of the text. It sounds like you've got more familiarity with Moore's larger body of work than I do. If you say Moore would never have intentionally written a story that exalted a character like V, I believe you. But if so, I think Moore does a rather poor job communicating what he meant to communicate within the text of V for Vendetta.(less)
Aug 10, 2012 09:41pm

Keely Yeah, it can be hard to say. I mean, Watchment predates V, so clearly he was capable of tackling these things and subverting them.I guess the point wh...more
Aug 10, 2012 10:09pm

Jul 09, 2008 Bryce Wilson rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: comics

If Watchmen is Alan Moore's Sergeant Pepper, and From Hell his Abbey Road (And in the end the love you take is equal to the number of prostitutes you disembowl) then V For Vendetta is his Rubber Soul.

Like Rubber Soul it tends to get overlooked and undervalued because it's "merely" a perfect pop record rather then a artform redefining masterpiece. V is simply put a potent piece of Pop Art. The story is bracing, the art beautiful, the way it plays with iconography of humanities past sins is simpl...more

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Apr 29, 2008 Laura rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, comic

Eh.

Okay. There's political writing, and then there's political comics (Watchmen, also by Moore). Pure political writing, essays or editorials or what have you, doesn't have to leave everyone satisfied. It can leave some angry or displeased or challenged, so long as it makes its point.

POLITICAL COMICS HAVE TO BE DIFFERENT.

A political comic must not only make a clear political point, but it must ALSO be interesting in a way that is peculiar to comics: it must have a gratifying narrative, it must b...more Eh.

Okay. There's political writing, and then there's political comics (Watchmen, also by Moore). Pure political writing, essays or editorials or what have you, doesn't have to leave everyone satisfied. It can leave some angry or displeased or challenged, so long as it makes its point.

POLITICAL COMICS HAVE TO BE DIFFERENT.

A political comic must not only make a clear political point, but it must ALSO be interesting in a way that is peculiar to comics: it must have a gratifying narrative, it must be artistically sound, and it must have the same kind of emotional influence that a regular old novel or movie would have, because comics are, primarily, STORIES.
V for Vendetta is a glut of political writing stuffed into an attractive skin of art and garnished over with the platitudiest delivery I have ever had the misfortune to be exposed to outside a 50s superhero comic. My god. It's got the same blind and senseless energy of delivery that any Superman-hurling-a-car comic would have. This stems, I think, primarily from the fact that it's an anarchist comic, and making anarchism into a coherent and attractive viewpoint is nearly impossible, given that anarchism is probably the illest-conceived of any extant ideology.
However, because it's ANARCHISM, because the writing is coherent and cleverer than most graphic novels', because it's all draped over with mystery, because it's a well-designed book, tone and layout-wise, and because the art is fantastic, the essential failure of the book-- the fact that it lacks anything behind its shell of hyperenergetic blathering-- gets a pass.
Seriously. The book tries so hard to be political and symbolic it crushes itself. Premise-wise, the story doesn't make a lot of sense-- we hear that England was living in a government vacuum for several years, and that London was straight-across flooded, and that every other landmass on the planet has been nuked, AND that a nuclear winter has occurred, but for some reason they're still living in a fully-mechanized modern consumer society. All right. Sure. Also, it appears that the only remaining political ideologies in the universe are Fascism and Socialism/Communism, with Anarchism resting on its own crazy-ass axis out who the hell knows where. All right, again. Beginning to sound more and more like Revolutionary Spain/every third world country ever. Sure. Got that. 'First and freest Republic in the world loses all sense of its political heritage and persecutes the hell out of its inhabitants' is the ONLY trend in British apocalyptic fiction, but this is the worst I've ever seen it done.
I don't know. What is Moore posing here as the only options for political ideology? He paints a world in which one can ONLY be EITHER a ethnocentric homophobic racist fascist or an 'anarchist'. All right. What does he mean by this? Returning to a state of nature? Gradual and spontaneous shift to democracy? End of the modern mechanized world? Spontaneous national adoption of a sort of leaderless socialist state? Hmm. Moore handles his material childishly. For me, the political-apocalypse stories that WORK show the protagonists yearning after a state of leave-me-alone-let's-all-be-friends sort of political neutralism-- a state of 'let's have universal human rights and that's all please' joy. A utopia of 'being a normal person'. Children of Men is like this. Even Watchmen is less heavy on the socialism and focuses more on the 'let's stop being persecutors and start being nice to everyone else again' mentality. Readers can therefore identify with the protagonists-- they aren't radicals. They're just normal people trying to be normal again. But in V for Vendetta, the only way peace can be achieved is if every individual person is a politically-radical crowd member willing to use mob violence.
Not inspirational.
I don't care what you think about the degree to which individuals must be political to preserve their rights. This book makes no coherent political point and the messages it DOES articulate are comprised solely of platitudes. It fails to rpesent any realistic view of any political spectrum whatsoever. Instead of focusing on human rights/the dignity of man/the right to be free, it sours the whole batch by presenting some shallowly-conceived idea of anarchism as the solution to all modern political crises. The fact is that this book reads like a poorly-contrived piece of anti-Thatcher propaganda.

Which is essentially what it is.

EDIT: I've read some other reviews of this book on goodreads and I've decided I have to make one point.

You CANNOT like this book becuase 'V is an amazing character.' V IS ALMOST NOT A CHARACTER. Moore specifically has him talk about how who he is is not important. V is a big bundle of soggy political ideology stuffed up into a man-suit with a funny mask on the front. The whole backstory bit exists to give the situation-- the SITUATION, not the character-- plausibility. The fact that the backstory even exists sours Moore's ideological point, which is unfortunate, since the point was shallow enough to begin with. V is suppsoed to be an 'everyman', and is supposed to represent the potential in all of us to make a difference. But how did he get like this? First of all, he's insane, mildly or seriously, but slightly insane at some level, at any rate. Secondly, he's got SUPER POWERS of combat/the mind that he was given in a crazy SCIENCE-FICTION HORMONE EXPERIMENT. All right. So the potential to make a difference is there in all of us, but we need a hero to tell us this is so, and that hero himself needs to be a super-human person in some way before he can take up the job? I don't think so.
There's some extreme cognitive dissonance in this story. Moore can't decide whether to espouse the power of the people as a body or the power of the individual-- an individual who, in some ways, is nearly as charismatic as a 20th-century dictator, yet who is, in other ways, utterly flat and irrelevant.
V is not a character. V is an idea, and a cloudy one at that.(less)

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Brian I think that your last part, about how V is not a character, certainly has merit yet you defeat yourself through your own logic. V is not important -...more
Oct 13, 2012 12:04am

Greg Handley Good review Laura. Intelligently put and sharp criticisms. I picked up a copy of this recently on a whim. I hadn't read a graphic novel for 15+ years...more
Dec 25, 2012 10:16pm

Feb 08, 2011 htanzil rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

London, 5 November 1997, House of Parliamet, simbol kekuasaan pemerintah Inggris diledakkan oleh seseorang berinisial ‘V’ yang dalam aksinya berdandan dan menggenakan topeng ala Guy Fawkes. Selain peledakan, aksi V juga diikuti dengan atraksi kembang api yang mengagetkan seluruh penduduk London.
Di saat yang hampir bersamaan, V menyelamatkan Evey Hammond, seorang gadis dengan masa lalu yang kelam dari jebakan para intel polisi saat hendak melacur. Dalam aksinya ini beberapa intel polisi terbunuh...more

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May 09, 2012 Kirstine rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: comics-and-graphic-novels, favourites

I've loved the movie version of this ever since I first saw it, and it always made me sad how Alan Moore apparently didn't approve of it. I see now why he might have been disappointed, but I was not (this is perhaps helped by the fact that I didn't write the comic). I still love the movie, but there is no doubt the graphic novel is somewhat superior.

It just... It's a work of utter brilliance. And intelligence and insight into humanity. Sure some of the 'predictions' haven't come true or were fl...more

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Sep 07, 2012 Riku Sayuj rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviews

Watching the movie first was a big mistake - but maybe the movie had a finer dramatic tension to it, being less inclined to be so philosophical and cryptic?

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Jan 21, 2009 Meredith rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novels

Note: this is the longest book review I've written in a while. Forgive me if it's a bit difficult to navigate. A lot of this was typed up from notes I scribbled & I tried to make it as readable as possible. Also, if anyone is offended or in any way upset by this review, you know where you can put your whining....In the comments section of course! Dissenters welcome. I'm ready to argue my points.

V for Vendetta is essentially ‘Socialism vs. Fascism’. Well…more like anarchy vs. fascist governme...more Note: this is the longest book review I've written in a while. Forgive me if it's a bit difficult to navigate. A lot of this was typed up from notes I scribbled & I tried to make it as readable as possible. Also, if anyone is offended or in any way upset by this review, you know where you can put your whining....In the comments section of course! Dissenters welcome. I'm ready to argue my points.

V for Vendetta is essentially ‘Socialism vs. Fascism’. Well…more like anarchy vs. fascist government. V is the masked hero, righting the evils of England’s dystopian fascist government. (note: although the novel takes place in the 90’s, it is still a futuristic story because it was written in the eighties). The corrupt fascist government controls its citizens with ‘the voice of Fate’/
'theocracy’/’good intentions’….you get the picture. The policians and leaders are a horrible lot of lying, child-molesting, adulterous, sleezy hypocrites.

However…our protagonist is not all he is cracked up to be.

Now, I can appreciate a realistically flawed character: Scarlett O’Hara, Anna Karenina, Gatsby, you name it, but the way V is portrayed, he is very difficult to relate to, has few or no regrets, and makes no attempts to reform himself or find a new solution. Honestly, his character kind of ruined the book for me. I might not mind his shortcomings so much if it weren’t for the fact that he was continuously portrayed as the hero.

V may be a socialist, but he doesn’t necessarily make a good case for socialism. He is a dark and jaded protagonist who justifies his actions by his vendetta against the government—not well-grounded philosophy. His twisted vigilante-ism leads him to commit acts of violence and anarchy. Basically, his motives are good, but his methods are flawed. I feel the same way about his actions as I do about the actions of the more radical French revolutionaries of the 1700’s. Just as cutting off heads may have not been the best way to deal with decadent courtiers during the French Revolution, killing corrupt politicians is not the way to fix a fascist government.

Allow me to clarify—I am not a fascist, nor am I a socialist. I am a conservative, but I am not an extremist. I believe in God, but I do not condone a theocratic government. I don’t believe in legalizing gay marriage, but I also don’t believe in killing all homosexuals. I don’t believe in legalized prostitution, but I also don’t believe in rape. This book makes the not-so-subtle-suggestion that conservatives may be or may eventually become fascists, and I resent that suggestion. Unlike Watchmen, where I may not have agreed with the politics 100% but was able to appreciate the characters and story, V for Vendetta is clearly a political story. It is hard to look past the political philosophies of Alan Moore and appreciate the story. The politics got bigger than the story, making it a hard story to enjoy.

In the end, the flawed politics and shady protagonist weren’t enough to make me totally hate this book. The artwork was hard to get into, but it was well done, and perfectly captured the mood of the story. The writing was also good, the characters unique and vivid.(less)

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Dec 29, 2007 Tony rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Fans of Moore

Watchmen is one of my favorite novels of all time, so I was disapointed when I finished this. I felt that Watchmen was heavily layered and had very complex characters. Veidt, Rorschach, and Manhattan can all be read an interpreted in different ways, and there's a moral ambiguity to the themes and messages of the work. None of that can be said about Vendetta.

V, who comes to represent anarchy, and the British government, who represent facism, are both one dimensional. The fascists are all deviant...more Watchmen is one of my favorite novels of all time, so I was disapointed when I finished this. I felt that Watchmen was heavily layered and had very complex characters. Veidt, Rorschach, and Manhattan can all be read an interpreted in different ways, and there's a moral ambiguity to the themes and messages of the work. None of that can be said about Vendetta.

V, who comes to represent anarchy, and the British government, who represent facism, are both one dimensional. The fascists are all deviant ghouls, and V's idealistic approach to anarchy is never questioned. In effect, Moore posists a strawman argument that isn't even strong to begin with. I suppose it's fine to say that eventually anarchy will sort itself out into the best possible government (or lack there of), but I'd hate to be the test group for this hypothesis.

Even if you take the novel as an action comic which coincidentally has a political theme (hard to do with all of the obvious metaphor, and proselytizing) it's just not very captivating. The chapters don't transition very well, the characters aren't interesting, and there's too much going on that just isn't terribly interesting. The art is drab and rather generic, and the action isn't conveyed very well.

I can see a definite improvement in the years where Moore wrote this, and the years where he wrote The Watchmen. Vendetta is probably worth reading if you've already read Watchmen, and want to read more of Moore's work, but I wouldn't recommend it to a newcomer.

Post Script: I've had time to think about it, and I bumped my rating up a notch. Moore definitely doesn't make V the hero, even if he still seems to be advocating anarchy (which I do believe, given interviews I've read). That in mind, the book can be taken as a warning of the chaos that fascism creates. When a society tightens its grip on its citizens, it only buys temporary respite from chaos, as the people grow more and more disatisfied with their lack of liberty. Still, that doesn't change the quality of the art, characterization, or plotting, but it does make the book easier to swallow.(less)

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Jan 22, 2012 Vanessa Wu rated it 5 of 5 stars

What I like about this book is its creativity. There are creative juxtapositions and creative leaps. Alan Moore's creativity emerges visually, in the story's presentation, in its structure, and in the influences upon which it draws. Conventional political thinking tends to be dogmatic and narrow-minded. If you define the book in iterms of political ideology, I think you do it an injustice. I don't see any dogma here. I see an open-minded, free-thinking, untrammelled creator, playing confidently...more

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Aug 09, 2011 Nadine rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2011, dystopian

Die Geschichte spielt in einem fiktiven England in den 90er Jahren, wo nach dem 3. Weltkrieg bei dem ein Großteil Europas durch Atombomben ausradiert worden war, eine faschistische Partei die Macht an sich gerissen hat. V ein als Guy Fawkes (der 1605 ein Attentat auf das englische Parlament geplant hatte und noch heute auf Platz 30 der „100 wichtigsten Briten“ rangiert, das aber vereitelt wurde) verkleideter Anarchist verübt Anschläge auf verschiedene Gebäude in London und desweiteren ein paar d...more

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Apr 01, 2011 Julian rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is a quite remarkable book, because not only is it supremely satisfying, but it manages to break a whole load of apparent rules for the genre in the process. The 'big event' (the destruction of the Houses of Parliament) is over in the first few pages, and the ending is anything but conclusive. And yet it works, extremely effectively, as a story.

And yet underneath that there is an examination the nature of the society. Moore shows us not a conflict between anarchist chaos and totalitarian or...more

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Aug 20, 2008 Meave rated it 5 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I didn't anticipate liking it as much as I did, but who can resist the structured takedown of a fascist state? It's your nazi fantasy novelized; what if Sophie Scholl hadn't been caught with leaflets, and what if von Stauffenberg's bombs had both gone off and blown Hitler up AND someone else had planted them while he'd been contacting troops on his side to arrest SS officers right after detonation? This book makes you fear the coming fascist state (though not nearly so much if you are, like me,...more

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Dec 19, 2008 Ken rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Admittedly, I am a latecomer to the cult of Alan Moore. I was barely aware of him back in the late 80s/early 90s, and other than Killing Joke, my introduction to him was actually in the superb D.R. and Quinch series for 2000 A.D. I missed out on the original releases of his Swamp Thing run, V for Vendetta , and The Watchmen.

Later, I rediscovered Moore with The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. I was already a fan of Kevin O'Neill from his work on Marshal Law (which is still one of my all-time...more

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Aug 20, 2008 Ruka rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: people who think 1984 is too dour

Shelves: graphic-novel

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jul 27, 2008 Caroline rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: graphic-novels, read-in-2008, dystopia, post-apocalyptic

This was very good, if somewhat convoluted at times. The biggest hurdle for me was actually the art--it took me a while to get the swing of who was who, and once I did it went a lot smoother. I also think having seen the movie was a bit of a disadvantage, since the movie combined characters and took out a number of sub-plots, so I was a bit confused at times.

I loved the fact that V is such an ambiguous character--you never really get any clue what his story is, other than the bare minimum. I tho...more

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Jul 04, 2008 John rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novels, alternate-history

I picked up V for Vendetta for a variety of reasons. Of course, there is the movie that came out with Hugo Weaving & Natalie Portman. Alan Moore, a fantastic comic/graphic novel writer, also wrote the book. Finally, I'm doing some research on the graphic novel's form and this one was highly recommended (and close at hand).

Through the course of the story, we follow V from when he saves Evey from rape and being killed for prostitution by the government police - The Finger (after he has blown u...more I picked up V for Vendetta for a variety of reasons. Of course, there is the movie that came out with Hugo Weaving & Natalie Portman. Alan Moore, a fantastic comic/graphic novel writer, also wrote the book. Finally, I'm doing some research on the graphic novel's form and this one was highly recommended (and close at hand).

Through the course of the story, we follow V from when he saves Evey from rape and being killed for prostitution by the government police - The Finger (after he has blown up the Parliament Building) through the assassination of key individuals and setting up the government to fall onto itself, opening the way for the "Land-of-Do-As-You-Please." Needless to say, V is crazy and does some questionable things (Evey's torture is high on my list). However, he does it all in the name of Anarchy, holding true to the ideal. This pushes him from the role of villain to that of an anti-hero.

The art is bold and simple, the framework easy to follow. Each character is distinct in appearance and behavior and ties into the growing chaos of the twining plots that culminate in the end.

Though the comic was written through the 1980's in response to topical ideas of the time, it does not come over as dated or out of place. Like 1984 or Brave New World, the story sets its own stage and there are still aspects of out lives that allow us to relate to it.

I managed to read the hardback version and then compare the paperback to the hardback. The hardback is printed on better paper, which results in clearer more vivid color. This is particularly pertinent with the black ink, for inking is an important part of the style of the book. Additionally, an essay that was written for the back of the second book of the graphic novel when it was originally released is published in the back of the hardcover. It helps give some insight into the creation and growth of the collaborative work that became V for Vendetta.

I would recommend this book to other avid graphic novel fans, and those interested in reading about dystopian futures as well. Fantastic writing and artwork.(less)

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Nov 22, 2008 Rob Kaas rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone who has ever been told "READ WATCHMEN! READ IT NOW!"

Once durring a conversation, one that seems to occur often in my life, between a handful of my most geeky aquaintances, someone (cannot recall who) said this of V For Vendetta:

"It's like the redheaded stepbrother to Watchmen."

And it's true. I've found it's commonly overlooked, not quoted or mentioned or honored nearly as often as Alan Moore's Watchmen, yet it is still among the most groundbreaking graphic novels ever to travel from dream to page.

If you enjoyed Watchmen, give this a read. If you'...more

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Jun 11, 2007 Mandy Stigant rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: comic-books

I have been copiously lectured on the importance of Alan Moore and the moving-and-shaking he did towards revamping the legitimacy of comic books. Consider my opinion here limited because I have only read Vendetta -- I don't think he's that terrific of a writer. He's not bad, but the appellation of "best writer in the comic book industry Ever" just doesn't ring terribly true with me. I enjoyed Vendetta, but to be honest I enjoyed the movie more, and his out-spoken bitching about the movies they m...more

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Mar 15, 2010 April rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: own, graphic-novels, spring-challenge-2010

I should probably confess right now that I saw the film V For Vendetta way before I read the graphic novel. I saw the film multiple times in theaters, then bought it the night it came out on DVD. I loved the movie. LOVED it. Now, you are probably thinking, okay psycho, just talk about the book, or thinking I must have loved the movie way more than the book. Well, I did like the movie better, at least the story. However, I think it's detrimental to use the same standards of judgement to both, as...more

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Nov 04, 2008 Kerry rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fromthelibrary, graphic_novel, dystopia

Eh.

The art was mediocre, the colors muddy. (I wish they had included the cover art before each chapter, too.) I had a hard time distinguishing one English dude in a suit from the next, but didn't care enough to make an effort. Thank goodness for that guy at the end with the cockney (?) accent.

I guess anarchy just isn't that interesting. I mean . . . here's the plot: there was a war, which allowed a crazy bureaucracy to develop with little personal freedoms allowed. Then this crazy dude tore it a...more

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Aug 28, 2012 Prateek Gupta rated it 4 of 5 stars

Alan Moore - Respect! A direct attack at a totalitarian economy by using a tormented man's perspective - his vendetta. Terrorizing tale about loss of freedom and rights. Deep character development.

V, Evey steals the show.

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Jan 13, 2008 Dave Johnson rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

i wasnt sure how i'd like these. but i actually did really enjoy them. i saw the movie first, but i enjoy the graphic novel a lot more. after hearing what alan moore had to say about the movie adaptation, i tend to agree with him. they turned his novel on fascism and despotic rule into a political movie about Bush. the novel is great, though. you arent sure whether V is insane or heroic. this book's themes resonate on many different levels, and the art is very good. a little traditional in its d...more

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Jan 06, 2011 Travis rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2009

In the post-apocalyptic "future" of the late 1990s, Britain is under totalitarian rule, but a mysterious man known only as V is about to change all that.[return][return]This is pretty much right up my alley storywise. The art...well, it was bearable to get the story. I would have much preferred it as a novel, though, because the art definitely didn't add anything to me. I'm not a fan of most western comic styles and this seemed worse than most in that it was so dark and everyone's faces were hal...more

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Mar 12, 2009 Brett Drewett rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book was a true classic in my opinion. The very nature of it is thought provoking and it's frighteningly accurate by the state of affairs in the world. America is on a slow decline towards this sort of government. Instead of a fair and equal amount of representatives on each side, there is an unfair advantage from leading political party leaders. Even the system for elections is capable of being rigged, since only a few out of several thousands of people per area vote. Every man has his pri...more This book was a true classic in my opinion. The very nature of it is thought provoking and it's frighteningly accurate by the state of affairs in the world. America is on a slow decline towards this sort of government. Instead of a fair and equal amount of representatives on each side, there is an unfair advantage from leading political party leaders. Even the system for elections is capable of being rigged, since only a few out of several thousands of people per area vote. Every man has his price and all that. I digress.

The government is also going down this route by our 'ever so grand' president saying things will get worse unless he helps with his plan. Even his political party is striking at radio DJs who dismiss or speak badly of him. This is as in V's story: the start of government censorship of the media. Since the Democratic party is the key one in office, who's to say things won't get worse? If they have near total power in the government, what's stopping them from taking it over completely and oppressing the people?

After all, V was political satire, but it was also a prediction at how society as a whole can allow their governments to take over so easily and have total, silent, willing consent. If the government is the only one that's right, the people have no say. If the government is what controls the people, the people have to bend to their ruler's will. If we stop listening to all things, and only be fed the manufactured lies and falsehoods of a corrupt system, we will forever be blind to how things are.

So this is my creed! This is my own call to all minds that are open! Do not close yourself to the world! Do not give in to those who want to blind you! Do not hide from the truth because it is gritty or dirty! Do not let yourself conform to something you do not agree with over petty things such as acceptance! Acceptance is useless without freedom! Do not think of yourself as the all important center of the universe! Think of everything as affecting everyone, as it has, does, and forever will! Strike against the government, not with hate, but love! Not with greed, but charity! Not with argument, but tolerance! Not with jealousy, but with joy! Not with a want for power, but with a want to help others, even if it is only on a small scale first! Do not give up your feelings and do not let anger or fear cloud your judgment as those who wish to control you want! Do not let yourself bend upon the orders of others!

Fight, not as how you think you know. Fight with love and knowledge, not hate and ignorance.

This is what knowledge and new understanding this book has given to me. If you disagree with me, I must say as the French philosopher Voltaire once said, "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." I only give my opinion, and it is just that. Freedom of speech means listening to what you dislike or hate as well.

With that, I bid you adieu.(less)

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Feb 02, 2009 Annie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Annie by: Oscar, Russ (When will they meet?), Liz

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Poor Alan Moore. I read Watchmen first, and now I am like, this is pretty good, but it's no Watchmen.

Actually I think this book might be more appealing to some people than, you know, the other one. No superheroes here. It is more, maybe, realistic? It is hard to judge, partly on account of it being written in the eighties. I was really young in the eighties, and I was raised by people who were hoping for the Apocalypse. In a way, that was probably a lot worse than being raised to fear a nuclear...more

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Mar 13, 2013 Tina Rae rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: EVERYONE.

Shelves: favorites

So, let me just start off by saying that for many, many years, V for Vendetta has been one of my absolute favorite movies. It basically made my high school years. It's one that I could probably still practically quote from memory. I love it that much.

Therefore, the question is definitely begged, why has it taken me this long to read the novel? (Or, well, graphic novel, as the case may be.) The answer: I have no idea. And now, I'm highly regretting taking this long to read it.

I. ABSOLUTELY. ADORE...more So, let me just start off by saying that for many, many years, V for Vendetta has been one of my absolute favorite movies. It basically made my high school years. It's one that I could probably still practically quote from memory. I love it that much.

Therefore, the question is definitely begged, why has it taken me this long to read the novel? (Or, well, graphic novel, as the case may be.) The answer: I have no idea. And now, I'm highly regretting taking this long to read it.

I. ABSOLUTELY. ADORED. THIS. NOVEL.

It was everything I'd been expecting and more. It took the story to new depths that I can't even imagine. I thought I loved the movie but this was even better. (Though a couple of my favorite movie lines weren't in there. SAD FACE.)

Though, tangent, I actually rewatched the movie after finishing this and, well, I actually don't like it nearly as much. Though that all centers around Evey. Honestly, I thought Natalie Portman was wrong for the part originally and was just able to overlook it because I loved the story as a whole so much. But after reading the book, I *KNOW* she's wrong for the part. (And I now have all the more reason to think her awful acting is stinking up the joint.) I'll say this once and once only otherwise I'll soap box about this for the rest of my life: Evey is sixteen at the beginning of this book. NATALIE. PORTMAN. DOES. NOT. LOOK. SIXTEEN. (What were the casting directors thinking? *facepalm*) And that's really my only problem with the movie. I still love how well it was made (except for where Evey's concerned), I just love the novel far more. /tangent

... Okay, so back to the book. If you've seen the film version of this story, great. Read the novel. It's ten thousand times better and I highly recommend reading it. It's good. Really good. Change your life good. Forget everything you thought you knew about this story because this book will blow all of that out of the water.

If you've already read this novel, great job. Now go read it again.(less)

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About Alan Moore

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Alan Moore is an English writer most famous for his influential work in comics, including the acclaimed graphic novels Watchmen, V for Vendetta and From Hell. He has also written a novel, Voice of the Fire, and performs "workings" (one-off performance art/spoken word pieces)...more

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